The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and U.S. Department of Labor have both announced that virtually all of their functions have temporarily ceased, pending adoption of a budget for FY 2014 by the federal government. Although the EEOC will allow claims to be filed so as to protect claimants from missing filing deadlines, no claims will […]
Federal Court Confirms Unpaid Internships Are Illegal
In a ruling last week, a federal judge in New York confirmed what has long been predicted on this website (see here and here): that unpaid internships that are not provided for educational course credit, and that are not otherwise designed primarily to benefit the intern, are illegal. Thus, production assistants who worked as unpaid […]
EEOC Sues Over Criminal Background Checks
In a previous post here, I noted that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, had begun to focus on criminal background checks by employers. The thinking is that requiring criminal background checks can constitute illegal discrimination on the basis of race because a higher percentage of African Americans than Caucasians have criminal convictions. Thus, […]
Georgia Supreme Court Rejects Independent Cause of Action for Inevitable Disclosure of Trade Secrets
During the past 15 years or so, courts around the country have considered whether a person can be barred, or enjoined, from engaging in certain types of competitive behavior purely on the theory that the behavior will inevitably result in the disclosure of trade secrets. The Georgia Supreme Court seems to have rejected this sort […]
Supreme Court Rules that a Wage & Hour Collective Action Can Be Mooted by an Offer to Pay the Lead Plaintiff in Full
In Genesis Healthcare v. Symczyk, decided April 16, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a group, or collective, action to recover unpaid wages can be mooted by an employer’s offer to have judgment entered against it for the full amount of the lead plaintiff’s unpaid wages and reasonable attorney’s fees, if the court overseeing […]
Ms. Myer to Speak About Employment Law Matters of Concern to Small Businesses April 25
Ms. Myer will speak to the Atlanta Bar Association’ Solo and Small Firm Section on April 25 on issues in employment law of concern to small businesses.