As I take a few days off, here’s a post from WAY back in 2009 about offer letters that you may have missed. With employers doing more hiring in 2013, it takes on added relevance. In my series of the “basics” of various employment laws (see prior installments here,here and here), this week the topic is offer… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: employment
Secrets of the ABA Labor and Employment Law Annual Conference
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Labor Law & NRLB, Litigation, Manager & HR Pro’s Resource Center, Social Media, Wage & HourThe American Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Law Annual Conference is going on right now in Atlanta, Georgia. As I’ve recapped on this blog before (here, for example), there are some terrific programs and educational opportunities there. I wasn’t able to make it down this year, but due to the wonders of technology, I’ve been… Continue Reading
The September Employment Law Blog Carnival – The Bronx Bombers Edition
Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) ComplianceFor those who are uninitiated, each month an employment law blog hosts a “carnival” with links to various posts from other blogs with a theme typically attached. Candidly, it’s a relic from a bygone era before social media made sharing easy. But a carnival is a carnival (and my thanks to Eric Meyer of… Continue Reading
CHRO Proposes New Equal Employment Opportunity Plan Regulations & Hearing
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Laws and RegulationsThe Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) has released proposed new regulations that would require state agencies and the like to create an Equal Employment Opportunity Plan. These regulations would not apply to private employers so many of you can dispense with the worrying. The proposed regulations will replace the current ones. The CHRO… Continue Reading
The NLRB’s Obsession with Social Media Continues
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, Social MediaA confession. I’m a little tired about writing about social media and labor law. Perhaps you are a little tired about reading about it too. Unfortunately for us both, expect a lot more about it over the next years because the National Labor Relations Board has social media in its sights and its not letting… Continue Reading
What Are My Favorite “Work” Songs On My iPod? Steve Jobs Knows.
Posted in Featured, Highlight, Human Resources (HR) ComplianceI’ve been meaning to write a post about work songs since I started this blog. (In fact, back in 2008, I noted that I would write about it in an upcoming post. Three years later…) But it never felt important enough. Too frivolous. Just a simple post about songs. I was thinking about that again… Continue Reading
Court Approves Expedited Appeal for Decision Mandating Exotic Dancers Arbitrate
Posted in Class Actions, Litigation, Wage & HourLast month, I discussed a very notable decision in D’Antuono v. Service Road Corp. in which the federal court — relying in part on the Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility — ordered two exotic dancers to arbitrate their employment-related claims. A few days ago, the same district court allowed the dancers to take an… Continue Reading
Can You Take a Joke? Caselaw Indicates Most People Can
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationAs I’ve done for other holidays (see prior posts here and here) , I was fully prepared today to warn of the dangers for employers of April Fools Day. Google, for example, has an announcement on a new way to communicate today. But alas, in all of Westlaw, I could only find two cases in… Continue Reading
BREAKING: U.S. Supreme Court Allows “Cat’s Paw” Theory of Liability in Discrimination Cases
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationTime and again, pundits suggest that the U.S. Supreme Court now is among the most conservative in decades and, by extension, pro-business. If that’s the case, they’re going to be awfully surprised with today’s 8-0 ruling in Staub v. Proctor Hospital (download here) in which the court broadened the methods that an employee can use… Continue Reading
Time to Modernize Workplace Laws: What Aspects Can Be Updated?
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceLet’s go back to 1935. You remember that time, right? Well, in 1935, Babe Ruth retired from baseball. A gallon of gas cost 10 cents. Igor Sikorsky was still working on developing the helicopter in Connecticut. And we were still 10 years away from even ideas like Dick Tracy’s Two-Way Wrist Radio. It was also… Continue Reading
Is The Incredible Hulk Covered Under the ADA?
