Discarded blacklist

President Obama and his EO’s

Remember the Blacklisting Order that required federal contractors to provide a rap sheet with a proposal? No? Well, President Obama issued 275 Executive Orders during his two terms on various subject matters, some of which were fairly controversial, the Blacklisting Order included. Back in 2014, he issued several high-profile executive

business manHow important are the titles “temporary” or “permanent” when it comes to an appointee to run a federal agency? Apparently, very important. On March 21, the U.S. Supreme Court waded back into the messy timeline of President Obama’s attempts to appoint members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Why Are We Talking About President

Business man signing a contract

The NLRB wants to stop class action waivers in employment arbitration agreements, arguing they violate the National Labor Relations Act. This issue has been raging for several years and divided federal courts. As reported in our November 2, 2015, blog post, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a class action waiver in the

US Supreme Court in Washington DC.In this final post in a three-part series on what employers can expect from the new Trump administration, we consider possible Supreme Court nominees and future rulings affecting labor and employment law.

Judicial Appointments

President Trump’s election injects uncertainty into the Supreme Court’s makeup and future rulings, including employment-related cases. Because the Senate did not

Shock the Monkey: Police Officer Photo Post on Social Media Costs Him His JobWhen is a “joke” so not funny that you lose your job? The Mississippi Court of Appeals gave some direction on that question, affirming the City of Meridian’s termination of a police officer for an inappropriate (arguably racist) Facebook posting. While on duty (but on a break), Officer Meador posted to his public Facebook page

Cheerful businesswoman taking paperwork from her colleague in the office.You know that short non-solicitation policy in your handbook that says don’t handout stuff at work that doesn’t have to do with work that you think is clearly legal? Think again. A recent Eleventh Circuit decision agreed with a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) opinion that found a one line non-solicitation policy to violate employees’

West Coast—Time to Check Your Employment Agreements: Ninth Circuit Negates No-Class Action Clause in Arbitration AgreementsThis week, the Ninth Circuit held that Ernst & Young’s (E&Y) arbitration agreement that prohibited its employees from filing class actions violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). E&Y required as a condition of employment that its employees sign an agreement stating that they could not bring any class action or concerted claim regarding wages,

Vive Les Email Liberte! French Law Locks Down Weekend Communications with EmployeesIn an effort to combat work-related burnout, the French government has a new labor law requiring employers with at least 50 employees to adopt written policies restricting the hours during which employees can send or receive emails, text messages, or any other digital, work-related communication. The goal is to cut the electronic leash that constantly

Bring on the Chain Mail: NLRB Strikes Down Another Facially Neutral Email Use PolicyA National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) judge has struck down Caesar’s Entertainment Corporation’s policy that prohibited employees’ using the company email system to distribute “nonbusiness” information. Why, you ask? According to the judge, the policy infringes on employees’ rights to form a union.

Why does this matter to you if you don’t have a union?