A recent decision of the National Labor Relations Board provides employers with a reason to carefully evaluate disciplining employees who make negative comments about their company’s products. Specifically, on 3/25/2016, the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed an NLRB decision that a Jimmy John’s franchisee violated the employee rights of six employees when it fired
EEOC Issues Fact Sheet to Help Small Businesses Comply with Federal Employment Laws
To help small businesses comply with their employment law obligations, the Small Business Task Force, established by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), recently issued a new simplified, one-page fact sheet. The fact sheet is focused on assisting small business owners to understand their responsibilities under federal anti-discrimination employment laws. The EEOC’s fact sheet,
Michigan Supreme Court Rejects Expansion of Whistleblower Protection of Employees
Remember the movie Minority Report starring Tom Cruise? The premise of that movie was that in the future a special police task force (the “pre-crime division”) could identify wrongdoers who would go on to commit crimes and charge them before those unlawful acts actually occurred. A similar science fiction plot recently made its way to
Job Applicant’s Lawsuit under Fair Credit Reporting Act Barred by Statute of Limitations
Employers in Michigan and surrounding states conducting background reports on job applicants received a favorable decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals when it comes to limiting liability for claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The decision was issued on February 18, 2016, in the case Rocheleau v. Elder Living Constr., LLC
Whistleblower Protection – Not So Much if You Ignore the Time for Filing the Claim
Procrastination can be an employer’s best friend when it comes to employment discrimination lawsuits. This is especially true for claims under Michigan’s Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA). This is because Michigan’s WPA has one of the shortest statutes of limitations (i.e., the time in which a lawsuit must be filed) under any employment-related law. That limitation
Noncompetition Agreements – Impediment to Employee Mobility and Innovation?
The Wall Street Journal, by Aruna Viswanatha, recently asked whether Noncompete Agreements Hobble Junior Employees. Spoiler alert — they do. According to the Journal:
Noncompete agreements—common in computing and engineering jobs, where proprietary technology can be at stake—are spreading to other industries and stretching further down the corporate ladder. Labor-law experts say some
Religious Accommodations in the Workplace and Chinese New Year
Today marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year, which is also known as the Spring Festival. Traditionally and especially in China, this celebration last 15 days. This festival is also a celebration that involves both cultural and religious elements. For this reason, it is an excellent backdrop for discussing an employer’s obligations on
Does Your Company Need An Employee Probationary Period?
What do airplane life vests and probationary employment periods have in common? Both are ubiquitous in their respective context, both are often useless, and they may even do more harm than good.
Let me explain; the Wall Street Journal’s Scott McCartney recently wrote an article, “An Airplane Safety Measure That’s Not Much Use.
Courts Continue to Narrow Application of Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Against Former Employees
While it is far from settled, the trend under the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act continues towards narrowing the application of the CFAA in the context of the employer/employee relationship.
Specifically, a federal district court in Colorado concluded that the federal computer fraud statute was not violated by departing employees and contractors who, during
“Reasonable Accommodations” and “Undue Hardship” Defenses – It Comes Down to Money
A recent case involving the Americans with Disabilities Act offers employers an opportunity to consider two frequent issues under this statute: What is a reasonable accommodation and what must an employer show to establish an “undue hardship” defense to providing such an accommodation.
The case, Searls v. Johns Hopkins Hosp. (1-21-16), resulted in the