Buoyed by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year, employer health plans are aggressively attempting to recoup money from beneficiaries who receive third-party payments. In May 2006, the Supreme Court ruled in a case involving a Maryland couple that a ...
Read More »New SEC rule curtails shareholder proxy access
With the 2008 proxy season approaching, companies and their shareholders are keeping a close watch on how a new rule on proxy access adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission will play out.
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Finding value with law-firm networks
Read More »Justices slam EEOC practices in discrimination ‘charge’ case
During a recent oral argument over whether an “intake questionnaire” submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission constitutes a “charge” of discrimination, justices of the U.S. Supreme Court blasted the agency for inconsistent practices that seem to leave both employers ...
Read More »Admissibility of ‘me too’ evidence in employment cases considered
The U. S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether an employee suing for alleged age discrimination can introduce evidence of discriminatory conduct by company managers who supervised other employees, but not the plaintiff. The case, Sprint/United Management Co. v. Mendelsohn, ...
Read More »High court weighs FDA preemption
The U.S. Supreme Court will weigh in on an issue that Congress, pharmaceutical companies and plaintiffs’ lawyers have been watching closely: Whether the approval of a medical device by the Food and Drug Administration precludes state tort claims arising from ...
Read More »Employee handbook binding despite unilateral changes by employer
Employee handbooks, policies and guides are a double-edged sword for employers. They are important vehicles for employee relations. They are also effective in communicating corporate expectations and culture. However, if not carefully written and presented, such communications can also form ...
Read More »The future is now: XBRL is coming your way
XBRL is coming. It is not expensive. It will improve governance. It will increase transparency. It is endorsed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Is there anything familiar about this picture? Does this sound something like the original take on ...
Read More »Requiem for the employment-at-will doctrine?
Even though employment-at-will may be the dominant legal paradigm, any employer who discharges an employee today risks exposure to significant defense costs and potentially large jury verdicts. Perhaps the time is ripe for a comprehensive legislative wrongful discharge statute, the author argues.
Read More »‘Common interest agreements’ in patent cases: Clear or cloudy?
If privileged information is disclosed to a third party who shares a “common legal interest” with the client and that person agrees to keep the information confidential, the privilege might not be waived. Agreements to share privileged information with persons ...
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