Recent Developments from Around the States
National cases of interest to you and your practice.
National Litigation Hotline
Recent cases of importance to your practice.
After Iraq: Obligations to Your Returning Military Employees
According to recent reports, approximately 220,000 reservists and National Guard members are on active duty. With the first phase of the Iraqi war at an end, many of these individuals are, or may soon be, returning home. This article answers some of the most frequently asked questions by employers concerning their obligations to employees while they are on military leave as well as when they return to work as civilians. An employer's obligation with respect to these issues is governed by the Uniformed Services and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA or the Act), 38 U.S.C. ''4301 <i>et seq.</i>
Electronic Media: The Dark Side
The proliferation of electronic media in the workplace has greatly transformed business, enabling employees to communicate almost instantly with one another, and with vendors, clients and customers. The fantastic business advantages gained through advanced electronic media, however, can also negatively impact the workplace. Indeed, individuals may use electronic media improperly to infiltrate employer systems ' obtaining confidential, proprietary and sensitive information.
Features
National Litigation Hotline
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Features
Employee Stock Options: After the Dot-Coms
Employee stock option compensation, once the darling of the dot-com revolution, retains its popularity as an item of damages in wrongful termination matters. As wrongful termination claims mount, so do claims for economic damages involving stock options plans. Many of these reflect misconceptions over the nature of employee stock options, and questionable assumptions on the method of valuing the loss.
In the News
<i>Shellenberger v. Summit Bancorp Inc</i>. is a case that illustrates how a retaliation claim can often be more powerful than the discrimination claim that preceded it. When the case went to trial, plaintiff Sally Shellenberger was pursuing two claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act ' a discrimination claim and a retaliation claim.
FMLA Burdens of Proof: What You Need to Know
An important and developing issue under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA or Act) is the appropriate burden of proof to be applied in assessing a plaintiff's claim. Soon after the FLMA became law in 1993, courts automatically applied the McDonnell-Douglas burden-shifting analysis in all FMLA cases, as they do when considering many other employment-related claims. After nearly 10 years, however, courts are now focusing more directly on burden shifting issues — and revising, if not clarifying, the law.
Features
First Quarter E-Commerce Up From Year Ago, But Down From Fourth Quarter
Estimated first quarter U.S. e-commerce sales totaled $11.921 billion, the Census Bureau reported in May. The amount was a 25.9% increase from last year's first quarter.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›
- Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.Read More ›
- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.Read More ›
- The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity LitigationWhile the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.Read More ›