|
Managing the Modern Workplace, June 13, 2019
When you are an employment lawyer who represents management,
most of your clients are businesses that have human resources departments. From
time to time, however, I am cornered by friends at ball games or cocktail
parties who have questions about the individual caretakers who assist them in
managing their house, children, and garden, or, for example, the home health
aides who might take care of their parents.
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, June 11, 2019
On June 3, 2019, in Fort Bend County v. Davis, the Supreme Court held that federal courts can hear discrimination claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, even if the worker alleging discrimination did not bring those claims first to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) or an equivalent state-level workplace discrimination body.
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, June 6, 2019
If you’ve never heard of a heat policy, you might not think that it
could be relevant to your company. But with
the rapidly evolving world of human rights law, you may need to think again if
your employees, or the workers within your supply chains at home or abroad, operate
in high-temperature environments.
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, June 4, 2019
We are all concerned when we send an employee to a location where we know that the work circumstances and living conditions may not be the safest. However, we should also be concerned about those expatriates who have been working in locations that were considered safe when they were first given the foreign assignment.
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, May 30, 2019
The last time a client of mine received a “No-Match” letter was in 2012, so I was somewhat surprised when multiple clients received letters from the Social Security Administration in only the last few weeks. Apparently, my clients were not alone.
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, May 28, 2019
Listen to your gut when an employee who had access to confidential information leaves your company. Were they vague on their next steps? Is there a chance they’re going to work for a competitive venture?
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, May 23, 2019
My disappointment with the Game of Thrones’ finale on Sunday night was greatly alleviated by the news on Monday morning that a bill amending the Texas anti-SLAPP law is on its way to the governor’s office. This amendment to the Texas Citizens Participation Act (the anti-SLAPP law) – should it be signed into law by Gov. Abbott – explicitly says that the TCPA does not apply to a legal action arising from an employer-employee relationship (among other relationships) that seeks to recover for trade secrets misappropriation, or seeks to enforce a non-compete or non-disparagement agreement.
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, May 21, 2019
While employment lawyers like myself — and the EEOC — have long cautioned employees against automatically asking job applicants about their criminal history, few companies would think twice (absent advice of learned counsel) about asking “Have you ever been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor?” on their standard job application forms.
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, May 16, 2019
The SEC recently sought to have Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, Inc., held in contempt because Musk tweeted that “Tesla made 0 cars in 2011, but will make around 500k in 2019,” followed by a second tweet in which he wrote “Meant to say annualized production rate at end of 2019 probably around 500k, ie 10k cars/week. Deliveries for year still estimated to be about 400k.”
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, May 14, 2019
The battle over the gig economy continues on the West Coast. The Ninth Circuit in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc., held that the California Supreme Court’s test to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee, has retroactive effect.
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, May 9, 2019
A few months ago, I was having lunch with a good friend who — although she is not an employment lawyer — likes to get my thoughts on current workplace issues. As we ate our pizzas, my friend wanted to talk about the Millennial receptionist at her office who had showed up earlier that morning having dyed her hair bright pink.
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, May 7, 2019
There is growing pressure on public companies to disclose information about their employees. At the end of March, for example, the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee recommended that the SEC recognize the significance of human capital management and incorporate disclosures about employees in the SEC’s standard disclosure requirements.
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, May 2, 2019
I recently heard a story about a company that created a new division as a result of a technology advancement and ran into a problem –– a “wall,” if you will. The problem was that, in its nascent state, the technology that was going to be used by this new division had been previously “owned” by the IT department.
|
|
|
Environmental Blog
As has been reported on in the past, federal agencies with oversight over offshore regulated activities, including oil and gas exploration and production operations, continue to increase the maximum civil penalty amounts they may assess for violations of applicable law, with the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) being the latest agency to do so.
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, April 30, 2019
What if companies and firms made flexible work mandatory for all? What if everyone was given a “shift” to work and knew that otherwise, they were not to respond to the constant emails or calls, but rather could rely upon their “shift relief” to answer? Would the result be a more fair workplace for all with equality in opportunity and compensation?
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, April 25, 2019
When most employers think about arbitration with their employees, they think about arbitrating the claims of one employee at a time.
|
|
|
Glencore PLC, the British-Swiss multinational trading and mining company, is one of the latest to commit to take steps in line with investor initiative Climate Action 100+.
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, April 23, 2019
As a gay man and an employment law specialist, I have long been interested in the issue of whether Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination also protects employees from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
|
|
|
Climate Change Blog
On April 12, 2019, S&P Global Ratings (S&P) announced the launch of “ESG Evaluation,” a new benchmark designed to evaluate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.
|
|
|
Managing the Modern Workplace, April 18, 2019
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a new pilot program to speed up discretionary suspensions and debarments of individuals and contractors “from months to days.”
|
|