We regularly offer legal perspectives on current topics in business, ranging from product liability, bankruptcy, dispute resolution, consumer and business practices, labor & employment, entertainment and sports and intellectual property.
Supreme Court agrees to consider LGBT discrimination in the workplace As mentioned in a prior post, the Supreme Court of the United States will soon resolve uncertainty as to whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. In the first two consolidated cases, Altitude Express Inc. v. […]
After several years of starts and stops, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a proposal to update the overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). As we reported earlier, the DOL— during the Obama administration — raised the minimum salary threshold for exemption from overtime to $47,476 per year. Early in the Trump […]
As the year progresses, legal questions and cases regarding noncompete law should prove interesting. In recent years, the trend has been toward limiting noncompete agreements in favor of allowing employee mobility. This year promises challenges on both sides of the issue. Here are a few that we’re watching, as reported by Law360. Anti-Poaching Litigation The […]
Last year brought a number of important labor and employment cases — both national and local — that could have far-reaching effects on the workplace. A recent article from the Dallas Bar Association reviews five that will significantly affect Texas employers in 2019 and beyond. Epic Systems Corp v. Lewis In a decision we reviewed in […]
Leave it to your friendly employment law attorney to suggest a New Year’s resolution for your business: make sure your company website and point-of-sale (POS) terminals are accessible to disabled individuals. Not doing so can be expensive in terms of both time and money. The National Law Review recently published an article predicting that 2019 […]
Many employers have multi-line phone systems at the workplace. Most employers have emergency action plans and evacuation procedures. The connection between those matters may not be readily apparent, but if employees cannot directly dial 911 from company lines, emergency procedures are incomplete. Complicating the issue is the fact that many offices have different floors, different […]
We all do business through mobile phones — how did we ever live without them? But using cell phones inappropriately can present a big problem for employers. Many companies have policies on using cell phones while driving, including requirements to use the car’s hands-free feature and abide by applicable laws. But is the employer liable […]
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) again is reflecting changes resulting from Trump administration influence, this time regarding employees’ rights to use employer email for protected concerted activities like soliciting support for a labor union, organizing a strike, or complaining about management. Earlier this month, the Board invited briefs on whether it should uphold, modify, or […]
As we noted in a previous post, the Supreme Court has been considering three cases that challenged mandatory arbitration in employment contracts. At odds were the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), which provides that an agreement to arbitrate a dispute is enforceable and irrevocable, and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which states that employees have […]
Mandatory arbitration agreements, which require employees to take discrimination claims to arbitration rather than court, are common in employment contracts, especially in larger employers. Many of those contracts go a step further, including class-action waivers that prevent employees from taking collective legal action. Now a survey from the Economic Policy Institute reveals that employees in […]
