In a recent decision, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that the Civil Rights Act protects transgendered employees from discrimination in the workplace. In its ruling, the EEOC said that Mia Macy, a transgendered woman, could proceed with a charge of gender identity discrimination against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Macy claims… Read more »
On April 25, 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its policies on the use of arrest and conviction records when making employment decisions. The updated policy is intended to provide employers with best practices for avoiding discrimination based on race or national origin when evaluating the criminal history of current and potential employees. For… Read more »
“The JOBS Act removes the prohibition on general solicitation and advertising in offerings made under Rule 506 solely to accredited investors. Recall that Rule 506 is a safe harbor exemption from registration that most startups use to raise capital. Under Rule 506, a startup can solicit accredited investors and there is no limit to the… Read more »
(Tech Start-Up Legal Issues 3: Guarding Your IP Assets by Bloomberg Law) It is often said that the success or failure of a technology startup can hinge on the protection of its intellectual property. But tech startups are not the only businesses with IP concerns. In today’s digital age, all small business owners and entrepreneurs… Read more »
“… the [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)] stated that it received 99,947 discrimination charges against private sector employers in FY 2011… Charges alleging retaliation under all of the statutes the EEOC enforces accounted for the highest overall percentage of private sector complaints received (37.4%), followed closely by race discrimination complaints (35.4%). Claims of religious discrimination,… Read more »
“In recent months a number of interns have sued their former employers, claiming that they should have been classified as employees for purposes of state and federal wage and hour laws. The plaintiffs in these cases – who were not paid while serving as interns – are seeking to recover wages for all hours worked,… Read more »
Employers cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for failing to keep accurate injury or illness logs may have obtained a reprieve. Earlier this month, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled in Secretary of Labor v. AKM LLC d/b/a Volks Constructors that OSHA’s practice of citing employers for not recording… Read more »
[Link: NLRB Posting Rule Delayed Again, Will We Ever See Resolution? - LXBN] On April 17, 2012, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued an emergency injunction blocking the implementation of the National Labor Relations Board’s much-debated poster rule. The reason: too many issues to sort through before the planned April… Read more »
Featured video of the day, from law firm Allen Matkins: [link: Roadmap to Maximizing the Value of Your Private Company] “How a company is viewed from the outside is crucial for financing, attracting investors or selling the company. Owners of private companies are often disappointed at the value their company is assigned by potential buyers.… Read more »
There are business and legal reasons for having a document retention policy, writes law firm Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green PA: “[Information retention/destruction] plans help companies remain organized and efficient as irrelevant or stale information is discarded making it easier to find relevant and pertinent information. Reducing the volume of information reduces storage costs both… Read more »
Just when you thought it was safe to put up the poster… On Friday, April 13, 2012, the US District Court for South Carolina struck down the National Labor Relations Board’s notice posting rule. The ruling will likely lead to another postponement of the April 30 deadline for displaying the National Labor Relations Act employee… Read more »
Want to avoid getting hit with a wage and hour lawsuit? Follow these ten recommendations from law firm Venable for paying your non-exempt employees for all hours worked. Because the Fair Labor Standards Act rules on compensable time can be complex and confusing: “… in order to calculate the amount of money a non-exempt employee… Read more »
[Video: Brinker: California Supreme Court Clarifies Standards for Meal Period Rules - Steps Employers Should Take Now - by Allen Matkins] On April 12, 2012, the California Supreme Court ruled in Brinker Restaurant Group v. Superior Court of San Diego that while employers are required to provide meal breaks to employees, they need not ensure… Read more »
The California Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited decision today in Brinker Restaurant Group v. Superior Court of San Diego, finding that employers are responsible only for providing lunch breaks to employees, not for making sure employees take them. From law firm Allen Matkins: “… the Supreme Court made three particularly significant pronouncements: (1) an… Read more »
A recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act does not apply to the theft of data by an employee might leave business owners and HR managers scratching their heads. In US v. Nosal, the Ninth Circuit ruled that David Nosal could not be prosecuted under the CFAA for… Read more »
