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.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has not often enacted rules pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act, preferring that the Board’s legislative policies be established in individualized rulings. But recent actions indicate a break with that tradition. Earlier this month, the Board proposed regulations targeting three areas of current policy that govern the filing and […]
Patrick Pizzella takes the reins as acting Secretary of Labor following Alexander Acosta’s resignation over a 2008 plea deal he arranged for Jeffery Epstein. Pizzella has been deputy secretary just over a year and held various positions related to labor policy during two previous administrations. While Acosta was cautious about too-quickly reversing Obama-era policies that favored workers […]
In a ruling earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court found that Title VII’s exhaustion of administrative remedies requirement is a mandatory claim-processing rule rather than jurisdictional, settling a long-standing disagreement among appellate courts. The need for the clarification stems from a general rule that a federal discrimination claim should be dismissed unless a timely […]
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 […]
