How much porn at work is OK to watch? We hope your policy is zero. And as this lawsuit shows, the reasons for taking that policy seriously don’t just include cutting down on distractions and keeping the focus on work.…
Employment Law
Idaho’s highest court negated a lower court ruling that said a doctor’s noncompete agreement could not be enforced. The case was sent back to the lower court for further proceedings. Dr. Donald Blaskiewicz, who is a highly trained neurosurgeon, was…
Is it possible for a noncompete agreement to survive death? It would be a tall order for a party who dies to thereafter violate a noncompetition agreement the party entered into while alive. But that doesn’t mean that the death…
Hostile environment? Some employers might think a single comment can never create an illegally hostile work environment. Those employers would be dead wrong. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (which covers Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas) just joined other…
Plaintiffs asserting a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) must walk a fine line. On the one hand, they must show in their ADA lawsuit that they have a “disability” within the meaning of the statute. That means they generally must prove…
When a new hire provides federally-required Form I-9 documentation that indicates they're authorized to work in the U.S., how do you know that it's legitimate? This question becomes even more critical for E-Verify-enrolled employers hiring remote employees when in-person verification…
A worker death led to a finding by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) that an employer should pay $177,453 in penalties. OSHA said the employer, a pallet manufacturer in Wisconsin, committed multiple safety violations. It added that there…
A new ruling from a federal appeals court is a victory for an employer and a sharp blow to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The Fifth Circuit appeals court partially vacated a prior NLRB order, including portions of the…
Here’s a cautionary tale showing how expensive retaliating against employees can be. An employer in Rhode Island threatened and then fired an employee who filed an OSHA complaint. This prompted the DOL to open two investigations and file a lawsuit,…
Out-of-state hiring compliance lets you tap into new talent but comes with complex rules HR must follow. Mistakes on taxes or registrations can quickly become costly. If your team isn’t prepared, the risks grow fast. Here’s what you need to…
Unlawful age discrimination can take many different forms – including policies that don’t flat-out say they discriminate based on age but have the clear effect of doing so. Here’s a case in point: A school district in Illinois was found…
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court’s ruling that an employer cannot exclude gender-affirming coverage for a transgender plan participant under its employee health insurance plan. But the full court then decided to rehear the matter. Transgender employee comes out…
With respect to FMLA leave, sometimes a question comes up as to whether leave was properly requested. That's where the duck test can come in. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck,…
A jury ruled in favor of a claustrophobic employee who said his employer unlawfully neglected to reasonably accommodate his condition when it put him in an office with no window. Robert Turco was a senior project manager for Zambelli Fireworks,…
Getting hurt shouldn't cost you your job. A federal district court in Oregon has ruled that the U.S. Postal Service should pay more than $141,000 to a probationary employee who was terminated shortly after she reported a workplace injury. The…
