Civil Rights › Communications & Media Law

Workplace Harassment Benchmark Survey

Executive Summary - NAVEX Global, the world’s largest provider of workplace ethics and compliance solutions, conducted a survey of 500+ ethics and compliance business professionals to identify trends in broader...more

Can the Government Search Your iPad or iPhone at the Border?

Can the United States search your laptop, camera, iPhone/iPad, or other devices at the border? Read this article on the Fourth Amendment rights and exceptions....more

NJ Court Upholds OPRA Denial Over Personnel Records

NJ Court Upholds OPRA Denial Over Personnel Records by Sheri Siegelbaum on May 13, 2013 The Appellate Division recently sided with the Office of the Governor in a dispute over records requested under the New Jersey Open...more

Contractors: Is Your Company’s Web Site Accessible to Individuals With Disabilities? (OFCCP Thinks It Should Be)

In December, 2011, the Office of Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) caused much consternation among the federal contracting community by publishing proposed changes to the affirmative action and nondiscrimination...more

Naffe v. Frey, et al.

Ruling DISMISSING Complaint under FRCP 12(b)(1) and Section 1983 claim under FRCP 12(b)(6) with Prejudice, etc.

Per Kenneth White, blogger at Popehat.com: http://www.popehat.com/2013/04/19/victory-for-blogger-patterico-in-free-speech-case/ : "Patrick Frey, also known as Patterico, has been living under the cloud of a frivolous,...more

Twitter: Employee Who Complained about Sexual Harassment via Twitter Fired

Adria Richards is a self-described “endlessly enthusiastic technology evangelist.” While attending a large technology conference in Santa Clara, California, Ms. Richards overheard two men sitting behind her making a series...more

Naffe v. Frey, et al.

Reply Brief in Support of Motion to Dismiss First Amended Complaint for Failure to State a Claim (FRCP 12(b)(6))

In his Renewed Motion to Dismiss (“the Motion”), Mr. Frey established that the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) fails utterly, as did its predecessor, to meet the standards required to sustain a lawsuit under Fed. R. Civ. P....more

Boarding School Review, LLC v. Delta Career Education Corp.

Order GRANTING Plaintiff's Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6)

Plaintiff operates a website called Community College Review. It received multiple cease and desist letters, which escalated in the severity of their threats, from counsel for certain institutions about which routine,...more

Telecommunications Companies Release Guiding Principles on Freedom of Expression and Privacy

The Telecommunications Industry Dialogue, a group of eight telecommunications companies, recently published a set of Guiding Principles on freedom of expression and privacy. Originally formed in 2011, the Industry Dialogue...more

New York City Council Overrides Mayor Bloomberg’s Veto And Passes Law Prohibiting “Unemployment” Discrimination

New York City will soon become one of only a handful of jurisdictions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of “unemployment” status and, in doing so, has adopted arguably the most stringent such law in the United States....more

Enforcement Increases: Firm to Pay $27,750 for Discriminatory Job Postings

Florida healthcare staffing company, Avant Healthcare Professionals LLC, has agreed to pay $27,750 to resolve charges by the U.S. Department of Justice that the company posted discriminatory job advertisements on the...more

In Clapper v. Amnesty International, Supreme Court Dismisses Privacy Suit for Lack of Article III Standing: Poses a Clear and...

In 2008, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was amended, broadening the surveillance powers of the federal government with respect to communications outside of the United States. In Clapper v. Amnesty...more

Closed Captioning Reminder: Starting March 30, 2013, Video Programming That Is or Was Aired Live or “Near Live” on TV Must Be...

The time is drawing near for the next phase of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements implementing the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) for closed-captioning video programing...more

Restricting Outside Communications; How Far Can You Go?

On January 25, 2013, the National Labor Relations Board held that DirecTV's employee handbook contained unlawful rules restricting employees from communicating with media representatives and law enforcement officials and...more

FCC Reminds Advanced Communications Services Providers and Equipment Manufacturers of CVAA Recordkeeping Obligations and...

Recently, the FCC issued a Public Notice reminding the providers and equipment manufacturers of advanced communications services (ACS) of their obligation to maintain records evidencing their efforts to comply with the...more

President Obama's Executive Order: "Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity"

Full text copy of President Obama's executive order calling for greater protections against cybersecurity risks, as mentioned in his Feb 12, 2013, State of the Union address. The order is meant to bring more security and...more

Employers Can Discipline Employees For Certain Social Media Activity

A handful of cases handed down by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has left employers wondering whether they have any rights at all to regulate, monitor and discipline employees for what they post on Facebook and...more

Dynamic Year Expected in Labor and Employment Law

President Obama's re-election, a newly active NLRB, and important decisions pending before the Supreme Court promise to make 2013 an interesting year in labor and employment law – domestically and internationally. Here is a...more

Indiana Sex Offender Social Website Ban Law Is Unconstitutional

An Indiana statute prohibiting most registered sex offenders from using social networking websites is unconstitutional because it is an overly broad infringement of First Amendment rights. The Indiana law prohibited...more

To Be Judged Not By the Color of Their Skin, But By the Content of Their Legal Briefs

[Ed. Note: In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we'd like to re-run one of our favorite seasonal blog posts, thereby honoring Dr. King's legacy not only as a visionary and civil rights leader, but also as a copyright...more

Employment Law Newsletter - January 2013

In This Issue: - The Definition of “Supervisor” Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Who Owns Your Twitter Account? - Excerpt from Who Owns Your Twitter Account? Do you have a Twitter...more

Naffe v. Frey, et al.

Brief in Support of Motion to Dismiss First Amended Complaint for Failure to State a Claim (FRCP 12(b)(6))

From the Introduction: This is a motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint (“FAC”). In moving to dismiss the first Complaint filed in this action, defendant John Patrick Frey (and former defendant Christi Frey)...more

Justice Department Settles ADA Claims against Debt Collector

A recent Department of Justice settlement with a debt collection law firm that was accused of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act exemplifies the mounting federal scrutiny of the debt collection industry....more

Highlights Of 2012 HR Happenings

The 2012 election, the Supreme Court's health care ruling and the infamous fiscal cliff certainly provide plenty of implications for employers. But there were a host of other developments that flew under the radar and merited...more

A Three Course Meal For The New Year

Happy New Year. So much has happened while you spent the holidays undoubtedly velobinding and wrapping the 2012 archives of this blog for your friends and loved ones. So I thought I’d welcome everyone back by updating some...more