employees

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By: James Kachmar

When one or more of your key employees leaves to join a competitor and begins soliciting your customers, one of your strongest weapons under California’s trade secret laws is the ability to obtain an immediate temporary restraining order to stop your former employee and his or new employer from unlawfully competing against you. Many trade secrets cases can be won or lost at the early TRO/preliminary injunction stage. However, it is imperative that employers act fast to protect their rights or they may find that their trade secret case is weakened. Employers may, when faced with departing employees who are soliciting their customers, take a wait and see approach to determine the amount of damage and whether it is worthwhile to hire an attorney to pursue the matter in the court system. While this may make sense from a business approach, it can adversely impact the employer’s remedies should it eventually decide to pursue a lawsuit.Continue Reading Employers: Act Fast or Weaken Your Trade Secret Case

By:  Lizbeth V. West, Esq.

Effective March 8, 2013, those employers covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will be required to comply with the recently issued regulations from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The majority of the new regulations relate to the FMLA’s military leave provisions and the Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act. However, there are a few other minor changes and requirements, including the requirement that employers replace their FMLA poster with an updated poster by March 8, 2013.Continue Reading Are You Ready For Your New Compliance Obligations Under The FMLA?

By:   Brendan J. Begley

On Wednesday, the California Court of Appeal affirmed a casino’s tip-pooling arrangement for its card-dealer employees in Avidor v. Sutter’s Place, Inc. That published decision (available at this link) brings to mind verses from Kenny Rogers’ old country song, The Gambler: “You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away and know when to run.” If the songwriter had known about the Avidor lawsuit, that refrain could have added, “You got to know when California law allows tip-pooling for employees, and know when it don’t.”Continue Reading Don’t Gamble On Tip-Pooling Arrangements

By:  Shauna N. Correia

Employers should be planning ahead for the January 1, 2014 implementation of the “Employer Shared Responsibility” provisions of the Affordable Care Act. That is because the average number of workers a company employed during 2013 will determine whether an employer is a “large employer,” and must offer minimum levels of health insurance to its employees, for 2014. The Internal Revenue Service has now issued a 144-page proposed rule and added a “Q&A” section to the IRS website (found here) geared toward explaining how it will decide whether an employer is required to offer affordable health insurance and what levels of coverage must be provided.Continue Reading IRS Gives Employers Guidance on the Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions of the Affordable Care Act

By:  Chelcey E. Lieber

Let’s say an employee was “completely incapacitated” and needs to take leave due to a back injury. The employee is granted leave, but then terminated while on leave. This sets the perfect stage for a successful interference and retaliation claim, right? The Court in Jaszczyszyn v. Advantage Health Physician Network disagreed (full opinion may be found here: http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/12a1152n-06.pdf).Continue Reading Facebook Pictures Enough for the Sixth Circuit to Uphold the Employer’s “Honest Belief” Defense (Sara Jaszczyszyn v. Advantage Health Physician Network)