Legal Updates

Federal Appeals Court Finds Charitable Group Exempt from Title VII Discrimination Prohibition

[8/31/2010] The non-profit organization World Vision is exempt from employees' Title VII claims of religious discrimination, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled. Spencer v. World Vision, Inc. The Court determined that World Vision, an organization not affiliated with any church, may read more »

Employers Have Rights, Too: Eighth Circuit Issues Two Pro-Employer FMLA Decisions

[8/27/2010] The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has issued two decisions just two days apart in favor of employers sued for alleged violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Each case serves as a reminder that while employers have many obligations and responsibilities under the FMLA, read more »

New York's Highest Court to Decide Limits on Solicitation of Former Clients by Business Seller

[8/27/2010] New York courts have long held that a seller of the good will of a business cannot solicit former clients and thus deprive the buyer of the value of the bargain. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit now has asked the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, to read more »

Employers Beware: Internships are Not Free Labor

[8/24/2010] Employers may have their pick of applicants to fill paid and unpaid internship positions this fall. Internships traditionally are sought by college students to gain work experience, but the recession and the resulting loss of jobs have prompted people of all experience levels to apply for read more »

H-1B Cap Not Yet Reached, USCIS Continues to Accept Petitions for FY2011

[8/23/2010] As of August 13, 2010, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received only 29,700 of the 65,000 H-1B non-immigrant visa petitions needed to meet the H-1B regular cap, and just 12,300 of the 20,000 visa petitions needed to meet the U.S. master's degree cap, according to updated read more »

Massachusetts Personnel Records Law Amended to Add Notification to Employees

[8/20/2010] Tucked into the text of new Massachusetts legislation intended to promote job growth and long-term economic recovery is an amendment to the Massachusetts personnel records law that will change employers' responsibilities significantly. The amendment places an affirmative duty on employers to notify read more »

Customer Non-Solicitation Agreement with Employee Difficult to Enforce in Georgia

[8/18/2010] To protect their businesses, employers often seek to contractually prohibit employees from soliciting customers after employment ends. Georgia's appellate courts have long frowned upon covenants in employment agreements that purport to restrict competition. In striking a customer non-solicitation read more »

Ohio Supreme Court to Rule on Public Policy Exception to Employment-at-Will Doctrine

[8/16/2010] The Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to review whether an exception based on state public policy exists to Ohio's long-standing employment-at-will doctrine where an employer discharges an employee injured on the job before the employee has the opportunity to file a workers' compensation claim. read more »

NCAA's New Sickle-Cell Testing Rule: Does it Discriminate Against or Protect Athletes?

[8/16/2010] As the college football season gets underway, the debate on sickle-cell testing of collegiate athletes is making headlines. The NCAA's Division I Legislative Council has approved a new rule permitting voluntary testing of student-athletes to determine if they are carriers of the rare, but read more »

California Supreme Court Affirms No Private Right to Sue under State Tip Law

[8/16/2010] The California law prohibiting employers from taking or sharing in tips left for employees by customers does not give private litigants a right to sue their employers directly for an alleged misappropriation of tips, the California Supreme Court has ruled. Lu v. Hawaiian read more »