On December 5, 2014, the Southern District of New York in Berman v. Neo@Ogilvy, No. 14-cv-523, ruled that an employee who complains internally about securities law violations does not qualify as a “whistleblower” under the...more
As federal agencies dole out record-breaking awards to tipsters (such as the SEC’s recent $30 million award), whistleblower programs remain a topic of public interest. Earlier this month, The New York Times published an...more
The national sick leave trend continues to gain momentum as voters in Massachusetts, Trenton and Montclair, New Jersey, and Oakland, California approved ballot initiatives requiring employers within each jurisdiction to...more
Four New Jersey municipalities—Passaic, Paterson, Irvington, and East Orange—recently enacted ordinances requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees....more
Four More New Jersey Cities Enact Sick Leave Laws -
Four New Jersey municipalities—Passaic, Paterson, Irvington, and East Orange—recently enacted ordinances requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to their...more
The ARB upheld a damages award in favor of a whistleblower after his former employer purportedly “blacklisted” him by providing an apparently negative employment reference to a prospective employer. Timmons v. CRST Dedicated...more
10/16/2014
/ Blacklist ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Former Employee ,
Reference Checks ,
Retaliation ,
Trucking Industry ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Hazards
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decided that a whistleblower who did not “voluntarily” provide information to the SEC was nonetheless eligible to receive a monetary award of $400,000. The whistleblower’s...more
Tennessee's governor recently signed three new employment laws. The first, a social media law, takes effect on January 1, 2015, and provides applicants and employees with social media protections similar to those in fifteen...more
In a first-impression decision, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska recently ruled that an employee who disclosed information about potential securities law violations to FINRA may qualify as a...more
The New York Court of Appeals recently ruled that a whistleblower need not plead the specific “law, rule or regulation” that the employer purportedly violated to state a cause of action under the New York whistleblower...more
On April 29, 2014, David Michaels, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, testified before the U.S. Senate subcommittee of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions regarding...more
In Thompson v. Real Estate Mortgage Network, No. 12-3828, 2014 WL 1317137 (3d Cir. Apr. 3, 2014), the Third Circuit adopted a standard of successor liability that will lower the bar for whether an employer can be held...more
5/7/2014
On April 8, 2014, Governor Scott Walker signed Wisconsin Act 208 to prohibit employers from requiring or requesting that prospective and current employees disclose usernames and passwords for their personal Internet accounts....more
OSHA recently released the interim final text of regulations implementing the whistleblower protection provision (Section 1057) in Dodd-Frank. The interim final regulations establish the timing and processes for handling...more
In what appears to be an alarming trend for employers, the Chicago Tribune recently reported that a former Chicago State University employee was awarded $3 million after a Cook County, Illinois jury found that the University...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published (for public comment) a draft strategic plan, which sets forth its goals and objectives for fiscal years 2014 through 2018. The SEC’s “strategic objectives” include:...more
To be eligible for leave under New Jersey's Family Leave Act (FLA) or the Security and Financial Empowerment Act (SAFE Act), an employee must have been employed for at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,000 base hours...more
2013 was a busy year for whistleblowing and retaliation law in New Jersey. This blog post summarizes noteworthy statutory and judicial developments for employers to consider in the new year....more
1/16/2014
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Compliance ,
Discrimination ,
Domestic Violence ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Gender Equity ,
Retaliation ,
Sick Leave ,
Social Media Policy ,
Whistleblowers
On Friday, January 10, 2014, Governor Cuomo signed into law the New York State Commercial Goods Transportation Industry Fair Play Act (the Act). The Act amends the New York Labor Law to create a presumption that any person...more
2013 was a busy year for employment law in New Jersey. This newsletter summarizes noteworthy developments in ten key areas—social media, the Law Against Discrimination ("LAD"), whistleblowing, background checks, drug and...more
1/13/2014
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Arbitration ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender Equity ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Leave ,
Passwords ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
The ARB recently ruled that an employer advancing an after-acquired evidence defense in an AIR 21 whistleblower case must prove the defense by clear and convincing evidence. Clemmons v. Ameristar Airways, Inc., ARB No....more
In Ostrowski v. Con-way Freight, Inc., No. 12-3800, 2013 WL 5814131 (3d Cir. Oct. 30, 2013), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed that an employer may discharge a driver sales representative ("DSR") who...more