Legal News

Showing, again, that workplace gossip can get you sued. I really feel that the employer will win this case, for reasons I'll discuss below, but first . . . A federal judge has said that starting malicious rumors that a male employee is a...By: Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

DOL official gets his job back. It's not often that I'm able to use the U.S. Department of Labor as an example in an employment case, but we sure had a doozy this week....By: Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Or almost everything. Employers, has this ever happened to you? You have a lousy employee, whom we'll call "Igor." You've been meaning to do something about Igor for a while but just haven't gotten around to it....By: Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

This arbitration decision may result in a "whack." For more than 30 years, the California Supreme Court has been playing a game of arbitration "Whack-A-Mole" with the U.S. Supreme Court....By: Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

The gig economy is the future of the workforce, right? Or is it an old concept with a modern twist? After all, using workers on a “freelance” or “independent contractor” basis is not a new idea. Whether old or new, there are legal traps that...By: Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

For your Labor Day Weekend enjoyment. Misclassifying workers does not violate the NLRA. The National Labor Relations Board issued a decision yesterday, ruling 3-1 that worker misclassification does not violate the National Labor Relations Act. In...By: Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Here's how to keep it under control. A very large national employer (you've probably heard of it -- the name rhymes with "floogle") made the news recently after it issued an edict discouraging employees from having political discussions in the...By: Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

According to the DOJ. I finally had a chance to read the brief of the Solicitor General in the R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes case, in which the Supreme Court will hear arguments on October 8....By: Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

And you thought you had problems! A medical clinic in the St. Louis area had two employees (among others, I presume). "Rose" was African-American. "Daisy" (race unknown) had a disability....By: Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

As Labor Day and "back to school" beckon, what new laws and trends are we seeing in California? Here are my picks: NATURAL HAIR MUST BE ALLOWED. A new California statute says natural hair styles must be allowed. So take a squint at your dress and...By: Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP