Civil Remedies, Labor & Employment Law, Criminal Law

Go Directly to Jail - Directors & Unpaid Wages

by Joseph Masterson | Lerners LLP on 5/24/2013

The liability of officers and directors of corporations for unpaid wages to employees is not a new concept. The Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) in Ontario also provides for fines that can certainly drive the intended...more

Fenwick Employment Brief - May 2013: Software Programmer Criminally Charged For Hacking Former Employer's Network

by Daniel J. McCoy, Dan Ko Obuhanych | Fenwick & West LLP on 5/16/2013

The federal Department of Justice recently filed criminal charges against a 41-year old software programmer and system manager who hacked into his former employer's computer network, causing $90,000 in damage. The complaint...more

Wage and Hour Compliance Checklist - How to avoid class actions and prepare for a government audit

by D. Michael Reilly | Lane Powell PC - Labor & Employment Law on 5/2/2013

Will Rogers once said, “Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else.” Employee wage and hour class actions and government audits are never funny. Just ask the president of a sheetrock company sentenced in...more

Recent Multi-Million Dollar Whistleblower Jury Awards — A Wake-Up Call For Employers

by Rachel Fischer, Michael Graham, Harris M. Mufson, Steven J. Pearlman | Proskauer - Whistleblowing & Retaliation on 4/16/2013

In what might be an unsettling trend for employers, juries in Philadelphia and Anchorage have recently issued multi-million dollar jury awards in favor of whistleblowers. Specifically, on March 22, 2013, a Philadelphia Common...more

Federal Law Provides Enhanced Trade Secret Protection for Employers

by David Johnson | Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens and Cannada,... on 4/12/2013

Most people know that an employee who misuses his employer’s confidential information may be subject to damages in a civil lawsuit. Many states have enacted a Uniform Trade Secrets Act that allows an employer to pursue a...more

Patton Boggs Insights - December 2012: Enforcement: $950,000 Settlement In Crandall Canyon Mine Accident

by Patton Boggs LLP on 1/11/2013

The Crandall Canyon Utah coal mine operator agreed to pay $949,351 to settle civil penalties MSHA levied following an accident in 2007 that took the lives of . six miners, followed by the deaths of three additional personnel,...more

German Federal Labor Court Dismisses 46 Million Euro Claim for Unlawful Solicitation of Employees

by Ulrich Wahlers | Orrick - Global Employment Law Group on 1/9/2013

The solicitation of employees by competitors is a frequent problem for companies in Germany. Many companies actively pursue a so-called “war for talents” and sometimes unlawful means are used for the purpose of soliciting...more

Company Director Jailed For Ontario Employment Standards Violations

by Blair McCreadie | Dentons on 1/4/2013

A director of six Ontario companies has been sentenced to 90 days in jail after those companies systematically ignored orders to pay wages issued by the Ontario Ministry of Labour. The Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000...more

Proposed Cloud Computing Act of 2012 Would Aid Employers

by Beth P. Zoller | XpertHR - Partnered with LexisNexis on 11/16/2012

Employers should be aware that the Cloud Computing Act of 2012 was recently introduced in the US Congress as an amendment to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). +2012 Bill Tracking S. 3569. It would aid employers by...more

High Court May Rule on Computer Law Question

by Nick Akerman on 10/3/2012

On July 26, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit became the first circuit to adopt the Ninth Circuit’s holding in U.S. v. Nosal, 676 F.3d 854 (9th Cir. 2012), that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act does not...more

$60 Million and Counting – Lessons from Penn State

by Sands Anderson PC on 7/24/2012

On July 23, the NCAA imposed severe monetary and participation sanctions on the Penn State football program with the purpose of bringing about a cultural change at the school. NCAA President Mark Emmert stated “the...more

$200,000 Criminal Safety Fine for Company, $90,000 OHSA Fine for Director in Deaths of 4 Workers

by Dentons on 7/17/2012

We recently reported that Metron Construction had pleaded guilty to criminal negligence in respect of the Christmas Eve 2009 deaths of four workers who fell 13 floors when a suspended work platform collapsed. On Friday,...more

Compensation Awards in Sexual Assault Cases - Case Summary #2

by Emily Da Silva, Elizabeth K.P. Grace | Lerners LLP on 6/14/2012

M.B. v. 2014052 Ontario Ltd. (Deluxe Windows of Canada), 2012 ONCA 135 M.B. moved to Canada in 2002 and began working at Deluxe Windows of Canada (“Deluxe Windows”) in December 2003 as a commissioned salesperson. She...more

Tackling Internal Fraud: Weeding Out The Enemy Within

by Michael Diaz Jr. - Diaz Reus International... on 6/5/2012

Advancements in technology have made fraudulent schemes easier to perpetrate, and have allowed criminal activity to expand in both quantity and nature. Today, corporate fraud is limited only by the creativity of the...more

Legal Alert: Denial of Workers' Comp Claim May Form the Basis of RICO Claim

by FordHarrison on 4/20/2012

The Sixth Circuit has held that a group of transportation workers have a property right in their entitlement to workers' compensation benefits under Michigan law, and that the denial of their workers' compensation claims may...more

The 9th Circuit: Employees Are Free to Steal from the Company Computers

by Nick Akerman on 4/11/2012

Yesterday the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion holding that limiting an employee’s access to the company computers solely for business purposes, i.e. not stealing the data for a competitor, cannot be the...more

Company computer policies risk becoming obsolete -- Policies must reflect new laws and court decisions on data theft, social...

by Nick Akerman on 4/8/2012

Have your client companies’ policies kept pace with changes in the law affecting computer technology? New statutes and court decisions relating to computer technology affect every business. Many companies overlook...more

Sexual Assault on Employee by Supervisor: Employer and Supervisor Liable for $620K

by Dentons on 3/22/2012

The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a jury award of $470,000 in damages, plus a costs award of $150,000, against an employer and a supervisor for the supervisor’s sexual assault of an employee. The employee, a...more

The Rise of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Case

by Fenwick & West LLP on 3/21/2012

Major changes are in the works for the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), 18 U.S.C. § 1030. In the past ten years, the CFAA has moved from obscurity into the limelight as Congressional amendments drastically increased its...more

Seventh Circuit Revives Whistleblower Claim Brought Under RICO

by Littler on 1/23/2012

A new federal court ruling creates an avenue for employees to rely on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) to pursue retaliation claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). RICO was originally...more

Holding Passwords Hostage - International Extortion Foiled

by Nick Akerman on 1/19/2012

In a case recently filed by a Swiss company in federal court in Florida, the company alleged in its complaint that Jerome Westrick, its former computer programmer and minority shareholder, stole a company laptop, hacked into...more

Editor’s Choice: Top Five Legal News Stories of the Day

by Lawyers.com on 12/30/2011

Here are some news items we thought would interest you. • Parents win record-setting $150 billion over son’s injuries, death. For Robert Ray “Robbie” Middleton, the fun and happiness that comes with a birthday didn’t...more

After Last Week’s Oral Argument Will the 9th Circuit Reverse Its Decision that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Applies to...

by Nick Akerman on 12/20/2011

On December 15, 2011, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard argument en banc in the case of U.S. v. Nosal, 642 F.3d 781 (9th Cir. 2011), reh’g en banc granted (Oct. 27, 2011). As expected, the oral argument focused on the...more

After Last Week's Oral Argument Will the 9th Circuit Reverse Its Decision that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Applies to...

by Nick Akerman on 12/19/2011

On December 15, 2011, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard argument en banc in the case of U.S. v. Nosal, 642 F.3d 781 (9th Cir. 2011), reh’g en banc granted (Oct. 27, 2011). As expected, the oral argument focused on...more

Suing Employees for Computer Fraud Gets Easier

by Nick Akerman on 11/7/2011

Four recent decisions handed down by four different federal courts of appeals during the past year have, in combination, greatly enhanced the ability of businesses to use the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) as a tool to...more

Home

Legal News

Find a Lawyer

Browse Subjects

Subscribe

Pro Services

For Reporters

Civil Remedies › Labor & Employment Law › Criminal Law