Legal Updates

Pay Attention to Today’s “Reorganized Labor”

[3/14/2008] Back in 2005, when many unions were pulling out of the huge labor federation AFL-CIO, organized labor’s power seemed on the decline. Now, three years later, with plenty of money to spend, the organized labor movement is roaring again. “Labor leaders see the 2008 presidential election as an ace in the hole, expecting a new administration and federal legislation that would make union organizing far easier,” says HR Magazine’s insightful article, “Reorganized Labor” (read the article here) ».

International Business Travelers May Face Warrantless Laptop Searches by U.S. Border Agents

[5/9/2008] Federal border agents did not violate the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches in examining the contents of a traveler's laptop without any basis for believing the device contains contraband, a federal appeals court in San Francisco has ruled. read more »

California Court Rules Owners Not Individually Liable for Unpaid Wages and Vacation and Statutory Penalties

[5/9/2008] Individual owners, officers, and managers of several closely-held garment companies are not personally liable for Labor Code violations arising from the failure to pay wages and accrued vacation. The defendants also could not be held personally liable for restitution... read more »

California's Anti-SLAPP Law Protects Letter to Employer's Customers About Contemplated Trade Secrets Litigation

[5/9/2008] The California Court of Appeal has ruled that an employer's attorney's letter to the employer's customers concerning potential trade secrets litigation was protected speech under California's anti-SLAPP law, Cal. Civ. Code Section 425.16. Neville v. Chudacoff read more »

Toting Files While Commuting Does Not Require FLSA Pay: Court of Appeals

[5/9/2008] Someone was going to raise this issue eventually, we suppose: Under the federal wage-hour law, is an employee entitled to be paid for his commuting time to work simply because he carries work files in a briefcase during his trip? Now we have an answer: No. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, read more »

Nursing Director's Internal "Whistleblower" Complaints Not Protected Activity

[5/7/2008] The Eighth Circuit has held that Minnesota whistleblower statute does not protect a nursing director who was reassigned to a different position after she complained internally about legal violations at her health care company. Filing such internal complaints was not a statutorily protected activity. read more »

Washington, D.C.'s Paid Sick Leave Law Advances

[5/7/2008] New Washington, D.C., legislation providing mandatory sick leave to all employees in the District has passed Congressional review. The D.C. Council expects the "Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008" to become law on May 13, 2008, and its provision to go into effect six months later. read more »

New Jersey Supreme Court Expands Individual's Right to Privacy

[5/1/2008] The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that Internet users have a constitutional right to privacy with respect to subscriber information they provide to Internet service providers. The Court in New Jersey v. Shirley Reid held that law enforcement officials may obtain such information only by... read more »

Non-Compete Agreements Automatically Became Property of Successor Company, Tennessee Court Holds

[4/30/2008] When the owner of a meat processing company changed his business from a sole proprietorship to a corporation, his assignment of all business assets to the new entity automatically included the non-compete agreements entered into years earlier with two independent contractors... read more »

SOX Applied to Employee Working Overseas

[4/30/2008] As the contingent of globally-mobile employees increases, the issue of whether American law, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, applies to American employees while working overseas is receiving greater attention by the courts. Generally, there are two key inquiries: read more »

Existing Shift Rotation and Swap Policy for Title VII Religious Accommodation May Be Insufficient

[4/30/2008] An employer's existing shift-rotation system and voluntary shift-swap policy alone may not constitute a reasonable accommodation for employees asserting they are unable to work on certain days due to their religious beliefs, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania has found. read more »