Michigan As a Right to Work State - Random Thoughts

First, somewhat as an aside, the news coverage of this issue reminds me that any time I follow an issue that is covered by the media and fal...

A Month in Absentia and Going Forward

Not that I am sure anyone cares, but for those who do come by to check, the month of November marks the first time in 10 years I believe I h...

Same Song, Umpteenth Verse - No Discrimination, Retaliation Worth $2 Million

This time it was Ithaca police officer Chris Miller who lost his claim that Ithaca discriminated against him and other non-minority officers...

End of the Road for Gross v. FBL Financial Services

Actually that's a misleading headline, what it should say is the end of the line for Jack Gross, the ill fated plaintiff whose lawsuit b...

Important, But Not What I Was Hoping - Petition for Certiorari on FLSA Action

In my in box this morning was a press release from the Retail Litigation Center , that made my hopes soar that at long last the Supreme Cour...

Been Sued by the EEOC Lately? Keep an Eye on Your Mailbox in the Next Couple of Weeks

An article on the SHRM site, September: Rush Hour for EEOC Lawsuit Filings, Settlements  ($), reminded me that we are nearing the witching h...

Readers' Requests: Nannies' Rights and Mental Illness in Academia

This may be a first in 10 years of blogging, but I have recently received two (non-spam) requests for certain stories to be posted here that...

A New Source of Business: TMI

Truth be told, people who do what I do, represent employers in disputes with their employees really don't need new sources of business. ...

The Difference an Ocean Makes

I have recently started receiving email updates from The Global Legal Post , a publication that purports to cover the legal community world-...

More FLSA Common Sense from the 5th Circuit - Settlement Without Supervision OK

After lamenting for some time the direction which FLSA law has been heading, it may be too soon to say that the inevitable swing back to the...

Stirrings on Smith v. Xerox in 5th Circuit Internecine Squabble

More than two years ago, I expressed my hopes that the 5th Circuit would undertake an en banc review of the panel decision in Smith v. Xero...

A Decade in the Making - Jottings By an Employer's Lawyer

It is unlikely when I put down some thoughts about the EEOC's failure to use certified mail in sending out right to sue letters ( For la...

Obamacare Decision: The Perils of Instant Analysis and Related Thoughts

I have not and will probably not read today's Supreme Court decision holding that the Affordable Care Act is (for the most part) constit...

Two Sacred Cows - Performance Appraisals and Job Descriptions - Time for the Scrap Heap?

I don't always appreciate non-trial lawyers telling me how to try a case (although I try to listen, because often I can learn something ...

Jury Duty, An Obligation Sure, But Also a Large Reward

I just happened on this post today by Adam Rich, talking about his 5 Lessons From Jury Duty  that was posted on an American Express Forum fo...

Texas Supreme Court Advisory on Attorneys' Fees in TCHRA Cases

A short message to plaintiff's attorneys in TCHRA cases from the Supreme Court: join your defense brethren in "measuring out your l...

Function Over Form: The Supreme Court's Realistic View of the FLSA

For those who think that one of the travesties of the recent history of employment law has been the explosion of FLSA collective action liti...

The NLRB in the Non-Union Setting: Making A Point

For years I have been a member of seminar planning committees, and inevitably the talk gets round to an NLRA topic. In Texas, that usually m...

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, A Dangerous Cause of Action

This headline, Steelworker awarded $25 million in New York racial lawsuit might seem to come from a typical Title VII or Section 1981 case ...

Somewhere in a Smoke Filled Room Your Future Is Being Determined

Well that's a little dramatic, but after staying up late to watch my Spurs complete their second sweep in a row,  the subtle part of my ...

5th Circuit Dashes Class Action in Arbitration Setting

The interaction between arbitration and class/collective actions which seems to be continually evolving, took another positive step for empl...

NLRB Enjoined, Again

Earlier it was the NLRB's posting regulations, see post here , which were enjoined. Today it's the regulations regarding the conduct...

May Day? A Lack of A Call?

Earlier this morning I received an email forwarded from the management company in the downtown office building where I work, advising that t...

Texas Supreme Court Confirms Punitive Damages in Sabine Pilot Cases

Revisiting the only public policy exception to the employment at will rule in Texas, the Supreme Court today holds that a plaintiff who prev...

An Arbitration Sign of the Times

If you think arbitration is not a significant player in employment law dispute resolution, you would have to think twice when you see that t...

NLRB's Posting Rule Hits Another Bump in the Road

This afternoon Judge Norton in South Carolina granted summary judgment to a group seeking to block the NLRB's rule that would require a ...

ENDA Lite Hits a (Temporary?) Dead End

While I didn't actually predict that the Obama Administration would issue an Executive Order implementing protection for lesbians, gays ...

News from the West Coast, Brinker (Finally) Decided

Although I have been fortunate enough to avoid any in depth or on-going contact with California employment law, it is hard not to be aware o...

Non-traditional Plaintiff Theme Continues

At the start of 2011, I noted that one of the stories of the year might be that more and more of what I would call non-traditional plaintiff...

How Would We (I) Function in This Employment World

A guest blog post on CNBC by Julie Clow, author of The Work Revolution: Freedom and Excellence for All, caught my eye this morning. Since ...

Body Mass Index As a Hiring Criteria

Hat tip to (probably my favorite blog title in our corner of the world) the Evil HR Lady for catching news from my own back yard, see the or...

"Bullying" Is Becoming Part of the Zeitgeist

Early in the second year of writing this blog, I had what I think was my first recognition of bullying as an "issue" in the employ...

ENDA "Lite" On the Way?

Federal legislative action in employment law matters, actually on most things, is pretty much a non-starter these days.  But that does not m...

Why You Spell Out Amounts in Agreement

Since I try to avoid legalese where ever possible and eliminate as much unnecessary verbiage from agreements I prepare, I frequently look at...

Arbitration (Is Not the Same as) Courts of Conciliation

In my first year of law school at the University of Texas, we had a class called "Introduction to the Study of Law." My section wa...

Jury Waivers Treated Same As Arbitration Agreements by Texas Supreme Court

I would have been surprised if the decision went the other way, but today the Texas Supreme Court affirmed that an at will employee who sign...

Thinking About A Different World Under the NLRA

I have been quite busy lately but finally began catching up on some past reading and one of the first things was the most recent edition of ...

Disability Discrimination Law Is a Mess in More Than Ohio

Jon Hyman, at Ohio Employer's Law Blog who does a great job of keeping up with developments in the Buckeye state and beyond, has an inte...