In recent years, a number of highly visible companies in jurisdictions that prohibit “use or lose” vacation policies have adopted unlimited paid time off (“PTO”) programs, garnering ample media buzz. Under such policies, employees can take off as much time as they choose (within reason) as long as they get their job done. The focus … Continue Reading
For years, Washington’s employment laws were to California’s like Macklemore was to Dr. Dre – yes, they had a west coast flavor, but they weren’t as scary as California[1]. Washington laws provided for meal and rest breaks, but there wasn’t much class action litigation. They allowed non-competes, and averaging of wages to determine if someone was … Continue Reading
Pay equity is popular. Shareholder resolutions, often promoted by socially conscious investors, have challenged businesses to report their pay gap publicly. Plus, 69% of Fortune 1000 companies have voluntarily launched pay equity studies in the last two years. Push for pay transparency grows stronger. That is laudable but the real problem is how to eradicate … Continue Reading
Over 500 years after his death, Shakespeare’s works continue to be a touchstone for legal analysis and critique. A fool’s errand it would be to attempt to catalog the legal issues in each of his 37 plays. Indeed, so popular is the Bard’s legal acumen that he is the most-quoted literary author in Supreme Court decisions. Once … Continue Reading
Base jumping, street luging, and transporting loose glass bottles of nitroglycerine in the back of a Jeep off-road have been equally adventurous activities in the modern world. Now, courtesy of New York City, utilizing independent contractors should perhaps be added to that list. New York City has passed first-of-its-kind legislation to protect independent contractors against … Continue Reading
Neil Sedaka’s 1962 hit song still rings true not only for ex-lovers but also for ex-employees. But, the Employment Relationship Doctor has advice for half of that equation in time for Valentine’s Day. Well thought out separation agreements allow employers to survive failed relationships. Let me repeat the operative phrase: “well thought out.” Despite prior … Continue Reading
New employees need to be trained. Some need to be moved. And, in many business sectors, employers continue to invest in their employees via continued education and training courses. All of these are investments. Their pay off, however, depends on whether the employee stays with the company. Millennials job-hop like it’s their… well, job. Over … Continue Reading
Managers often confront workplaces rife with a history of unenforced policies and mistakenly believe that the solution is merely to enforce those long-ignored rules. Legally, the results of such efforts can be disastrous. In Curry v. Menard, Inc., 270 F.3d 473 (7th Cir. 2001), a new manager tried to more strictly enforce the company’s cash … Continue Reading
Hashtags are ubiquitous. The 10 most influential hashtags on Twitter are: 10. #GivingTuesday 9. #YesAllWomen 8. #PrayforJapan 7. #BringBackOurGirls 6. #IceBucketChallenge 5. #Sandy 4. #IndyRef 3. #BlackLivesMatter 2. #LoveWins 1. #Ferguson (Washington Post, “These 10 Twitter hashtags changed the way we talk about social issues,” March 21, 2016) Fan, athletes, entertainers, political candidates, and just … Continue Reading
This should be easy. Like motherhood and apple pie, everybody should be in favor of encouraging more wellness. But, in 21st century America, nothing is ever easy; mothers baking apple pies beware. There are two fronts in the wellness program wars. The first has been playing in court for several years. The second arises from … Continue Reading
Global RIFs require careful planning and implementation. What can be achieved in a day (or a couple of months if WARN applies) in the US can take months (and yes, sometimes years), once taken global. What in the US can be implemented at no cost or with separation payments that can be enshrined in releases … Continue Reading
US businesses lose $300 billion annually in stolen trade secrets; employees can steal thousands of documents with the push of a button; and the FBI acknowledges it cannot stop this hemorrhage on its own. In response, Congress just enacted the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) to give private litigants powerful new tools to combat this … Continue Reading
This article first appeared as an Employment Alert on our firm’s website. News releases echoing the famous mantra from The Wizard of Oz – “lions, and tigers, and bears … Oh my!” – suggested that the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued an army of flying monkeys. Not so. The DOL merely finalized new dollar … Continue Reading
Connectivity is addictive. Managers text and email staff 24/7; workers check their phones incessantly 24/7. How often? Okay, here are the actual numbers from a recent Gallup poll: 11% check it every few minutes; 41% a few times an hour; and 20% of Americans claim once an hour. If you haven’t checked in last 60 … Continue Reading
Recent legislation in the United Kingdom — the Modern Slavery Act (MSA) — requires every company doing business there and with a global revenue of at least £36 million (roughly 54 million in US dollars) to publish a slavery and human trafficking statement on its website. While that statement may permissibly say that the company … Continue Reading
President Lincoln signed the False Claims Act (FCA) in response to scoundrels who sold the Union Army “gunpowder” kegs full of sawdust, uniforms sewn with used rags that disintegrated when wet, and boots made of cardboard that fell apart when worn. To incentivize citizens to protect the government, the FCA provided a bounty to individuals … Continue Reading
Investigations of employment-related claims routinely require employee interviews. Reports of sexual harassment, picket line misconduct, or whistleblowing all trigger such investigative interviews. Conventional wisdom suggests that employers and their counsel should ask the interviewees to maintain what is covered in confidence and even to document that confidentiality commitment in writing. But, developments on multiple fronts … Continue Reading
Charles Dickens and his characters lived in a pre-ADA world. Yet, those struggling with the definition of “disability” under the ADA share the same frustration as Mr. Bumble in Oliver Twist: “‘If the law supposes that,’ said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, ‘the law is a ass — a idiot.’” Under … Continue Reading
Some start-ups are already doing it. And, other companies are considering the cost-benefit analysis of allowing employees to bring their pets to work. However, much like an unfamiliar dog, pet policies have to be handled with care. Upsides (improved morale for and recruitment of pet lovers) are counterbalanced by downsides (allergies, phobias, or messes). Thus, … Continue Reading
Is the internet a place of public accommodation: a virtual town hall or a virtual shopping mall or a virtual movie theater? Courts still struggle with that. Physicalist courts say that the ADA requires a physical location. Ouelette v. Viacom, No. cv 10-133-M-DWM-JCL, 2011 WL 1882780 (D. Mont. March 31, 2011) (no ADA claim re … Continue Reading
Many employers have matching programs for charitable contributions. Under such policies, the employer donates dollars equal to each employee donation to any 501(c)(3) organization. This is American capitalism at work; this is precisely and exactly what Andrew Carnegie advocated in his epochal book The Gospel Of Wealth in 1889. But, business life is riskier 125 … Continue Reading
When a company is acquired in a stock sale, its shareholders are routinely required to sign what is known as a Letter of Transmittal (“LOT”). Standard LOTs include a release of all claims. But, due to a quirk of California employment law, including a release in an LOT may create unintended consequences. In a typical … Continue Reading
Bruce Wayne. Clark Kent. Sir Percy Blakeney. In addition to being dashing literary figures, each of these men share a common trait – each has an alter ego. Donning a cape, the stoic Bruce Wayne becomes the intrepid Batman. The nerdy, spectacled Clark Kent transforms into the swashbuckling Superman. The foppish, self-obsessed Sir Percy Blakeney … Continue Reading
Mistranslation is both innocent and ubiquitous. Mark Twain had fun with the mistranslations of one of his short stories into French. Indeed, literary superstars frequently acknowledge that translations are invariably imperfect. Jorge Luis Borges’ line — “the original is unfaithful to the translation” — exposes that variance with irony. Both the innocence and the inevitability … Continue Reading
