From the proliferation of the #MeToo movement and the spotlight on gender equality issue to advances in artificial intelligence, 2018 was an eventful year for employment law. Here's a look back at how these events shaped the current environment and some thoughts about...
‘Epic Systems,’ and the 3rd Circuit’s Ruling on Class Waivers
The Supreme Court recently made an epic decision regarding employee's rights. In a 5-4 ruling on May 21, the 3rd circuit found in favor of the employer in the case of Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis. The decision supports employers' right to force employees to settle...
Sexual Harassment Claims for McDonald’s Escalate as Sanford Worker Joins In
The massively popular fast-food restaurant chain McDonald's is facing serious sexual harassment allegations involving 10 employees spread across nine different cities. Backed by two national advocacy groups, the employees allege that they were groped and exposed to...
Supreme Court Decision Delivers Blow To Workers’ Rights
A recent decision by the U.S. Supreme court will have a major impact on the rights of private, non-union employees to move forward with class-action lawsuits. The case, which was decided in a 5-4 vote, concluded that the provisions of 1925 Federal Arbitration Act...
Supreme Court Denies Review to DirecTV in Joint-Employment Case: What This Means Nationwide
The U.S. Supreme Court has recently denied a request to weigh in on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) joint employment case, DirecTV v. Hall. A Fourth Circuit ruling in January of 2017 found that satellite installation technicians, who were treated as independent...
How A Startup’s Legal Battle Could Redefine Tech Workers’ Rights
Contracts that prevent employees from working for competitors after terminating their current employment are commonly known as non-compete agreements. These agreements are common practice for many Florida businesses. They are designed to, among other things, protect...
Florida’s Whistleblower Laws Are an Exception to At-Will Employment
Florida, like many other states, enforces an at-will employment policy. This set of rules allows employees and employers to terminate their working relationship at any time, for any reason, without warning. The caveat to this rule is that actions by employers must not...
What Employers Can Learn From Google’s Recent Diversity Battle
Google's recent controversy over a 10-page memo written by a male employee who claimed women were biologically and emotionally inferior to men is one in a string of recent highly publicized eruptions of bias in the workplace. In addition to the outrage caused by the...
Can Off-Duty Bad Conduct Warrant Termination?
The division between personal and work life often becomes blurred, especially if the person in question functions as a very public representative of the company that he or she works for. For most people, though, it is still possible to keep personal lives separate...
Second Circuit Rules Facebook Rant Was Protected Activity
A recent 2nd Circuit court ruling will affect how employers have to deal with employees who make profane comments about their place of employment or associated workers outside of work time. The April 21st ruling noted that an employee's Facebook rant, in which the...
