A California appellate court in Holmes v. Petrovich ruled that an employee’s emails sent to her attorney did not constitute “confidential communications between client and lawyer” when sent on a company computer.   A clear and comprehensive computer policy is an essential component of any employee handbook.  Indeed, on January 13, 2011, a California appellate court in Homes…

The NLRB created significant uncertainty regarding the appropriate scope of social media policies when it filed a complaint that alleges a company violated the National Labor Relations Act by terminating an employee for posting negative commernts about her supervisor on the employee’s personal Facebook page. A case that labor law experts predicted would set important precedent regarding employer policies that…

The Supreme Court recently held in City of Ontario v. Quon that in certain circumstances an employer has the right to read text messages sent from and delivered to a pager issued by the employer to one of its employees. While reading employee text messages may generally violate the Fourth Amendment’s guarantee against “unreasonable searches and seizures,”…

In the recently decided case of Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, the Ninth Circuit upheld a 2004 district court’s decision to certify a class that could potentially consist of 1.5 million women employed by Wal-Mart since 1997. Through this gender discrimination class action, the employees seek back pay, declaratory relief, and injunctive relief. The plaintiffs allege that…

The Department of Labor recently published a poster listing employees’; rights under the National Relations Labor Act (NRLA). The notice, which Federal contractors and subcontractors are required to display in a conspicuous location, informs employees that under the NRLA they are guaranteed: the right to organize and bargain collectively with their employers; the right to engage in…

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in a September 10, 2009 ruling, held that an employer can be held liable for discriminatory hiring decisions made by its independent contractors. The case involved an independent contractor acting on behalf of the employer, telling the plaintiff that “they were looking for someone younger”.…

A new company should determine which of its workers are employees and which are independent contractors. The workers’ status will determine what benefits s/he is owed during employment and at its conclusion. A new company is building its reputation not just for its product, but for its staff and for fairness as an employer as…

Can a part-time employee hold another job while working for you? Can he or she work for a direct competitor a year after he involuntarily leaves his employment? Does this change if he owns part of your business? What if the competitor is anywhere in the world instead of in the samecounty? Different states have…