Publications

New York Requires Notice of Electronic Monitoring. It has long been a best practice for employers to include in their employee handbooks a provision putting employees on notice that their use of company computer, phone and email systems is subject to employer monitoring. New York now has made such notice mandatory, amending the state’s Civil […]

Happier New Year in Philadelphia – City Bans Marijuana Testing. Philadelphia’s ban on pre-employment marijuana testing took effect January 1, 2022. The ordinance prohibits pre-employment marijuana testing as a condition of employment. Big exhale for a lot of job seekers out there. Employers and employees should know, however, that the law does not make for-cause

New Jersey’s Minimum Wage Increases to $13/hour. Effective January 1, 2022, the New Jersey minimum wage increased to $13 per hour for most workers. The rate will climb to $15 by January 1, 2024. Most employees have minimum wage protection under the law, but there are exceptions, including automobile salespersons, outside salespersons, and minors under

Lawyer Working Primarily on Secretarial Duties Entitled to Hourly Pay Under FLSA. From the facts reported in a Rhode Island lawsuit, Sebren v. Harrison, the law firm run by Casby Harrison, III, was not a great place to work. Sarah Sebren started there as a secretary/paralegal and was paid only for hours that the firm

NLRB on the Offense: College Athletes Will Be Viewed As Employees. The National Labor Relations Board’s new General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, has made clear that the Board will take the position going forward that, where appropriate, college athletes should be considered and classified as employees and not merely as “student-athletes.” She quoted Justice Kavanaugh’s concurring

In case you missed it, a jury in California this month awarded Owen Diaz the electrifying amount of $137 million in his race discrimination suit against Tesla Inc., including $6.9 million for emotional distress and a walloping $130 million in punitive damages. Diaz put on evidence at trial of repeated use of the N-word at

In-house Counsel Beware – Not All Comments Are Privileged. A recent federal court decision in Michigan serves as a warning to in-house counsel that not every legal opinion that radiates from their hallowed lips is blessed with the protections of attorney-client privilege. ” In Schankin v. Commercial Steel Treating Corp., the record revealed that the

Courts Going to the Dogs – in a Nice Way. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that trial courts may allow “comfort dogs” for witnesses at criminal trials, holding it was not error for a trial court to allow a child with autism to have such an animal at his feet during his testimony. In

Demographic changes in the United States may lead to more varied claims of race discrimination in employment, especially with regard to employees who come from the growing population of mixed-race families. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the “multiracial population” of the nation surged 276 percent in the past decade, up from 9 million people

Drafting Error Lets Employee Terminate Non-compete. A financial advisor’s employment agreement stated that she could not compete for a one-year period “following the termination of [her] employment for whatever reason.” Unfortunately for the employer, a separate provision in the agreement gave the employee the right to nullify the restriction, stating that “[e]mployment is at will”