[WEBINAR] Preparing for Changes in the “Vested Rights Doctrine” - Understanding Plan Design Options
[VIDEO] Legal Update: Is the California Rule in Flux?
[VIDEO] Pension Liability by the Numbers
[VIDEO] Perspectives: The Practical Effects of Today's Pension Programs
Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we see there’s a controversy over cannabis use and gun ownership by police officers in Jersey City, New...more
For decades, courts in the Fifth Circuit have followed a particularly strict rule limiting when employees can sue under Title VII for workplace discrimination. That changed last Friday....more
An Alberta labour arbitrator found an employer was justified in firing a unionized employee for just cause for his off-duty sexual assault of a co-worker. In Corporation of the City of Calgary v Amalgamated Transit...more
On June 30, the Third Circuit ruled that Allegheny Port Authority’s (Port Authority) policy prohibiting political and social adornments on employee uniforms is likely unconstitutional....more
No good deed goes unpunished - Little did City of Durham Police Sergeant Michael Mole' know, in his first crack at negotiating on his own the surrender of an armed and barricaded suspect, that he would be fired because he...more
Minnesota employers will be heading back to the drawing board to revise their handbook disclaimers. The Minnesota Supreme Court now requires specific language in policies that set out the terms and conditions for payment of...more
Freedom of Speech. Most Americans seem to agree it is the most fundamental of rights guaranteed under the Bill of Rights, and many are quick to cite their First Amendment protections whenever faced with unpleasant...more
On October 6, 2020, in Bennett v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville, No. 19-5818, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed a district court’s decision in favor of a public employee who claimed that the city...more
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Bennett v. Metro. Gov’t of Nashville, recently addressed the issue of whether a public employee’s use of a racial slur when discussing politics on Facebook is sufficiently protected by...more
Carr v. PennDOT, 2020 WL 2532232 (Pa. 2020) (Pennsylvania Supreme Court sustains the termination of employment of a public employee for a social media post). Background - The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation...more
I am currently bingeing my way through HBO’s Silicon Valley after not having watched the show for several years (I’ve always found it entertaining enough, but life, you know?). The series chronicles the experiences of a small...more
Illinois Public Act 101-0221 (Public Act) creates extensive and significant new protections for employees and imposes new obligations on all Illinois employers. This Holland & Knight alert identifies unique requirements...more
The New Jersey Appellate Division recently affirmed a decision of the Civil Service Commission imposing a ten-day suspension on a Mercer County Correction Center (MCCC) Officer for failure to attend mandatory harassment...more
On October 15, 2019, the New Jersey Civil Service Commission (“CSC”) distributed a uniform Domestic Violence Policy (“Policy”) which all New Jersey public employers must follow. As defined in the enabling legislation, public...more
In this era of social media, it has become quite common for employees to post information online about their personal lives, their political views, and information related to their jobs. Social networks have increasingly...more
Early on Saturday, March 31, 2018, the New York State Legislature passed a budget bill that includes several changes and additions to workplace sexual harassment law. Governor Andrew Cuomo applauded the measure as the...more
The New Jersey Attorney General has issued new directive requiring all law enforcement agencies in the state to conduct random drug testing. The guidelines now make all officers subject to drug testing, whether they are...more
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that employers pay time-and-a-half overtime to all non-exempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek. Employers who fail to pay overtime may be liable for both the...more
Police officers in Petersburg had a First Amendment right to post to Facebook their complaints about their police department. A department policy limiting social media postings was unconstitutional. So held the U.S. Court...more
The Supreme Court of Connecticut recently held, by a unanimous decision, that termination was not the only appropriate disciplinary action for a public employee who had been caught smoking marijuana during working hours. In...more
Following termination stemming from a positive drug test for marijuana, a Native American female, appearing pro se, filed a federal lawsuit against her former employer, Mohave County’s Public Works Department. She alleged...more
Federal Agency's 19th Annual Premier Training Event to Take Place Aug. 18-21 in San Francisco, CA - WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that registration is now open for...more
In recent administrative actions, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken the position that regular attendance is not an essential job function under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The agency views...more
In the modern world, employees routinely receive work-related data on personal mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, and access personal data on work-owned devices. ...more
In the context of analyzing a Title VII Civil Rights and Massachusetts law “disparate impact” claim, a federal court has cast considerable doubt on the efficacy of statistical tools employed in “disparate impact” analysis. In...more