I hope this won't ruin your Labor Day weekend. The employer-unfriendly decisions from the National Labor Relations Board have been coming fast and furious. In honor of the holiday, here's a short recap. As you probably...more
In Stericycle, Inc. vs. Teamsters Local 628 (August 2, 2023), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted a new and more stringent legal standard for determining whether a work rule is overly restrictive, finding that...more
On August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a decision in Stericycle, Inc., in which they adopted new rules for evaluating whether the policies related to employee conduct in employee handbooks...more
The National Labor Relations Board swung to a Democratic majority after the 2020 election of President Joe Biden. That majority has been almost continually dismantling standards established by the Republican majority Board...more
The NRC recently issued its Allegation Program Annual Trends Report, analyzing regional, national, and site-specific allegation trends for calendar year 2021. The report’s top-line numbers show that allegations increased...more
A New Lawsuit Against Trump’s Section 230 Executive Order Argues It Chills Speech about Voting - "The suit accuses the president of using the order to retaliate against Twitter, infringing on the public's right to receive...more
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Decoded , Spilman's e-newsletter focusing on technology law, including data security, privacy standards, financing technologies, and digital-based means of conducting business. When it comes...more
Last summer, I wrote an article titled “The Crisis of Free Speech on Campus: Not Fake News,” which commented on the growing intolerance of free speech on college and university campuses that has resulted in incidents of...more
One of the ways that our Association engages in advocacy on behalf of the legal profession is through amicus briefs. One of our members, Jessica McElfresh, was charged, along with a client, of various felonies under...more
Sixth Circuit awards attorneys’ fees to False Claims Act defendant against the U.S. government in case involving underpayment of Davis-Bacon Act wages. ...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) created controversy a couple of years ago when it ruled that handbook policies maintained by T-Mobile USA requiring employees to maintain a positive work environment were illegal...more
It was a memorable 42nd season for Saturday Night Live, bookended by oddly compelling versions of “Hallelujah” by Kate McKinnon’s Hillary Clinton and Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump. It has not been such a good season for the...more
...The internet has forever changed the way information is shared. The rapid-fire online patter produces comments and information that could be both helpful and harmful to an employer and its employees. On the one hand, such...more
On March 10, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2017 ("LARA") by a vote of 230–180. 163 Cong. Rec. H2025-03, H2025. The bill seeks to undo the 1993 amendments to Rule 11 of the...more
Facebook is the latest social media giant to push back on law enforcement efforts to seek user information. On Tuesday, the New York Court of Appeals heard oral argument in a case focusing on whether Facebook has the...more
Despite the high heat of summer, two federal courts have blown a chill wind through the law of online defamation. The courts gave the green light to libel suits over alleged implications from stock or file photos illustrating...more
In American Beverage Association v. City and County of San Francisco, No. 3:15-cv-03415-EMC, decided on May 17, 2016, Northern District Judge Edward Chen denied a preliminary injunction against enforcement of a San Francisco...more
On June 29, 2016, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Loretta Lynch in her official capacity as the United States Attorney General to challenge the constitutionality of a provision of the Computer Fraud...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has provided clear signals that the unique, patient-centric environments of general hospital and medical centers—and even surgical services and perianesthesia departments—will not...more
For the past few years, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been on the warpath over employer personnel policies (and in turn, we at Labor & Employment Law Perspectives have missed few opportunities to point out the...more
Abington Heights School District (Case No. PERA-C-11-221-E) (Pa. LRB 2015) (Decided December 15, 2015). A Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board hearing examiner determined that the District was permitted to openly discuss...more
The Supreme Court passed on an opportunity to review a recent appellate court decision holding that a video game publisher is not protected by the First Amendment for using the likenesses of former NFL football stars in the...more
In September, we discussed In re Tam and the potential for a showdown over the constitutionality of Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act. At that time, a panel of the Federal Circuit had recently upheld the PTO’s refusal to...more
What do Washington D.C.’s NFL team, the Redskins, and Mr. Tam’s rock band, The Slants, have in common? Both have enjoyed unexpected victories recently and both have been called “disparaging” by the Patent and Trademark Office...more
In Whole Foods Market, Inc., 363 NLRB No. 87 (Dec. 24, 2015), a divided three-member panel of the NLRB ruled that an employer’s blanket rule prohibiting workplace recording of conversations, phone calls, or images with a...more