So You Want A Bigger Office? Showing Complaining Employee the Door Is Costly
The newest in what is expected to be a long line of new cases to be filed under the revised ADA is the “cubicle case.” A worker at the University Medical Center in Nevada was fired for being unable to...
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Child Porn Found In the Workplace: Affirmative Duty to Report
Misbehaving by sending inappropriate text messages, or by striking up inappropriate internet relationships is not limited just to politicians. A hazard of our ever-present connection to the internet...
View ArticleEarth(quake), Wind and Fire. Will You Be Ready If Disaster Strikes?
What a week we just had in Virginia! An earthquake, a hurricane with flooding, and swamp fire smoke all in one week. If last week didn’t convince you to review, or prepare for the first time, a...
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THE NLRB POSTER Much Ado About Nothing or a Sea Change in Employee Relations?
As has been widely reported, The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a final rule on August 25, 2011 requiring all employers subject to the NLRB jurisdictional standards to post an 11 x 17...
View ArticleDon’t Let Your Internship Turn Into A Black Swan
With over two years of recession, jobs have been closed for many, particularly new college graduates. Many of these eager graduates are willing to work for nothing “Just to get the experience.”...
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Drafting Non-Competes Is Risky Business
For those of you who draft, work with and seek to enforce restrictive covenants, pay particular attention to the recent November 2011 Virginia Supreme Court decision in Home Paramount Pest Control...
View ArticleSupervisors Could Be Personally Liable for Leave Interference
In a case decided in late August, Weth v O’Leary, a federal court in Virginia sent a wake-up call to all public employer supervisors when it held that the Treasurer of Arlington County could be held...
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Feds Hang Up On Commercial Drivers
In a continued effort to reduce accidents from distracted driving, the federal government has banned as of January 3, 2012, all commercial motor vehicle drivers from using hand-held mobile phones while...
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Cat’s Paw Decision Puts Fable in Employment Law
Reflecting back over the last year, perhaps one of the most interesting employment cases involved “The Cat’s Paw” fable about the perils of allowing oneself to take action without regard to...
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Background Checks – Minefield For The Unwary
Pepsi’s $3.13 million settlement with the EEOC over an overly broad background check policy should cause all employers who use such checks to re-evaluate their policies. While background checks can...
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Two New Employer Requirements!
NLRA Poster. No later than April 30, 2012, most private sector employers will be required to post a notice advising employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The notice,...
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How Will You Welcome Home Our Veterans?
On May 1, 2012, President Barack Obama made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan during which he and Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement. The Agreement spells out...
View ArticleSpeaking of Website Accessibility
We’d like to thank the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce - and in particular Mary Garber – for asking Annemarie Cleary and myself from Sands Anderson and Christian Munson and Dave Hess from...
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Worker Classification Scrutiny Intensifies for Employers
The news for employers hasn’t been pretty this week. The Society of Human Resource Managers reports that the G-man, in the form of a Department of Labor (DOL) investigator, may show up unannounced at...
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Employers Who Have Nothing Nice to Say Should Say Nothing at All
With high unemployment rates comes increased demand on human resource departments to provide employee references. Even though many employers increasingly shield themselves from providing insight into...
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$60 Million and Counting – Lessons from Penn State
On July 23, the NCAA imposed severe monetary and participation sanctions on the Penn State football program with the purpose of bringing about a cultural change at the school. Penn State hit with...
View ArticleBeware EEOC’s Broad Power: Protect Your Trade Secrets
With EEOC complaints on the rise, employers should take note of a recent opinion reminding them that the EEOC may access “virtually any material that might cast light on the allegations against the...
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Computer Abuse and Use: How Protected Are You?
If your company policies don’t adequately define employee parameters of computer access as well as usage, then your company may find itself losing to disgruntled employees who take or misuse company...
View ArticleLayoffs Are on the Rise Again – Are Your Documents Updated?
This past week Richmond-headquartered Fortune 500 company Genworth Financial announced that it would lay off about 400 positions in a cost-cutting move. Shortly after that announcement, in discussions...
View ArticleBlack Swan interns are employees, not trainees
Summer brings an annual invasion, in thousands of businesses and in nearly every line of work, of a horde of talented, eager new interns. They’re eager to pad resumes and make contacts. Their new...
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