Employment

Expert Analysis

• Pa. Tax Talk: Takeaways From 2 Commonwealth Court Rulings

  

  A Pennsylvania appellate court's recent decision in Good Shepherd Rehabilitation v. Allentown sets a positive precedent for other nonprofits subject to Allentown's aggressive tax position, and its recent decision in Mandler v. Commonwealth offers a reminder that some taxes, including payroll withholding taxes, are never dischargeable in bankruptcy, says Jennifer Karpchuk at Chamberlain Hrdlicka.

• Firms Should Use Surveys To Make Smart Legal Tech Choices

  

  The utility of legal technology innovations may be limited without clear data and objectives from the outset, but targeted surveys can provide specific insights that enable law firms to adopt the most appropriate and efficient tech solutions, says Tim Scott at Frogslayer.

• Mass. Ruling Highlights Exec Employment Pact Pitfalls

  

  A Massachusetts court’s recent decision that a job offer letter was not enforceable as a contract in Moore v. LGH Medical reminds employers and executives to avoid reliance on ambiguous representations in written or oral negotiations, say Brian MacDonough and Nancy Shilepsky at Sherin and Lodgen.

• Don't Forget Due Diligence In Race For Lateral Associate Hires

  

  Amid high demand for associates and aggressive competition to attract talent, law firms should take three key steps to conduct meaningful prehire due diligence and safeguard against lateral hiring mistakes that can hurt their revenue and reputation, says Michael Ellenhorn at Decipher.

• China Trade Secret Ruling Shows US Cos. Path To Protection

  

  The high court of China recently upheld a record $25 million award against Wanglong Group for theft of vanillin trade secrets, joining several pro-plaintiff legal developments that illustrate why U.S. companies should utilize the jurisdiction when suing Chinese defendants, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn and YuandaWinston.

• 2 Paths To Green Cards For Employment-Based Immigrants

  

  In light of immigration policy changes by the Biden administration and pandemic-related consular processing delays, Cynthia Perez and Douglas Halpert at Hammond Neal lay out the pros and cons of two procedural paths to lawful permanent resident status for employment-based immigrants.

• Addressing Environmental Justice As Part Of ESG Initiatives

  

  Recent calls for racial equity and government regulators' increasing focus on social and environmental concerns make this a good time for companies to integrate environmental justice into their environmental, social and governance efforts, say Stacey Halliday and Julius Redd at Beveridge & Diamond, and Jesse Glickstein at Hewlett Packard.

• Lessons In Civility From The Alex Oh Sanctions Controversy

  

  Alex Oh’s abrupt departure from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and admonishment by a D.C. federal judge over conduct in an Exxon human rights case demonstrate three major costs of incivility to lawyers, and highlight the importance of teaching civility in law school, says David Grenardo at St. Mary's University.

• Maritime Worker Injury Claims After 5th Circ. Welder Ruling

  

  While the Fifth Circuit recently held in Sanchez v. Smart Fabricators that an injured offshore welder could not pursue damages under the Jones Act, certain maritime workers may be able to pursue comparative claims under a longshoremen workers' compensation statute or the Sieracki doctrine, says Grady Hurley at Jones Walker.

• Opinion

  Biz Record Admissibility Rule Must Adapt To An ESI World

  

  The federal rule that permits the use of business records as evidence must be amended to address the unreliability of electronically stored information and inconsistent court frameworks on email admissibility, say Josh Sohn and Nadia Zivkov at Stroock.

• Pandemic-Era Jury Trial Innovations May Be Here To Stay

  

  Many jurisdictions are resuming in-person jury trials, but certain technology-enabled efficiencies could outlast the pandemic and represent lasting changes for the way pretrial proceedings and courtroom presentations take place, says Stuart Ratzan at Ratzan Weissman.

• Pa. Justices' Ruling Presents Big Hurdles For No-Poach Pacts

  

  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent opinion that an employer no-poach agreement was unenforceable in Pittsburgh Logistics Systems v. Beemac Trucking will make future use of such contracts between businesses difficult, and seems to lean heavily toward an outright ban, says attorney Joseph Lincoln.

• Incentivizing Customers In States Banning Vaccine Passports

  

  As several states make vaccine passports illegal, businesses that want their customers vaccinated should try incentives rather than making services conditional, which could run afoul of anti-discrimination laws, say Chase Hattaway and Michael Tessitore at Rumberger Kirk.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Rodriguez Reviews 'When Machines Can Be Judge'

  

  Katherine Forrest's new book, "When Machines Can Be Judge, Jury, and Executioner," raises valid transparency concerns about artificial intelligence tools used by judges when making bail and sentencing decisions, but her argument that such tools should be rejected outright is less than convincing, says U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez of the Western District of Texas.

• 5 Steps For Law Firms Rethinking Flexible Work Post-COVID

  

  A flexible work environment will be key to recruiting and retention efforts post-pandemic, so law firms must develop comprehensive policies that solidify expectations and boundaries on accommodations such as flextime, remote work and reduced hours, says Manar Morales at the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.