Labor & Employment

3280 ABA Journal Labor & Employment articles.

4 Lawyers from 1 Law Firm Wrongly Included in N.Y. Pension System

Updated: Four attorneys working for a prominent education law firm in Albany, N.Y., have been disqualified from the state pension system by New York’s comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, because they were not employees but independent contractors. The four Girvin & Ferlazzo attorneys additionally were shown in records as having worked 1,157…

Apr 18, 2008 3:22 PM CDT

Looking For Employee Perks to Offer? Facebook Access May be Enough

Employers who take a more liberal view toward allowing workers access to social networking sites may have a better shot at recruiting young talent, according to a survey by the Australia-based law firm Deacons. Of those surveyed, nearly half reported that “if given a choice between two jobs equal in…

Apr 16, 2008 8:28 PM CDT

Law Firms Mull ADR After Lawyer Suits, But Verdict’s Still Out

A recent spate of lawyers suing well-known law firms is prompting partners to consider requiring mandatory arbitration for such disputes. However, many law firms are reluctant to do so, and fear that adverse publicity and expensive, time-consuming discovery could still result even if they do successfully block associate and partner…

Apr 15, 2008 7:05 PM CDT

N.Y. Schools Lawyer-Pay Probe Expands to All Professionals in Gov’t Work

An ever-expanding state probe by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of possible pension irregularities now extends far beyond lawyers in private practice who worked for the state’s 700-plus school districts. It now potentially encompasses, seemingly, virtually every professional who has worked for a state agency, and may also involve…

Apr 15, 2008 6:37 PM CDT

Suit Claims Boss Waterboarded Worker as Motivational Tack

A suit by a sales employee claims his boss subjected him to waterboarding as part of a “team-building exercise.” Chad Hudgens, part of a 10-person telephone sales team, said he had volunteered for the exercise, devised by his supervisor during a slow sales week, but had no idea what he…

Apr 14, 2008 3:54 PM CDT

New EEOC Rule to Address Layoffs of Older Workers

In a difficult economy, older workers have reason to worry more than their younger counterparts about being fired. Although it’s illegal to discriminate against those 40 and over because of their age, it’s OK to lay off those who are paid more—as older workers generally are—even if this policy has…

Apr 14, 2008 3:03 PM CDT

How to Avoid ‘Parent Trap’ Issues

While those who are parents aren’t a protected class, employers seeking to be family-friendly can ironically stumble into legal pitfalls if they aren’t careful. When disciplining a worker who is a caregiver for children or other family members, it’s important to focus on the rule and the offense, just as…

Apr 10, 2008 11:43 PM CDT

How to Make Workers Act Nice (Even if They’re Not)

Angry, unpleasant, rude fellow employees, in legal settings and elsewhere, make life a lot less pleasant—and less productive. Increasingly, companies and law firms recognize this fact, and some have even made it a rule, formally or informally, that colleagues can’t behave badly in the workplace. But requiring everyone at least…

Apr 9, 2008 6:50 PM CDT

Marshals Unite to Complain About Promotion Practices

Unhappy U.S. Marshals are organizing to protest a so-called conversion program that allows deputy marshals to become criminal investigators by skipping the regular civil service competition for jobs. Marshals Unified, about 220 strong, wrote a letter to Marshals Service director John F. Clark, telling him that the new program violates…

Apr 9, 2008 12:51 PM CDT

DOJ Probe Considers Whether Lawyer Was Ousted Due to Sexual Orientation Rumor

A Justice Department probe is considering whether a career lawyer there was ousted from her job because of rumors that she is a lesbian. Investigators with the Justice Department’s inspector general have raised questions about a decision to dismiss Leslie Hagen, a liaison between DOJ and the U.S. attorneys’ committee…

Apr 3, 2008 11:26 AM CDT

Court of Public Opinion Sways Wal-Mart in Battle Over Legal Winnings

A Missouri man, who lost a son in Iraq and whose wife suffers from debilitating memory loss because of an auto accident, couldn’t convince his wife’s former employer to back off its claim to the money the family recovered for her accident. At least not until his plight made prime-time…

Apr 2, 2008 6:52 PM CDT

New Troubles for Teens at Work

With more youths on the job, sex harassment claims are on the rise

Apr 1, 2008 7:38 PM CDT

Scene One, Act Won

Can the guy who created a TV cartoon about a robot running a Valentine’s Day dating service—until his malfunctioning metal butt explodes—have the gravitas to win a revolutionary union contract?

Apr 1, 2008 4:46 PM CDT

Supreme Court Accepts Another Union First Amendment Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the constitutionality of an Idaho law that bars local governments from making automatic payroll deductions to pay for political activities by labor unions, SCOTUSblog reports. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled the ban burdened political speech by…

Mar 31, 2008 5:36 PM CDT

23 Long Island School Districts Count Private Lawyers as Employees

Nearly two dozen school districts on Long Island improperly reported private attorneys as employees, helping them earn public pensions totaling more than $342,082 a year, Newsday reported today. The paper brought to light the issue of independent contractors being treated as employees who could obtain public benefits when it questioned…

Mar 28, 2008 8:11 PM CDT

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