I admit I am addicted to Starbucks coffee, particularly the concentrated brew that I can get for extra money on the Clover machine at my local joint. My husband insists I have a store locator chip in my brain (this before I had my i-Phone app with the actual – and BRILLIANT – store locator).
The Fisherman and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
This case, Yates v. United States, is outside our usual employment law zip code, but it’s such a wacky one, it lured us in. It involves a fisherman who failed to preserve, as evidence, undersized fish that he had caught in violation of federal law. A federal agent found the undersized fish during an
Singing the Contract Blues
Sometimes court decisions read like blues songs. Such is the case with Dolan v. McQuaid.
Effie Dolan and Christopher McQuaid met in 1997 and fell in love. Eventually they were engaged to be wed. It is unclear whether Chris bought Effie a diamond ring. They did, however, acquire a Diamond Car Wash and Effie
What Inflatable Rats Are Doing At Picket Lines
Do you wonder why a large inflatable rat stands nearby when a union is picketing? In the building trades, “rat” is a term that unions sometimes use to refer to a non-union contractor. A union typically sets up its inflatable rat (or, in some cases, a skunk) at its picket line at a site (e.g.,
Compensatory Time for Employees?
If an employee asks for time off from work rather than pay for overtime hours worked, can a company grant this request?
It depends. Generally, overtime is due whenever an employee who is not overtime exempt works more than 40 hours in a workweek. (A few states require the payment of overtime if an employee
Another Appellate Court Finds President’s Recess Appointments to NLRB to be Invalid
Yesterday, the U.S. Court of the Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the NLRB lacked jurisdiction to take action where it lacked three Board Members who had been properly appointed. In NLRB v. New Vista Rehabilitation and Nursing, a majority of the panel held that President Obama’s appointment of Craig Becker to the
Ex-Employees Accessing the Company’s Computer System
A departing employee accesses the company’s computer system on his way out without authorization and takes data. What remedies can the company pursue?
The company can contact law enforcement officials, as that conduct likely constitutes a crime. In addition, the company can file a civil complaint in court against the ex-employee, asserting claims such as
Electronically Monitoring Employees?
What should a company consider in deciding whether to engage in electronic workplace monitoring of employees?
Companies, concerned with the abuse of workplace technologies, are increasingly considering electronic monitoring programs. Motivating considerations include the prospect of liability for sexual harassment lawsuits arising from inappropriate emails or web site usage, concerns about employee transfers of proprietary
At-Will Disclaimers and the National Labor Relations Act
Almost every nonunion company’s employee handbook has the standard clause: employment is at-will. This indisputably is a permissible term of employment, right? The answer to that question depends on how the policy is phrased. According to recent pronouncements from the NLRB, if a “reasonable employee” could read such a policy as making unionization futile, then
Maryland Password Protection Law Takes Effect
On October 1, 2012, Maryland’s first-in-the-nation law prohibiting employers from requiring – or even requesting – that employees provide pass codes to personal websites and devices took effect. Colloquially, this is the “Facebook Privacy Right.” Employers that fail to hire an applicant or discipline or discharge an employee for refusing to disclose a personal pass