Julie R. Pugh & Lee P. Geiger
As many of you may know, I am a handbook nerd. I think handbooks and the policies contained within are wonderful (ask me about how each handbook is both a sword and a shield). Company policies are as varied as the printing on wrapping paper, and can be edited in more ways than you can ever tie a pretty bow. One of the nagging ...
Employees don’t shed their viewpoints at the front door of the workplace. You knew that already! Many come to work with a variety of political, cultural, religious, economic and demographic viewpoints. Along with this increasing pluralism, America’s workforce is part of a nation that values and debates free speech.
As the national debate ...
I am reasonably tech savvy. Or at least I think I am. It’s because I grew up in the late 70s and early 80s –the video game renaissance. I cut my teeth on Frogger, Pitfall, QBert and Double Dribble. I even took a DOS coding class in school. Generation Xer’s like me grew up with technology and technology grew up with us. So imagine my frustration when ...
By Dan Burke & James Niekamp, Captain, U. S. Army Reserve’s JAG Corps
As we pause this week to remember and thank all those who have, and continue to serve our country in the armed forces, it’s a good opportunity to revisit best practices for supporting citizen soldiers in the workplace.
Employees who are members of the Reserve or National Guard ...
There’s an old saying that “when it rains, it pours.” I couldn’t help but think of this when I recently read a deposition that went a little something like this:
ATTORNEY: I mean have you ever looked at Tracy Evans in your entire life? Have you? That’s a … that’s a genuine question.
* * *
SUPERVISOR: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And did you ever realize ...
The Copyright Act protects original works of authorship fixed in tangible form. 17 U.S.C. §102(a). To be “original,” the expression must have originated with the author and contain a creative element – “a spark that goes beyond the banal or trivial.” Nimmer on Copyright § 2.05[B](2017). “Although the amount ...
Boo! February 29, 2020 is leap day. Don’t be scared - it occurs every four years. And we are here to help!
Let’s light the jack-o-lantern and explain: Leap years have 366 days, as opposed to a common year, which has 365 days. This may seem like a bunch of hocus pocus, but this day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure because ...
Julie R. Pugh & Lee P. Geiger
In many settlement and severance agreements, we often ask our clients if they want to include a “no rehire clause.” The provision does not mean that the employee can’t apply, it just says that the company has no obligation to reemploy the person once the two parties have a contractual parting of the ways (hence, we ...
By Roger Morris
All STEM OPT employers need to be aware of reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) has begun random on-site inspections of STEM OPT employers. It is becoming increasingly important for any business that employs STEM OPT students to plan and train staff for the day ICE comes knocking at your door.
“STEM OPT” is ...
Last week, the United States Supreme Court denied Domino’s petition to review a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that held a blind man could sue the pizza chain under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) if its website and mobile app did not work with common screen-reading software. Domino’s appeal was one of the more than 98 ...