Employment

Expert Analysis

• Texas Employers Take Notice: Proposed Bills For 2019

  

  Many of the bills submitted at the end of the Texas Legislature's last session for consideration next year affect the workplace and carry the potential to significantly alter the landscape for employers and their employees, says Felix Digilov of Fisher Phillips.

• Justices Hard To Read In Key Social Security Procedure Case

  

  A case of great importance to advocates for Social Security claimants, Biestek v. Berryhill seems straightforward in one sense, but the range of questions at oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court suggest it may not be, says Bill Nolan of Barnes & Thornburg LLP.

• Opening Comments: A Key Strategic Decision In Mediation

  

  Opening comments by parties in mediation that are made with the proper content and tone can diffuse pent-up emotion and pave the way for a successful resolution. But an opening presentation can do more harm than good if delivered the wrong way, say Jann Johnson and William Haddad of ADR Systems LLC.

• A Guide To Workplace Violence Prevention And Response

  Excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor

  

  In this Lexis Practice Advisor excerpt, Elizabeth Harlan of Astrachan Gunst Thomas offers practical employer strategies for inhibiting and reacting to violence in the workplace.

• Top 10 Whistleblowing And Retaliation Events Of 2018

  

  This year saw significant changes in the landscape of whistleblower and retaliation law, including a game-changing decision from the U.S. Supreme Court and the three largest bounty awards issued in the history of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, say Steven Pearlman and Meika Freeman of Proskauer Rose LLP.

• Why The High Court Will Hear Cochise Consultancy V. US

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Cochise Consultancy v. United States ex rel. Hunt, which deepened the circuit split over how the False Claims Act’s statute of limitations applies in certain qui tam actions. The decision should bring sorely needed clarity, say Matthew Curley and Scott Gallisdorfer of Bass Berry & Sims PLC.

• Nonprofits And Volunteers: Understanding The Risks

  

  Nonprofit organizations commonly rely on volunteers to help achieve their mission. But circumstances in which volunteers can be treated as employees for purposes of tax, employment or negligence laws can have costly ramifications, says Ryan Portugal of Williams Parker Harrison Dietz & Getzen.

• Class Cert. Evidence Standard Likely Headed To High Court

  

  With circuit courts irreconcilably split on expert testimony at the class certification stage, the Ninth Circuit’s recent decision not to reconsider Sali v. Corona Regional Medical Center all but guarantees the issue will soon reach the U.S. Supreme Court, say Thomas Richie and John Goodman of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP.

• OFCCP Employee Selection Guidance: A Few Misconceptions

  

  Meeting the scope and variety of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' adjunct employee selection requirements is a continuing challenge for contractors. Richard Fischer, research psychologist with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and former OFCCP testing expert, debunks some common misinterpretations.

• Opinion

  Why We Need Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Awards

  

  The recent Mossack Fonseca indictments and Deutsche Bank raid would not have been possible without the whistleblower behind the Panama Papers leak. But there is no incentive for rooting out the type of criminal money laundering revealed here, creating a large enforcement gap, say Eric Havian and Michael Ronickher of Constantine Cannon LLP.