Civil Rights › Privacy

Judge’s Decision Awaited in NYC Stop and Frisk Trial

Closing arguments wrapped up on May 20 in Floyd v. City of New York, the first trial to spotlight New York City’s controversial “stop and frisk” law enforcement program, which plaintiffs say amounts to unconstitutional racial...more

Minnesota Enacts “Ban the Box Law" Prohibiting Employment Application Criminal History Checkmark Boxes and Restricting Criminal...

Effective January 1, 2014, recent amendments to Minnesota law will restrict the timing of pre-employment inquiries by most private employers into a candidate’s criminal past. Employers who are not exempted from the law may...more

The Legal and Regulatory Landscape for Wellness Plans: The Affordable Care Act and Beyond

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the ‘‘Act’’) generally encourages employers to adopt wellness plans and programs in conjunction with their group health plans. Wellness plan vendors tout these arrangements with...more

Fenwick Employment Brief - May 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

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

Proposed New York City Bill Would Ban Credit Checks from Hiring Process

On April 11, 2013, the New York City Council’s Committee on Civil Rights debated a proposed bill that would ban employers from using credit checks to evaluate prospective employees. The proposed bill, called the Stop Credit...more

Colorado is the Latest and Ninth State to Enact Legislation Restricting the Use of Credit Reports for Employment Purposes

On April 19, 2013, Colorado Governor John W. Hickenlooper signed into law Senate Bill 13-018 (the "Employment Opportunity Act"), which will significantly restrict the ability of Colorado employers to use “consumer credit...more

Colorado Ninth State to Prohibit Credit Checks for Employment Purposes

On April 19, 2013, Colorado's governor signed S.B. 18 to prohibit employers from considering an applicant's or employee's credit history in employment decisions. California, Maryland, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois,...more

Don’t Talk, Don’t Tell

Have you ever been told you are not allowed to discuss your salary with co-workers? Many companies have polices that strictly prohibit it. Often a statement such as this appears in the employee handbook....more

Fenwick Employment Brief - April 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

Prosecutor Claims Milwaukee Police Officers Engaged In A Pattern Of Illegal Conduct

On Thursday, March 21, 2013, a motion hearing occurred regarding the four Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) officers who face charges of conducting illegal strip searches and illegal body cavity searches. During the hearing,...more

Labor & Employment E-Note - April 11, 2013

In This Issue: - States Move to Ban Firms from Seeking Social Media Passwords - Court Overturns NLRB Decision in Collective Bargaining Case - More Unpaid Interns Filing Lawsuits to Receive Compensation - Complaints...more

Scripts - April 2013

In This Issue: - Key Provisions In the Final Omnibus HIPAA/HITECH Rules and What They Mean for You - NLRB and EEOC May Target Employer Efforts to Keep Employees Quiet During Internal Investigations -...more

Take 5 Newsletter: EEOC Update; Intern Wage and Hour Claims; NLRB Quorum; Unemployment Discrimination; Social Media Passwords

EEOC Releases Letter Addressing Wellness Programs and Reasonable Accommodation Obligations - In a letter issued recently by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), Peggy Mastroianni, the agency's Legal Counsel,...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

OCR Wants Feedback From Audited Covered Entities

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is preparing to conduct an online survey of the 115 covered entities it audited in 2012 as part of the HITECH-mandated, pilot audit program. OCR hopes to use the survey results to evaluate...more

European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy publish opinion on the proposed General Data Protection Regulation

Following the lead of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), which already released its draft report (see our prior blog), 20 February, the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and...more

2013 US Labor and Employment Horizon

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

President Obama Signs Executive Order on Cybersecurity

As announced during the 2013 State of the Union Address, President Obama recently signed an Executive Order on cybersecurity. The primary goals of the Executive Order are to (a) improve communication between private companies...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

Capper, Dir of National Intelligence, et al v. Amnesty International USA et al

SCOTUS Dismisses Federal Wiretapping Challenge

Full text copy of Supreme Court's dismissal of lawsuit challenging federal wiretapping program. On Tuesday, February 26, 2013, a divided Court dismissed a challenge to the FISA Amendments Act, which permits federal...more

February 2013 U.S. Labor and Employment Update

In This Issue: - Supreme Court to Address “Changing Clothes” under the FLSA - First Appellate Court Decision on FLSA’s Nursing Mother Provision - Courts Continue Trend in Favor of Class Waivers in Arbitration...more

Full Text: Preserving American Privacy Act (PAPA)

Full text copy of the Preserving American Privacy Act (PAPA) sponsored and introduced by Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-California) and Ted Poe (R-Texas) to "provide for a legal framework for the operation of public unmanned...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

A Detailed Analysis of Changes to HIPAA and the Implications for Healthcare Providers and Others in the Healthcare Industry: GINA

Background: GINA prohibits discrimination based on an individual’s genetic information in both the employment and health coverage contexts. In 2009, HHS published a notice of proposed rulemaking to strengthen the privacy...more