Civil Procedure, Privacy, Labor & Employment Law

Fenwick Employment Brief - May 2013

by Daniel J. McCoy, Dan Ko Obuhanych | Fenwick & West LLP on 5/15/2013

The NLRB's controversial requirement that employers post notices informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (as reported in our January and May 2012 FEBs) has been held unconstitutional by the...more

California Employment Law Notes - May 2013

by Anthony Oncidi | Proskauer Rose LLP on 5/10/2013

Kenneth Hatai sued his employer (CalTrans) and his supervisor (Sameer Haddadeen), alleging discrimination based on his Japanese ancestry and the fact that he was not of Arab ancestry like Haddadeen. The case was tried to a...more

Fenwick Employment Brief: Verbal Disclosure Of Private Facts Actionable

by Sheeva J. Ghassemi-Vanni, Daniel J. McCoy | Fenwick & West LLP on 4/18/2013

A California appellate court expanded the basis for a public disclosure of private facts claim in Ignat v. Yum! Brands, Inc....more

Fenwick Employment Brief - April 2013

by Sheeva J. Ghassemi-Vanni, Daniel J. McCoy | Fenwick & West LLP on 4/16/2013

In Hatai v. Dept. of Transportation, a California court of appeal upheld a trial court's decision to exclude "me too" evidence of discrimination from individuals outside of the plaintiff's protected class, but in doing so...more

New Virginia Law Protects Employees' Personal Identifying Information

by Beth P. Zoller | XpertHR - Partnered with LexisNexis on 4/15/2013

Effective July 1, 2013, Virginia employers will be prohibited from releasing or communicating any personal identifying information of any current or former employee to a third party unless required by a court order, by a...more

Plan’s Funded Status Required to be Disclosed under Freedom of Information Request

by Stephanie Kauffman | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 4/5/2013

Pension plan sponsors may be surprised to learn that information provided to pension regulators pursuant to statutory filing obligations could be more widely disclosed through an “access to information” request. In a recent...more

Public Disclosure of Private Facts: California Court of Appeal Holds that Spoken Words Do Not Disappear Into Thin Air

by Carr, McClellan, Ingersoll, Thompson & Horn -... on 3/25/2013

In a decision surprising only because it has taken so long, on March 18, 2013, the California Court of Appeal in Ignat v. Yum! Brands, Inc., No. G046343 held that the privacy-based tort of public disclosure of private facts...more

More Trouble With Work-Related Social Media Accounts

by John Delaney, Jesse Soslow | Morrison Foerster - Social Media on 3/20/2013

We have written before about cases involving disputes between employers and employees over work-related social media accounts, but a new case out of Arizona federal court raises issues that appear to be unlike those we have...more

BLG Monthly Update March 2013

by Neil Guthrie on 3/18/2013

Fake judgments, fashion law, lots on contracts and privilege in the BLG Monthly Update for March 2013!...more

2013 US Labor and Employment Horizon

by K&L Gates LLP on 3/12/2013

Overview - As a resource to our clients, the Labor, Employment and Workplace Safety team at K&L Gates has summarized major legislative changes and key cases affecting employers in 2013 in certain key states in which we...more

Recent Cases Address Employer Efforts to Protect Confidential Information

by Cherie Blackburn | Nexsen Pruet, PLLC on 2/15/2013

Originally published in SC Bar's Employment and Labor Law Newsletter: Winter 2013 on February 15, 2013 In recent months, both the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over federal cases in North and...more

Canadian Courts Consider Alcohol and Drug Testing in the Workplace

by Bennett Jones LLP on 2/1/2013

The Supreme Court of Canada (in Irving Pulp & Paper, Ltd. v. Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 30) and the Alberta Court of Appeal (in Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, Local 707 v....more

E.D.N.Y. Rules That Private Postings On Social Media Relating To Plaintiff’s Mental State Are Fair Game For Discovery

by Hema Chatlani, Allison Ianni, Caitlin Senff Ladd, Aaron Warshaw | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 1/31/2013