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceDecember is a notoriously slow time when it comes to employment law news. Sure, there’s the NLRB’s announcement today that it is proposing a new rule that would require all employers to put up a posting about labor rights. There’s also word that the DOL is seeking comment on issues relating to reasonable break time for… Continue Reading
CBA Sponsors Employment Law Related Programs For Public and Member Service
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Labor Law & NRLBThe Connecticut Bar Association continues its resurgence in providing both public service and member service with three terrific upcoming programs. Improving Employment Through Chocolate First, the CBA and its Young Lawyers Section have partnered for a charity event where you can have your chocolate and eat it too! In doing so, it will bring employment… Continue Reading
ABA Labor & Employment Law Conference Kicks Off Tomorrow; Great Materials Now Available
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceThe American Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Law Section kicks off its annual conference tomorrow in Chicago and, by all accounts, it appears its going to be bigger and better than ever. Over 1300 people have registered for the conference, and the programming looks first-rate, with NLRB Chair Wilma Liebman, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, and various… Continue Reading
Paid Administrative Leave is Not an “Adverse Employment Action”
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationNot everything that happens in the workplace can give rise to a viable discrimination or retaliation claim. Various courts have emphasized that there must be an "adverse employment action". Otherwise, a claim will go nowhere. But what exactly IS an adverse employment action? A new federal court case in Connecticut — in borrowing from judicial dictum… Continue Reading
What Employers Can Learn From Linda McMahon’s Booking Contract with WWE
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceWith the campaign for U.S. Senate winding up in Connecticut soon, there’s been lots of chatter about Linda McMahon’s role with the WWE. I’ll leave it for others to analyze political issues arising from her relationship with the WWE, if any, but her relationship with the company provides an interesting backdrop to talk about independent… Continue Reading
This Week in Social Media & Employment Law: Facebook Privacy Settings, Stored Communications Act, Social Media Policies
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Social MediaAs social media continues to dominate the world — or at least conversations about employment law – there are a few notable posts that are worth delving into this week that explore the topic further. Forbes blogger Kashmir Hill (formerly of Above the Law) has a good piece on whether privacy settings matter on Facebook… Continue Reading
Employment Discrimination Complaints at CHRO Up Slightly in 2009-2010
Posted in CHRO & EEOCThe conventional wisdom in a down economy is that employment discrimination claims will skyrocket. While there have been some indications of that at a national level, the numbers in Connecticut tell a very different story. The state agency in Connecticut responsible for investigating discrimination complaints recently released its annual report (download here) for the fiscal… Continue Reading
Court Holds that Anti-Solicitation Provision of Former Employee Not Violated “Indirectly” By New Employer
Posted in LitigationMy colleague, Jonathan Orleans, chips in this week with a guest post on a recent Connecticut case about some of the restrictions that employers try to place on departing employees: Post-employment covenants not to compete and not to solicit frequently include language that prohibits the former employee from “directly or indirectly” engaging in certain… Continue Reading
Attorney for Former DOT Commissioner: Looking Into Possibilities
Posted in Discrimination & HarassmentYesterday, I commented on the ongoing drama between the state and the former DOT commissioner, who’s departure late last month sparked questions from reporters about the circumstances of his resignation. This morning, I spoke to Richard Hayber, the attorney for the outgoing DOT commissioner about the matter. He provided me with a copy of a press release… Continue Reading
When a Storm Hits, What’s an Employer to Do In Connecticut?
Posted in Laws and RegulationsUPDATED 6/25/10 This afternoon, Bridgeport Connecticut either had a pretty bad microburst, or a tornado. The National Weather Service has yet to make that determination, though having been right in the middle of it, it sure SEEMED like a tornado, with "whiteout" conditions. (UPDATE: The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado touched down in Main… Continue Reading
“For Any Reason or For No Reason” – The Language of an At-Will Employment Relationship
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceTake a look at your employment-at-will language right now in your employee handbook or offer letter. (I’ll wait; if you can’t find it, you’ve got larger issues than the one I’m about to discuss). It probably says something like this: Your employment with the Company is on an “at-will” basis. This means that you have… Continue Reading
The True Cost of Employment Litigation
Posted in LitigationLately, the concept of how much a employment litigation costs has come up time and again — whether in providing budgets to clients, or discussing settlement, or in the context of managing a case. And the fact is that for employers, defending an employment matter in state or federal court has gotten very expensive…. Continue Reading
Will Blumenthal’s Departure from Attorney General’s Office Have an Impact on Employers?
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsThe big news in Connecticut this morning has to be the retirement of Senator Chris Dodd and the announcement by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal that he will seek that seat. This is most definitely NOT a political blog so I’ll leave it to others to figure out the political ramifications. But what has yet to be… Continue Reading
DOJ’s Civil Rights Division Expected to Ramp Up Enforcement
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Discrimination & Harassment, Laws and RegulationsSince Attorney General Eric Holder took over the U.S. Department of Justice, there’s been some question as to what the strategy would be for the Civil Rights Division. Today’s New York Times gives the answer — Renewed Enforcement on all sorts of discrimination laws, including the laws affecting the workplace: As part of this shift,… Continue Reading
About Daniel Schwartz
Trusted advisor. Experienced employment law attorney. Bar leader. Award-winning author. Noted Speaker. "Legal Rebel". All can be said to be apt descriptions of Daniel Schwartz, a member of Pullman & Comley. More +
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