A media company salesperson has failed in her bid for a declaration that her noncompete with her former employer is invalid. The defendant employer was entitled to summary disposition because there was no actual controversy over whether the agreement could ...
Read More »Discipline and discharge: Best practices for avoiding costly litigation
Disciplining and terminating employees are realities of doing business, but by adhering to certain practices, employers can help reduce the risk of costly litigation. Discipline or termination (often referred to as “adverse employment actions”) can give rise to allegations of ...
Read More »The ins and outs of no-poach provisions
No-poach provisions are agreements that prohibit one company from hiring another company’s employees. This article addresses whether no-poach provisions violate applicable antitrust laws, and more specifically, the conditions under which no-poach provisions are legal. No-poach provisions are often horizontal restraints; ...
Read More »Employer must produce attorney’s investigation documents
A federal court judge has ordered a town that retained an attorney to investigate an employee’s hostile work environment complaints to respond to discovery requests about the investigation. Plaintiff Jennifer Berry Brown brought claims under Title VII and the Family ...
Read More »Unlawful retaliation in the workplace
Anti-retaliation laws safeguard basic rights afforded to workers. They ensure that workers can complain in good faith about violations of their rights to the government or their employers without fear that they will be disciplined or fired. State law may ...
Read More »Lawyers offer businesses advice on planning for succession
Business owners may be so busy running their companies that they don’t stop to consider what the future might hold if they weren’t there. Owners, however, can exercise control over what that picture will look like — as they contemplate ...
Read More »Status of the new Phase I environmental site assessment standard
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) recently updated its standard for conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (Phase I). This ASTM standard specifies what constitutes “good commercial and customary practice for conducting an environmental site assessment of a ...
Read More »EEOC adds nonbinary gender option
Individuals making complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) can now select a nonbinary “X” gender marker during voluntary self-identification questions. Making the announcement on Transgender Day of Visibility, the EEOC indicated it will allow employees filing discrimination claims ...
Read More »As COVID-19 persists, so do disputes about vaccinations
Here are seven key takeaways from a recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission webinar about vaccinations. Stay vigilant when it comes to vaccination disputes 30 percent of all COVID-19-related EEOC charges filed by employees since April 2020 involved a vaccine dispute, ...
Read More »OSHA introduces program to combat workplace heat hazards
Federal officials are embarking on a new endeavor to protect workers from illness and injury from heat exposure after the Biden administration announced the move last year. The Occupational Safety and Health administration last week introduced its National Emphasis Program ...
Read More »