Erlich Law Blog
The Erlich Law Blog discusses employment, FLSA, EEOC, FMLA, discrimination, and harassment attorneys, as well as civil litigation in Virginia, DC, Maryland, and the rest of the United States as issues arise.
This Week’s News: Colorado protects job applicants’ credit history, House does not extend social media protections, and legislation attempts to encourage pension fund disclosures
First up this week, Colorado passed an expansive law that prevents the use of a job applicant’s credit history in hiring or employment decisions. The law is broad, basically applying to every employer outside the law enforcement profession, and almost every employee and job applicant is covered by the law. Consumer credit information is defined widely, and the law applies to most credit score information and credit history data.
Read MoreWeekly Employment Law Roundup
Check out our FLSA FAQ
The Erlich Law Office represents clients who are owed wages, including overtime. Our FLSA FAQ helps potential clients analyze whether they may have a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and specifically can help employees determine whether they are entitled to overtime. Potential clients can use the guide to understand their rights and legal remedies before talking to an attorney.
Read MoreThe exploitation of workers in Texas and an interesting take on non-solicitation agreements and social media posts
First, there have been some interesting reports about the construction industry in Texas. In the state, nearly half of the one million workers who are employed in the construction industry are undocumented, and most have been in the United States for many years.
Read MoreEmployee Theft Databases Implicate Employment Law Concerns
Retailers across the U.S. have begun using databases listing workers accused of stealing merchandise in order to prevent those employees from working again in the industry. Because the databases often do not involve criminal charges and contain minimal details about suspected thefts, some worry about the use of such information in eliminating employee’s job chances.
Read MoreFMLA Second and Third Opinions; Supreme Court limits ability of plaintiffs to fight CAFA removal
Our first article looks at the increased use of second and third medical opinions by employers in an attempt to curtail abuse and manipulation of the FMLA by employees
Read MoreMore Employment Law News
This week’s post features an eclectic mix of stories, including a controversial policy mandated by CVS, a court decision from New York that limits the ability of employees to opt out of arbitration agreements, and an interesting look at how some employees are banding together to purchase group healthcare.
Read MoreWeekly Link Roundup Looks at ADA Accommodations and Social Media Privacy
Here are some links to interesting articles from this past week, along with a little commentary.
Read More7th Circuit Holds Light Duty is Not a Right under the FMLA
A recent 7th Circuit case has further defined what constitutes a right under the FMLA. Carris James, an employee of the Chicago Hyatt Regency, injured his eye during an altercation outside of work. James had originally noted vision problems on his application to Hyatt, and the hotel had accommodated him by providing his written work in a larger size font. He later underwent surgery to correct the damage caused by his injury, and appropriately was provided with FMLA leave.
Read MoreSupreme Court denies Amgen’s class certification challenge
Justice Ginsburg’s ruling allowed a lawsuit filed by Connecticut pension funds against Amgen to proceed. The suit alleges that Amgen assured investors about the safety of anti-anemia drugs Aranesp and Epogen even while clinical trial were raising doubts about the safety of the drugs. The funds state that this representation caused Amgen’s share prices to be inflated until an FDA panel raised concerns on May 10, 2007, an event that thereafter caused a sharp decline in share prices.
Read MoreNew Blog Post Looks at the FLSA
After a brief hiatus, I’m happy to report that you will be again be able to check this blog for updates on timely, interesting, and sometimes crazy stories from the world of employment and labor law. Although our posts will probably not be up as often as they were last fall, you can expect around a post a week looking at new developments in the legal world.
Read MoreThursday Links
Here are a few links to some interesting employment law articles. I’ve also posted another link to some additional information from the Department of Labor’s recent guidance regarding how the Family and Medical Leave Act applies to adult children. Read More
New DOL Guidance on Using FMLA Leave to Care for an Adult Child
The Department of Labor recently issued a new administrative interpretation regarding how the Family and Medical Leave Act is interpreted to allow an employee to care for an adult child. Ordinarily, an employee is entitled to take FMLA leave to care for a child with a “serious health condition.” A child is defined as a son or daughter under 18 years old, or a son or daughter older than 18 who is “incapable of self care” because of a disability. This interpretation helps to clarify what the DOL means by incapable of self care, and what qualifies as a disability under the ADA. Read More
New NLRB Decision Protects Comments Made on Facebook
Turning again to employment law and social media, here is a look at a recent NLRB decision that held that comments posted on Facebook are protected to the same extent as comments made at the “water cooler.” Read More
FMLA Information and more analysis of Social Media and Discovery
The FMLA Insights blog has an interesting post about FMLA leave during the holiday season. The post lays out a hypothetical scenario where an employee requests vacation leave, has the request denied, and then instead calls in sick and requests FMLA leave- a situation the employer feels is a dubious use of FMLA. The blog looks at some lawful measures employers can utilize to get at the truth. Read More
State Laws Address Social Media Policies
As we have seen recently, the intersection of social media policies and employment law is a growing area of discussion and litigation. The extent to which employers have access to information employees post to social media sites is fairly controversial, and some states have taken steps to pass legislation that seeks to address the privacy employees are allowed in regard to their online profiles.
Read MoreFriday Links
Here are a couple additional links to some employment law developments from the holiday season. Still catching up on news from the past couple of weeks, but check back soon for more posts on some new employment and labor law items. Read More
2012 Year in Review
As promised, here is a look at some of our most interesting blog posts from the past year. The posts highlight important developments in employment law, interesting changes in labor laws around the country, and sometimes eye-catching or just plain bizarre cases and claims. I hope the posts have been informative and entertaining, and I look forward to writing about new legal issues in the coming year. Read More
New Year’s Eve Link Roundup
I hope everyone has had a safe and happy holiday season. Here are two links to
some interesting employment law developments from the past couple of weeks,
along with a little analysis. Check back for a year-in-review look at some of
our blog posts tomorrow. Read More