A recent federal appellate court decision is an important reminder to confirm early—not later—whether the employee suing your business signed an arbitration agreement. The plaintiff had signed an agreement with an arbitration provision that covered his subsequent claims for disability discrimination, which he filed in federal court. But the employer…
I’ve drafted plenty of employee separation agreements. Many of them include non-disparagement provisions. Some of them include a mutual non-disparagement provision. But that mutuality is somewhat illusory. For example, in this recent case, the employer and its former employee agreed that the employee would not disparage the employer (among others),…
Are you ready for the employment law changes that 2023 has in store for your company? If you’ve been thinking about updating your employee handbook and onboarding documents but don’t know where to begin (or end), we’ve got you, fam. Join me and my employment law partners, Christina Bost Seaton,…
Remember when we used to hang out on Friday afternoons on Zoom and talk about employment law? It wasn’t as dorky as it sounds. We called it The Employer Handbook Zoom Happy Hour. I usually had a few guests presenting with me. But there were no PowerPoints. Actually, it was…
Back in March 2019, the State of New Jersey passed a law that makes any non-disclosure provisions in an employment contract or settlement agreement that have the purpose or effect of concealing the details relating to a claim of discrimination, retaliation, or harassment unenforceable against a current or former employee…
If, like me, you’ve always wondered whether the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts a 2019 amendment to New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD) that prohibits the waiver of procedural and substantive rights under the LAD, try to remain calm. I’m about to blow the lid off this jawn. (The rest…
Glassdoor [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsLet’s find out. Last week, the National Labor Relations Board’s Office of General Counsel released this Advice Memorandum. It involves a Missouri law firm that required all newly-hired support staff and attorneys to sign an employment agreement containing the following non-disparagement provision: “[D]uring and after…
Image Credit: Photofunia.com In a statement issued earlier this week, House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) announced that he would “not rest” until Congress passed “historic legislation to end forced arbitration.” I have a feeling Mr. Nadler is going to be pretty tired. But, let’s see what this is all…
Image Credit: Photofunia.com (http://photofunia.com/results/5cc10d55846d7897318b4581) In 2010, the Supreme Court held in Stolt-Nielsen SA v. AnimalFeeds International that a court may not compel class-action arbitration when an arbitration agreement is silent on the availability of such arbitration. Last year, in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, the Supreme Court issued another employer-friendly…
Image Credit: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/blockchain-block-chain-technology-3019120/) You’ve heard of the blockchain, right? But, if I asked you to explain it to me, half you would say, “Yeah, dude. Bitcoin.” The other half, well, I’m thinking I’d get something like this… Don’t worry. In this post, I’m going to turn you into a…