Late, But Not Last, New Mexico Legislature Passes Data Breach Notification Law
3/31/17
By: Jonathan M. Romvary
On March 15, 2017, New Mexico’s Senate passed H.B. 15, the Data Breach Notification Act, making New Mexico the 48th state to pass a data breach notification law. The law, if signed by the …
Trump Has Opportunity to Appoint 4 Judges to Federal Bench in Georgia
3/31/17
By: Amanda M. Cash
While the national media is focused on President Trump’s appointees for positions such as Labor Secretary and the Supreme Court, Georgia employers may not realize that President Trump has the opportunity to make a direct impact …
It Can Take Much Less Than Fraud to Forfeit Insurance Coverage
3/28/17
By: Jessica C. Samford
When people think of insurance fraud, they likely imagine someone intentionally causing a loss in order to receive policy proceeds, but most insurance policies do not limit a carrier’s right to deny coverage or void the …
Anti-Indemnification Bills and Their Effect on the Snow and Ice Management Industry
3/28/17
By: Courtney Mazzio
Recently, there has been a movement in the snow and ice management industry to reduce the ability of contracting parties to transfer risk in the service contracts through indemnification clauses. To that end, there are anti-indemnification bills …
Handling Intermittent FMLA Leave – 3 Mistakes to Avoid
3/27/17
By: Barry S. Brownstein
The FMLA allows qualified employees to take 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for medical reasons or to care for sick family members. Once an employee’s leave period end, that person must be returned …
Second Circuit Rules that Terminating a Needle-Fearing Pharmacist Does Not Violate the ADA
3/27/17
By: Robyn M. Flegal
In 2011, Rite Aid began requiring its pharmacists to perform in-store immunizations. One of Rite Aid’s pharmacists, Christopher Stevens, who had been employed with the company and its predecessors for thirty-four years, obtained a note from …
Timing of Failure to Accommodate Religious Belief Allows Bias Claim to Go Forward
3/27/17
By: Paul H. Derrick
It will be for a jury to decide whether a North Carolina caterer acted unlawfully when it told a newly-hired delivery driver to remove his religious head covering, then terminated him the very next day. In …
Public Entities, Take Note: The Hat You Wear May Determine the Cross You Bear
3/24/17
By: Paul H. Derrick
Public entities – cities, towns, counties, public service districts – often wear many hats. On the one hand, they are governmental bodies that engage in activities that are discretionary, political, legislative, or public in nature and …
Employers Beware: Wearing Pins and Buttons at Work May be Protected Activity
3/24/17
By: Paul H. Derrick
Employers that have a rule or policy prohibiting the wearing of pins and buttons that are not company-issued would do well to rethink that ban. The National Labor Relations Board has again ruled that an employer …
New Jersey’s Appellate Court Rules LAD Exception Applies Concerning Accommodation of Employee’s Religious Practice
3/22/17
By: Barry S. Brownstein
In Tisby vs. Camden County Correctional Facility (CCCF), New Jersey’s Appellate Court decided in January of this year whether the trial court had properly found that the CCCF’s concerns for its safety, security and neutrality were …
Federal Court Rejects Jane Doe’s Wrongful Conception Claims Too
3/21/17
By: Shaun Daugherty
It made headlines when several families around the county sued Atlanta based sperm bank Xytec Corp. for claims that they were lied to regarding the specific characteristics of a donor that had been responsible for the birth …
Internet of Things Device Manufacturer Settles Class Action Lawsuit
3/20/17
By: Matthew N. Foree
Recently, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois preliminarily approved a class action settlement involving the manufacturer of an Internet of Things (“IoT”) device. In this case, two plaintiffs, whose names were …