The Majority Opinion: Legal Blog

This has been another short week for me in the office, so this is a somewhat abbreviated post.  Come next week when things get back to normal, I will get back into the routine of posting more frequent updates.  In the meantime, I wanted to highlight a few articles that I enjoyed reading recently. As always, below are a few articles that caught my eye this week. How Employers Can Adopt a Strategy to Fight Unions Jon Hyman covers a wide range of labor and employment updates like I do.  Every so often, he has a labor law related post that catches my eye.  This particular article addresses how employers can adopt a strategy to fight unions.  In particular, Jon proposes a "TEAM" approach in which employers can use a game plan to fight unions and lays out a relatively straight forward approach for how employers can implement the game plan.  While this "TEAM" approach might not apply in all situations, it is a good starting point for employers to consider.

A few months ago, I wrote an article on the new law passed in California (AB 1522, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014) which will impact California employers and employees.  ( Paid Sick Leave and Paid Time Off Blog ).  With the passage of that new law, many employers and employees are stuck trying to figure out when paid sick leave and paid time off can actually be used. Recently, California published a FAQ section on its website to address a few of the questions that have cropped up surrounding the law set to take effect July 1, 2015.  While some of the questions and answers are somewhat commonsense, I believe it does a good job pointing out a few of the finer points of the new law.  Employers and employees would both be wise to review the FAQ section and familiarize themselves with the new law. The FAQ section can be found here:  http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Paid_Sick_Leave.htm

Shorter week in the office for me and I would not expect many readers to be checking for updates later this week.  Sooo, with that being said, I wanted to point out a few articles that I think readers would enjoy before everyone takes off for the break. As always, below are a few articles that caught my eye this week. Sexual Harassment Investigations - A Few Suggested Guidelines Jami Suver has a good article on sexual harassment investigations in the workplace.  Many employers, once notified of a sexual harassment issue, take steps to investigate the matter.  This article has a few good pointers and suggestions on guidelines that an employer could follow when conducting the investigation.   Employee Personal Information Hacked? Be Proactive Last month, many of you are aware of the hack at Sony that involved the reveal of personal e-mails, screenplays, and several movies (including, of course, The Interview, a movie which has been scrapped for the time being).  Josh S

For those employers in California, come January 1, 2015, the State is requiring that employers take two steps in preparation for the new paid sick leave laws becoming effective:  1) Employers are required to hang a poster in the workplace that explains the new paid sick leave laws and 2) Provide employees with a Notice that lists information about employee's paid sick leave.  For those that need a refresher, the new laws provide California employees with up to three days of paid sick leave beginning July 1, 2015.  As for the poster, it must be hung in a conspicuous place in the workplace for employees to see.  Employers must also start using the new Notice to employees which provides information about the employee's paid sick leave. These are just a few of the requirements that employers must follow in advance of the new sick leave laws taking effect July 1, 2015.  Employers in California would be wise to track the upcoming deadlines so as to not miss anything.  

Only a few days away from Christmas, so this seems like the perfect time to point out a few holiday themed articles that I read recently.  We have got a good mix here...everything from (paid) time off for holidays for California employees, to OSHA crowd management safety guidelines, all the way to a possible increase in pay for California employees who have to work on Thanksgiving or Christmas.  As always, below are a few articles that caught my eye this week. How California Deals With (Paid) Time Off for Holidays This is a good article from Anthony Zaller that has five notes on how (paid) time off is handled in California.  The article gets right to the point and addresses the fact that California employers are not required to provide employees time off for holidays (not with standing for religious accommodations).  There is also a good follow up at the end of the article on when employees are required to be paid when payday falls on a holiday when the business is closed. 

Robin Shea has a great article on the potential issues, liabilities, and pratfalls that can arise when a company hosts a holiday party.  It is no surprise that mixing food, liquor, music, games, etc. in the workplace is a lawsuit waiting to happen.  With that being said, if planned properly, potential risk can be minimized and inevitable lawsuits can be avoided. Robin's article dives right into to the issues and covers everything from how an employer can limit liability for drunk driving accidents after the party, to how to address the issue over the actual name of the party (ie Holiday Party v. Christmas Party), all the way to whether an employer can require employees to attend the party.   While not exhaustive, the article includes some good thoughts and strategic pointers for employers to consider.  While parties at work can be fun (I always think of some of the parties from "The Office" which looked like a good time...while other work parties in some of the

On December 8, the United States Senate confirmed Lauren McFerran as the next member of the National Labor Relations Board.  McFerran was confirmed 54 - 40, a vote along party lines.  McFerran, currently chief labor counsel to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will serve a 5 year term which expires on December 16, 2019. McFerran replaces Nancy Shiffer on the Board.  With the confirmation of McFerran, the Board will stay pro-union (3 - 2) without any hiccups following Shiffer's last day on December 16, 2014.  Note that this vote was able to squeaked in just before the Republicans gain control of the Senate next year.  Once that happens, it will be more difficult to get certain nominations through...this being one of them.    Additional information can be found here:  http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/226369-senate-dems-confirm-nlrb-nominee-before-gop-take-over

Oh what a rough year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  First, a former Tampa Bay cheerleader sued the team earlier this year for alleged wage and hour violations for failure to pay minimum wage.  ( Tampa Bay Cheerleader Lawsuit ).  Then, there have been the actual games this season which have bordered on embarrassing.  Now, there is an issue over the food vendors at the stadium and how they were compensated.   Late last month, a story broke in Florida about several professional sports teams (along with the Daytona 500 and the Florida state fair) using a local shelter to provide food vendors to work at games and then the food vendors subsequently gave their wages to the shelter in return for free food and a place to live.   In this instance, New Beginnings is a shelter in Florida that houses many drug and alcohol addicted residents.  The arrangement saw New Beginnings "supply" teams, such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Tampa Bay Lightning, with New B

