Don't Sue The County if Your Car is Damaged by a Pothole…One Time
7/31/14
By: Coleen D. Hosack
Can you maintain suit against the county that builds and maintains your roads if your car hits a pothole and is damaged as a result? Probably not — unless your car hits that pothole more than …
VISA Issues Security Alert Due to Increased Data Breaches Caused by Insecure Remote Access
7/30/14
By: David Cole
When a merchant experiences a data breach involving credit card information, it is often required by the card brands to hire a Payment Card Industry Forensic Investigator (PFI). The PFI investigates the incident and then provides a …
Recent Georgia Court of Appeals Decision a Cautionary Tale for Subcontractors
7/28/14
By: Gautam Y. Reddy
The Georgia Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion dismissing a paving subcontractor’s claims for payment. The case, First Bank of Georgia v. Robertson Grading, Inc., (Case No. A14A0701), represents a rather harsh result for …
Does E-Verify Participation Increase Your Probability of Being Audited?
7/23/14
By: Kelly Eisenlohr-Moul
Unfortunately, the short answer is “yes.”
Over the last year, the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (“OSC”), located within the Department of Justice, has touted numerous settlements for alleged “document abuse” (discriminatory I-9 …
EEOC’s New Enforcement Guidance On Pregnancy Expands Interpretation of Existing Law
7/22/14
By: Amanda McCallum Cash
After a 3-2 vote, on July 14, 2014, the EEOC issued its first Enforcement Guidance on pregnancy in over 30 years. While the new guidelines cover a number of pregnancy-related topics that all employers should consider, …
Courts Continue to Question Protections Afforded By Iconic Business Judgment Rule – Georgia Joins the Trend
7/21/14
By: Michael Wolak, III
The business judgment rule is an iconic fixture in American corporate jurisprudence reflecting a strong judicial reluctance to question the business judgments of directors and officers. In its classic form, the business judgment rule insulates a …
Why Every Company Needs Form I-9 Training (P.S. It's Free!)
7/18/14
By: Kelly Eisenlohr-Moul
Over the past two years, many of our clients have felt the effects of a federal enforcement shift: increased form I-9 and E-Verify audits, Office of Special Counsel complaints, and civil lawsuits focused on the alleged suppression …
Commission Wages Are Only Attributable to the Pay Period In Which They Are Paid to Satisfy California Compensation Requirements
7/17/14
By: Sandra K. McIntyre
This week, in Peabody v. Time Warner Cable, the California Supreme court concluded that an employer satisfies the minimum earnings prong of the commissioned employee exemption only in those pay periods in which it actually …
The Un-American Rule Puts California Employers at Risk
7/16/14
By: Lisa R. Gorman
Many of my initial conversations with clients begin with them – shocked and outraged at the allegations – declaring their disinterest in settling. Of course we take these denials with a grain of salt, but frequently …
Are We Speaking the Same Language?
7/15/14
By: Seth F. Kirby
When describing insurance coverage analysis to individuals unfamiliar with the nature of my practice, I often compare it to assembling a puzzle. Coverage counsel has to examine the claim presented to determine if it fits within …
Pre-emption and Parallel Claims in Medical Device Litigation: Impact of U.S. Supreme Court’s Denial of Certiorari in Stengel
7/14/14
By: Michael P. Bruyere and Michael J. Eshman
As federal courts and parties wrestle with the issue of pre-emption and parallel state-law claims in medical device litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court elected not to weigh-in on the 9th Circuit’s …
Municipal Liability: Failing to Provide Inmates with Adequate Medical Attention
7/9/14
By: A. Ali Sabzevari
The Georgia Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument this September and will hopefully address and bring clarity to what the proper analysis is for determining whether a municipality is entitled to sovereign immunity for …