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Category Archives: Litigation

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OSHA Alert – February 1 Deadline for OSHA 300-A

By Michael G. Murphy on Posted in Litigation, OSHA

The OSHA Standard for Reporting and Recording Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 29 C.F.R. § 1904, requires that certain employers track work related illnesses and injuries of their employees throughout the year, and post the summaries of those injuries from the previous year from February 1 to April 30. OSHA’s deadline for employers to post their annual summary of injuries and illnesses is February 1, 2012.

Social Media Posts and Concerted Activity

By Eric Sigda on Posted in Litigation

In the last several months, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has attracted attention by issuing complaints against employers who disciplined or discharged employees for posting comments on Facebook or other social media criticizing the employer (see NLRB A ‘Twitter Over Employers’ Social Media Policies, and Social Media in the Workplace – The Social Media… Continue Reading

New Remedies Under ERISA for Employees Harmed by Misinformation

By Abby Natelson on Posted in Benefits, Litigation

Employers providing employees with benefits subject to ERISA have a duty to provide accurate benefit information to employees. As with many areas of ERISA, the definition of “inaccurate” information and the consequences to employers for providing inaccurate information has been unclear. The United States Supreme Court addressed this gray area of ERISA in CIGNA Corp…. Continue Reading

Social Media and Discovery: Accessing Password Protected Material

By Eric Sigda on Posted in Litigation

Social media is everywhere, including, with increasing frequency, in lawsuits, particularly those involving employment-related claims. For example, employers sued by potential, current, and former employees are seeking social media information to learn if on-line postings by those employees on social media sites contradict statements or contentions made by them in their lawsuit. For their part,… Continue Reading

The Ever Increasing Size of Class Action Lawsuits

By Eric Sigda on Posted in Discrimination, Litigation

Recently, it seems, class action lawsuits against employers are getting bigger. Firms that in representing plaintiffs are targeting companies with class action litigations, in particular lawsuits alleging gender discrimination. These lawsuits allege gender discrimination against a few women combined with evidence designed to show a pattern of discrimination against women throughout the company to create a plaintiff… Continue Reading

Transgender Man Challenges Firing From Male-Only Job

By Natalie Hrubos on Posted in Discrimination, Litigation

A job discrimination suit recently brought under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination ("NJLAD”) challenges an employer’s decision to terminate a transgender man from a “male-only” position. Urban Treatment Associates in Camden, New Jersey, hired El’Jai Devoureau as a part-time urine monitor, but terminated him after his supervisor discovered that his assigned sex at birth… Continue Reading

Worker Misclassification: Does Action By Attorney General Cuomo Portend Even Greater Enforcement Activity In New York Under A Governor Cuomo?

By Jonathan Israel on Posted in Litigation, State Law, Wage & Hour

In prior articles and blog entries, we have reported on the ever-increasing and intense focus of federal and state government on issues of worker misclassification, as lawmakers and agencies around the country have heightened enforcement activity and potential penalties against businesses suspected of misclassifying employees as independent contractors.  New York State has been leading the charge… Continue Reading

Second Circuit: Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives Are Entitled To Overtime

By GT Labor & Employment Team on Posted in Litigation, Wage & Hour

  On June 6, the Second Circuit ruled that pharmaceutical sales representatives (“PRs”) were entitled to overtime under the FLSA because they did not meet the requirements of either the outside sales employees or administrative exemptions. Employers who treat outside salespersons as exempt under either exemption may want to reexamine their policies in light of the… Continue Reading

So You Still Want To Access An Employee’s Facebook Page?

By Jay Lechner on Posted in Litigation, Privacy

Whether an employer may access an employee’s social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace largely depends on the employee’s privacy settings and, if private, the employee’s consent, even if the subject-matter of the posts is relevant to pending litigation and responsive to an otherwise valid subpoena, according to a recent federal court decision in… Continue Reading

The Franchise Relationship: A New Front in the Attack on Worker Misclassification?

By Jonathan Israel on Posted in Legislation, Litigation, State Law, Wage & Hour

It is no secret:  Cash-strapped federal and state governments have been stepping up enforcement and increasing penalties against businesses that misclassify employees as independent contractors and exposing these businesses to additional employment-related liabilities for wage and overtime pay, health, welfare and retirement benefits, and income and employment tax contributions and withholding.  We have been watching… Continue Reading

The End of Class Arbitration?

By GT Labor & Employment Team on Posted in Litigation

Many employers require that employees agree in writing to arbitrate any disputes that may arise in connection with their employment. The reason is simple: arbitrating employment disputes usually is less expensive and provides a quicker resolution than litigation. However, like litigation, arbitration can sometimes be unpredictable. This presents a problem because, unlike litigation, it is… Continue Reading

Negative Reference Leads to Multimillion Dollar Verdict

By Daniel Pasternak on Posted in Litigation, Privacy

Like most employers, Credit Agricole’s policy is only to confirm dates of employment in response to a request for employment verification, without providing any information about a former employee’s job performance. But that didn’t happen to William Raedle. Instead, according to court testimony reported in the press,his former supervisor told a prospective boss at Dreyfus… Continue Reading