EEOC Information Requests
December 22, 2006
Understandably, companies have become more sensitive about protecting confidential, proprietary business information from disclosure to competitors and others outside the company. A recent ruling by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, <i>Venetian Casino Report v. EEOC</i>, 2006 WL 2806568 (D.D. Cir. 2006), demonstrates that such disclosures may occur in the most unexpected ways.
The Price of Holiday Parties
December 22, 2006
Now that the holiday season is over, employers may be facing fallout from their holiday parties. Although a review of recent cases asserting social host and workers' compensation liability reveals few reported decisions, there is likely no corresponding reduction in risk, and the increasing number of employers hosting holiday parties in recent years prompts an analysis of the challenges employers face in planning their annual holiday parties. It is not too soon to plan for next year's celebrations, while the experience from this year is fresh. This article discusses illustrative cases and suggests a number of concrete steps employers may wish to consider to reduce injuries and potential liabilities in planning their next holiday parties.
Managing the New Company Thief
November 29, 2006
It used to be that an employee desiring to steal $2 million from your company would have a hard time doing so unnoticed. Today, that employee can do so undetected while having a casual conversation with you in the office. Unfortunately, in the current environment, the legal system is not forgiving toward companies that take a more relaxed approach with respect to protecting their own sensitive information.
ERISA Amendments Effective Dec. 31
November 29, 2006
On Sept. 26, the Employee Benefits Security Administration of the Department of Labor (department) issued proposed regulations implementing amendments to ' 404(c) of the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA).(The proposed regulations are at 29 CFR ' 550.404c-5.) These amendments were made by ' 624 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (the act) and provide relief to fiduciaries of participant-directed individual account plans where, in the absence of investment directions from a participant, the plan invests such participant's assets in a 'qualified default investment alternative.'
Health Plans and Birth Control
November 29, 2006
In last month's issue, we discussed the fact that the New York high court upheld a law requiring health plans to offer birth control. We discussed how non-believers are affected, and outlined defence to legislature. This month's article concludes the discussion.
NLRB Rulings Regarding Supervisors
November 29, 2006
Before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its recent decisions in the Kentucky River cases, union leaders and activists predicted dire consequences ' potentially stripping millions of workers, especially in the healthcare industry, of their rights to join a union. Unions, which are trying to attract more employees to their ranks, staged rallies and other events to draw attention to these cases. But the decisions did not dramatically redraw the lines for determining which workers are considered supervisors and which are not. Instead, they provided guidance that will be helpful to employers and unions alike in determining the status of workers whose classification falls into the gray area between supervisor and employee. The analysis remains highly fact-specific and appears unlikely to create the dramatic effects predicted.
What Automatic Stay?
November 28, 2006
In last month's article, we stated that among the abuses of the bankruptcy system to be remedied by BAPCPA is that of serial filing. The purpose of this two-part article is to provide a brief overview of BAPCPA's new provisions in revised ' 362 of the Bankruptcy Code, to summarize the various issues examined by the courts to date, and to provide some practical recommendations from the perspectives of debtor or credit. We continue this month with a discussion of presumption.
Litigation
October 30, 2006
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
Marital Misconduct and Alimony
October 30, 2006
Decisional law in New Jersey has long expressed the view that alimony is neither a punishment for the payor nor a reward for the payee. <i>Aronson v. Aronson</i>, 245 N.J. Super. 354, 364 (App. Div.1991). Rather, it is an economic right that arises out of the marital relationship that provides a dependent spouse with a level of support and standard of living commensurate with the quality of economic life that existed during the marriage. <i>Stiffler v. Stiffler</i>, 304 N.J. Super 96, 99 (Ch. Div.1997) (quoting <i>Koelble v. Koelble</i>, 261 N.J. Super. 190, 192-93 (App. Div. 1992)).
