Linking Autism Injuries to Childhood Vaccines
Does the Vaccine Act preempt all design defect claims in state and federal court? Parents convinced that their children's autism has been caused by inoculations, and their attorneys, recently achieved a surprising victory on the issue when the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that a plaintiff's design defect claims are not barred by the Vaccine Act's preemption clause.
Children's Products
A manufacturer cannot assume that just because its product is in compliance with the CPSIA, the product is also in compliance with California's statutes, or vice versa. Ultimately, only a product-specific analysis can determine whether a product that complies with the CPSIA is also compliant with California's AB 1108 and Proposition 65.
Overtime Implications of Bonus Plans Under the FLSA
This article discusses both the general rule that bonus payments must be included in the "regular rate" calculation for overtime purposes, and the three most common exceptions to this general rule. It also tests your knowledge of these rules.
Update on Retaliation Claims
Continuation of an analysis of <i>Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp.</i>, wherein the Seventh Circuit held that an employee's strictly oral complaints about allegedly improper wage practices did not implicate the FLSA's prohibition of retaliation against those who have "filed any complaint."
Damages: A Tax Break for Plaintiffs Raises Interesting Issues
The Third Circuit recently delivered a significant clarification on economic damages in employment matters. In <i>Eshelman v. Agere Systems Inc.</i>, the court held that plaintiffs in employment-discrimination suits may recover for the negative tax consequences of receiving a lump-sum award for back pay.
Too Much Information?
There is considerable information available in cyberspace ' much of it interesting, some of it damning, and some of it false. Obtaining that information feels risk free and virtually untraceable. However, the universe of employment laws applies to much of what happens when virtual sleuthing yields tangible job consequences.
Law Departments Putting Cost-Cutting into Action
Cost-control methods in law departments are more than just talk as cost pressures are creating a fundamental shift in the management and operation of the departments and their interaction with outside counsel, results of a recent Hildebrandt International survey suggest.
Lessons Learned: The DOJ's Crackdown on Hiring Practices
Over the past several months, the DOJ has begun investigating several leading technology companies for possible violations of the antitrust laws. One focus of the multi-faceted investigation is whether certain companies have violated antitrust laws by agreeing among themselves not to recruit one another's employees.
Document Retention and Spoliation
Corporate counsel should note recent legal developments surrounding spoliation ' the destruction or significant alteration of evidence, or the failure to preserve property for another's use as evidence in pending or reasonably foreseeable litigation. This violation occurs when one party intentionally or negligently breaches its duty to preserve potentially discoverable evidence.