I have always enjoyed non-compete cases, articles, and blog posts.  I wrote an article on the topic a few years ago that the State Bar of Texas recognized as one of the top articles on the topic.  This week, I came across an article about a non-compete agreement that a doggy day care used.  Interesting reading, to say the least. As always, below are a few articles that caught my eye this week. A Unique Look at the Use of Background Checks This is an interesting article which talks about one individual who went through a newly developed background check that can look into an applicant's background to see if there are any red flags (ie armed robbery convictions.  More on that later).  After talking about how his background check did not bring back anything relevant, there is a note on a former Smith and Wesson Holdings chairman who was revealed to been an armed robber with an armed robbery conviction.  Once this information came to light, he resigned.  But it begs the qu

Yes indeed, Philadelphia is poised to join the list of ever expanding list of cities and states that have enacted paid sick leave laws.  Actually, let us run it back for a minute...Philadelphia has not formally passed any new laws yet.  Rather, the "Paid Sick Leave Task Force" set up by Mayor Michael Nutter, recently proposed a bill that would require employers with 15 or more workers to provide paid sick leave to qualifying employees.   Note that Mayor Nutter had previously rejected two similar bills which would have required local businesses with both 5 employees or 6 or more employees to provide workers with up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year.  The big difference here seems to be the size of the business (in terms of employers) that would be impacted.  While a 5 or 6 employee business was too low of a threshold for the Mayor to approve, in this case, the Mayor appears to back the task force's recommendation, should it come across his desk for signature

As with several cases from around the country, I pay particular attention to a certain few and watch as the case develops at the appellate level.  This is one in particular was handed down by the United States Supreme Court earlier today. Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk - United States Supreme Court Facts :  The employees at issue in this case claimed that their employer failed to compensate them for time spent in security screenings at the end of each work shift, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA").  The employees allegedly waited in line for up to twenty five minutes to be searched, with the search including the removal of employees' wallets, belts, and keys and passing through a metal detector.  The employer claimed these searches were necessary to minimize "shrinkage" and control theft of any items by employees.  The United States District Court in Nevada dismissed the lawsuit and held that the time spent in screeni

Recently, Lyft sued its former chief operating officer, Travis VanderZanden, and alleged that he took more than 98,000 confidential and sensitive documents with him when he went to work for Uber, in violation of his employment contract. Apparently, VanderZanden refused to turn over his company provided (and owned) laptop until Lyft sent a staff member to retrieve it.  As well, before VanderZanden left for Uber, he apparently synched his personal dropbox account with his Lyft laptop and made copies of 98,000 files and folders.  Lyft claims that these documents included historic and future financial information, strategic planning materials, customer lists and data, and international growth documents, among other items.    For those who do not keep up with the ride sharing companies out there, Lyft and Uber are two of the bigger and more well known companies in the industry.  Uber has come under fire lately for several business practices that have been labeled as questionable.

Shorter week for me as I have been out of the office all week on vacation and in court.  As a result, I am lighter on time than normal, so excuse the brief post. As always, below are a few articles that caught my eye this week. Service Animals in the Workplace I normally do not come across many articles on service animals in the workplace and how an employer should handle this situation.  With that being said, I came across this article and it has some good thoughts and practical pointers that I thought readers would enjoy.  In particular, note that the article advises employers on how to act when an employee and a customer require the use of a service animal in the workplace.  As well, do not forget the last part of the article which highlights the two questions that an employer can ask as to the use of service animals in the workplace. Three Things A General Counsel Should Watch Out For With a Company's Instagram Page I would suggest that any owner/executive/man

Landers v. Quality Communications, Inc. - Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Facts :  Landers was employed by Quality Communications as a cable service installer.  He subsequently brought suit on behalf of himself and other similarly situated individuals, and alleged that Quality failed to pay him minimum wages and overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor and Standards Act ("FLSA").  Landers alleged that Quality failed to compensate him for all of the overtime hours he worked and/or the overtime rate at which he was paid was calculated using an incorrect rate, which apparently resulted in an overtime payment that was less than what was required by the FLSA.    Quality filed a motion to dismiss the claim on the grounds that Landers failed to state a plausible claim for unpaid minimum wages.  The lower court granted the Quality's motion to dismiss the wage and hour claim.   Holding :  The Ninth Circuit affirmed the lower court's ruling and held that it is

Zetwick v. County of Yolo - United States District Court, Eastern District of California Facts :  Victoria Zetwick was a former corrections officer in Yolo County's Sheriff's Department.  During the course of her 14 years there, she alleged that her employer violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and subjected her to sexual harassment after he gave her at least 100 hugs and a kiss.  Zetwick claimed that the Sheriff hugged her at least 100 times in "awkward, unsolicited, and unwelcome" encounters.  As for the kiss?  The Sheriff apparently gave her a kiss half on the corner of her lips and half on her cheek. Zetwick subsequently filed a Government Claim in February 2012 and the Sheriff apparently never hugged or kissed her again.  Holding :  The District Court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment on the grounds that Zetwick could not establish a valid sexual harassment claim.  In order to reach this conclusion, the Court pointed to t