Defend Trade Secrets Act Becomes Law -
Why it matters -
Passed by an overwhelming majority of the federal legislature, the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) became law with President Barack Obama's signature on May...more
5/19/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Misappropriation ,
NLRB ,
Posting Requirements ,
Private Right of Action ,
Rounding ,
Section 7 ,
T-Mobile ,
Trade Secrets ,
Transgender ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
Regulatory Whack-a-Mole: A Renewed Focus on Non-Hazardous Waste Recycling -
Why it matters -
In part due to a string of high-profile enforcements in multiple states, retailers by and large have evaluated the need to...more
3/18/2016
/ COLA ,
Comparative Advertising ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Kohls ,
Lyft ,
Made in the USA ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
Opt-Outs ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Recycling ,
Retailers ,
Settlement ,
TCPA ,
Text Messages ,
TTB ,
Waste Disposal
Eye on the Courts: IP Cases for Retailers to Note -
Why it matters -
Retail companies have closely monitored a series of cases from the U.S. Supreme Court on down, which have focused on IP matters covering induced...more
1/23/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Class Action ,
Copyright ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Labeling ,
NLRB ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Trolls ,
Patents ,
Retail Market ,
Right of Publicity ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks
In this month's highlights, a federal court rules that insurance coverage was triggered for the defense of garment hang tag "advertisements" in a trademark/copyright and unfair competition lawsuit…the California Supreme Court...more
12/15/2015
/ Advertising Substantiation ,
Amazon ,
Apple ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Credit Card Surcharges ,
Duty to Defend ,
Fake Reviews ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
NARB ,
NLRB ,
Nordstrom Inc. ,
Popular ,
Search & Seizure ,
Social Media ,
Termination ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Wage and Hour
NLRB Goes One Step Further, Holds Optional Waiver of Class Action Arbitrations Illegal -
Why it matters -
Reiterating its stance against arbitration agreements that prohibit class or collective actions, a panel of...more
12/14/2015
/ Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
IBM ,
NLRB ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
California Updates Data Security Laws -
Why it matters:
The first state to enact data breach notification legislation, California has now updated Civil Code Section 1798.82 with three new bills signed into law by...more
11/17/2015
/ Background Checks ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
Class Action ,
Comparative Advertising ,
Credit Card Surcharges ,
Data Security ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
NAD ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Nordstrom Inc. ,
On-Call Employees ,
Sex Discrimination ,
USERRA ,
Volkswagen
Following California, New York Toughens Equal Pay Law -
Why it matters:
Following in the recent footsteps of California, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the Achieve Pay Equality Act, providing greater...more
11/13/2015
/ Age Discrimination ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
GINA ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Mach Mining v EEOC ,
Motion to Compel ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Media ,
Termination ,
Wellness Programs
Take the Cure: New California Law Permits Corrections of Wage Statement Violations -
Why it matters:
Employers may want to review their wage statements after Governor Jerry Brown signed a new law that permits them...more
10/19/2015
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Bias ,
Confidential Information ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Email ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Retention ,
Employee Training ,
Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Faragher/Ellerth defense ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
Independent Contractors ,
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress ,
Internships ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Code ,
Negligent Hiring ,
New Legislation ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Protected Class ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Right To Cure ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Summary Judgment ,
Supervisors ,
Title VII ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Verizon ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements
The Customer Isn't Always Right—Especially When He Harasses Employees:
Why it matters -
Providing an important reminder about the potential for liability from customers, a new lawsuit was filed against a supermarket...more
8/21/2015
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Age Discrimination ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Form I-129 ,
H-1B ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Section 7 ,
Sexual Harassment ,
USCIS
U.S. Supreme Court Permits Narrow Review of EEOC Conciliation Process -
Why it matters:
The U.S. Supreme Court handed a victory—albeit limited—to employers when it determined that courts may consider the...more
5/14/2015
/ Class Action ,
Conciliation ,
Dress Codes ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Harassment ,
Internal Reporting ,
Mach Mining v EEOC ,
NLRB ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
SCOTUS ,
Security Checks ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
To Accommodate or Not to Accommodate? U.S. Supreme Court Weighs in on Pregnant Employees -
Why it matters:
The U.S. Supreme Court decided the first of two major employment law cases this term when a 6-3 majority of...more
4/21/2015
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Facebook ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Obscenity ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Union Related-Speech ,
Whistleblowers ,
Young v United Parcel Service
U.S. Supreme Court: Security Screenings Not Compensable -
Why it matters: In a closely watched case, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule that the time spent by...more
1/26/2015
/ Amazon ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
FEHA ,
Integrity Staffing v Busk ,
Internet Retailers ,
NLRB ,
On-Call Employees ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retailers ,
SCOTUS ,
Security Checks ,
Wage and Hour
State Voters Pass Paid Sick Leave, Wage Increases -
Why it matters: The polls have closed and the votes are in: The midterm elections will have a significant impact on employers across the country as voters in multiple...more
11/21/2014
/ Arbitration ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Facebook ,
Halliburton ,
Independent Contractors ,
Iskanian ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Sick Leave ,
Social Media ,
Trucking Industry ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs
EEOC Sues Over Transgender Discrimination -
Why it matters: In its first cases alleging bias against transgender employees, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed suit against a Florida eye clinic and a...more
10/20/2014
/ Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
IRS ,
NLRB ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Media Policy ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Wage and Hour
California Enacts Paid Sick Leave -
Why it matters: Employers in California must now provide three paid sick days per year for workers, pursuant to a new law going into effect on July 1, 2015. The controversial...more
9/19/2014
/ Ban the Box ,
Cell Phones ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FedEx ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Applicants ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Reimbursements ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
Sick Leave
High Court’s Fall Docket Includes Major Employment Issues -
Why it matters: While the 2013-2014 U.S. Supreme Court term may be over, the justices have granted certiorari in two major employment cases slated for the...more
7/24/2014
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Certiorari ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
FEHA ,
Mining ,
NLRA ,
NLRB
Recess Is Over: Supreme Court Strikes NLRB Appointments -
Why it matters: Striking a blow to the President and the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Supreme Court held that three recess appointments made by...more
7/10/2014
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Canning v NLRB ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Facebook ,
LGBTQ ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Recess Appointments ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS
Appellate Court Tosses Employee’s Seating Suit -
Why it matters: An employer won a rare victory in a suitable seating case when a California appellate court affirmed summary judgment in a suit brought by a sample...more
California Employers Face Rise In PAGA Suits -
Why it matters: California employers are facing a proliferation of suits filed under the State’s Private Attorney General Act (PAGA): new data reveals that the number of...more