July 2011

There has been significant coverage of the unfair labor practice charges that have been filed by employees who were terminated over their postings made on Facebook, Twitter and other social media applications.  (Examples here, here and here).  The NLRB actions in some of these cases have lead to the belief by some union agents and employee representatives

Verizon agreed to pay $20 million dollars and ceasing using its no-fault attendance policy for  absences caused by impairments qualifying as disabilities under the ADAAA.  Whatever the size of Verizon’s Human Resources Department, it looks like its going to need to be a lot larger.

As part of the settlement with the EEOC, Verizon agreed that

There’s an old saying in rural America that "pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered."  We used the phrase to describe someone who, instead of being satisfied with what he has, gets greedy.  In the litigation context it can be used to describe a party that takes overly aggressive, unreasonable and untenable positions.  My fellow bloggers, Work Blawg

Once the employer makes the decision to terminate the employment relationship with an employee, there is often (or should be) a discussion about when to have the meeting with employee to communicate the decision.  There are two primary schools of thought.  One thought is to communicate the decision at the end of the business day at the end of the workweek. 

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide next term whether it is law enforcement’s warrantless placement of GPS devices on a suspect’s vehicle amounts to an unlawful search or seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment.  The Fifth Circuit has already authorized law enforcement’s use of this warrantless tactic.  Similarly, a New Jersey court has blessed a spouse’s use of GPS

Employment Practices Liability Insurance, or EPLI, is business insurance an employer can purchase that will provide protection from losses caused by certain employment disputes with current or former employees. EPLI is in addition to commercial general liability or umbrella policies that normally contain exclusions for most employment claims.

EPLI normally covers the employer, its employees and executives for

Yesterday, the Congressional Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections heard suggestions on how the FLSA can and should be modernized to better reflect the realities of the 21st Century Workforce.  The following summarizes the suggestions made by business and employer representatives on how the FLSA should be modernized:

  • Update the computer professional exemption by

This morning the Education and the Workforce Committee Subcommittee on Workforce Protections will examine whether the FLSA is outdated in today’s modern workforce.  The hearing is entitled  “The Fair Labor Standards Act: Is It Meeting the Needs of the Twenty-First Century Workplace?”

According to the Subcommittee’s media advisory:

Despite the broad impact of the

This morning the meteorologist advised that our high temperatures in Texas won’t dip below 100 for the foreseeable future.  I’m thankful I heeded my Kindergarten teacher’s (Wanda Kite) advice to avoid anything ending up on my permanent record and I don’t have to dig ditches for a living.  However, many Texans work outdoors everyday in these conditions