General Blog
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 20, 2014 decided the case of Lane v. Franks, and made a ruling that the First Amendment protected an Alabama community college worker, who was fired after testifying against a former state legislator. In a unanimous decision, the high court held that Edward Lane, the former director of a program for at-risk children at…Read More
Noncompete Clauses–California and other states Colette Buser couldn’t understand why a summer camp withdrew its offer for her to work there this year. After all, the 19-year-old college student had worked as a counselor the three previous summers at a nearby Linx-branded camp in Wellesley, Mass. But the company balked at hiring her because it feared that Linx would sue…Read More
Religious Freedom, Free Speech, or Hate Speech? Who is Right? A fired editor-in-chief slapped an Iowa newspaper with a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint Wednesday, claiming he had been terminated for airing his Christian beliefs in a personal blog post that reportedly accused the “Gaystapo” of trying to change the Bible. Bob Eschliman, who lodged discrimination and retaliation allegations…Read More
Employees Who Overheat Can Cool off on the Employer’s Dime New this year, California’s Labor Code has expanded to provide for one additional hour of pay when an employee requires a “recovery period” (i.e., short breaks in the shade when working outdoors in high temperatures) up to one hour of paid time off. Although recovery periods themselves are not new,…Read More
McDonalds May be Liable for Franchisee labor practices. The National Labor Relations Board has notified McDonald's Corp. that it may face unfair labor practices allegations as the “joint employer” of workers at franchised restaurants, the fast-food giant said Tuesday. A decision by NLRB general counsel Richard Griffin's office authorized a number of unfair labor practices complaints from McDonald's workers to…Read More
Tips for Employers: Preventing Employee Internet Abuse Employers who don't do enough to regulate their workers' on-the-job Internet use aren't just inviting bad behavior — like pornography viewing or social media harassment — but may also be opening the door to civil lawsuits and even criminal charges, if they let a rogue employee go completely off the rails. Misuse of…Read More