Reid v. Ingerman Smith LLP, No. 12-CV-0307(ILG-MDG) (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 27, 2012): In a sexual harassment lawsuit where the plaintiff sought emotional damages, the defendant filed a motion to compel discovery concerning the...more

Court Allows Discovery of Private Posts on Facebook

by Angela Bosworth on 1/21/2013

Facebook is a seemingly endless source of juicy intel. As such, I always recommend that users lock down their privacy settings if they want to keep “the man” out of their timeline. Public posts are fair game for employers...more

Fourth Circuit Affirms Marital Privilege Does Not Apply To Emails Exchanged Using Employer’s Computer

by BuckleySandler LLP on 1/8/2013

On December 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the marital privilege does not protect information included in emails exchanged via a spouse’s employer-owned computer and network. United States v....more

Federal Courts Continue Grappling With Privacy Issues And Employee Communications

by Beth P. Zoller | XpertHR - Partnered with LexisNexis on 1/5/2013

The federal courts continue to evaluate an employee's right to privacy and an employer's right to monitor employee communications and terminate employees based on those communications, whether under common law, statute or the...more

Employers Won’t Do Jail Time for Snooping Around on Employees’ Cell Phones, But They May End Up Paying for It

by John L. Litchfield | Foley & Lardner LLP on 12/26/2012

Do you ever have that feeling that the cell phone conspicuously pointed in your direction is actually taking your picture? Or, do you worry that a gossipy employee is spreading nasty rumors about you via text messages?...more

Marital Communications are “Essential to the Preservation of Marriage” – Unless Made from a Workplace Computer

by Gil Keteltas | BakerHostetler on 12/14/2012

Communications between spouses are typically accorded a “marital communications privilege” because they are “regarded as so essential to the preservation of the marriage relationship as to outweigh the disadvantages to the...more

Termination for Facebook Posting Does Not Violate State Invasion of Privacy Law

by Maria Greco Danaher | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 11/27/2012

Recent court decisions related to employees’ online postings have centered on whether disciplinary decisions regarding those postings may violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRA protects certain employee...more

Loose Lips Do Not Always Sink Ships—Seventh Circuit Rejects EEOC’s View on ADA Medical Records Rule

by Robert P. Casey | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 11/27/2012

In EEOC v. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (issued on November 20, 2012), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which is the federal appellate court covering Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, ruled that a company did not...more

Court’s Official Recognition of Tort of Intrusion Upon Seclusion Reaffirms Privacy Rights of Illinois Employees

by Franczek Radelet P.C. on 11/8/2012

In Lawlor v. North American Corporation of Illinois, the Illinois Supreme Court formally recognized “intrusion upon seclusion,” a form of invasion of privacy, as a valid claim under state common law. ...more

Taking Control of Former Executive’s LinkedIn Account Found Permissible

by Sherman & Howard L.L.C. on 11/6/2012

In our January 2012 newsletter, we reported on Maremont v. Susan Fredman Design Group, Ltd., a case where a court recognized potential claims under the Lanham Act and/or the Stored Communications Act because an employer...more

Employment Law Update: Recent Cases Address Employer Efforts to Protect Confidential Information

by Nexsen Pruet, PLLC on 11/5/2012

In recent months, both the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over federal cases in North and South Carolina, and the South Carolina Supreme Court have addressed the issue of protecting trade secrets and...more

Constitutionality of Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act Heading to Supreme Court of Canada

by Dentons on 10/26/2012

Today, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal from a decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal declaring the application of Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act to certain union activities during a strike...more

Illinois Supreme Court Adopts Tort of Intrusion Upon Seclusion

by Sedgwick LLP on 10/19/2012

It's not often that you see a trial end in verdicts for both plaintiff and defendant, with both sides receiving awards of not only compensatory but punitive damages against the other. The Illinois Supreme Court heard such a...more

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Civil Procedure › Privacy › Labor & Employment Law