National Litigation Hotline
Recent cases of importance to your practice.
After Iraq: Obligations to Your Returning Military Employees
According to recent reports, approximately 220,000 reservists and National Guard members are on active duty. With the first phase of the Iraqi war at an end, many of these individuals are, or may soon be, returning home. This article answers some of the most frequently asked questions by employers concerning their obligations to employees while they are on military leave as well as when they return to work as civilians. An employer's obligation with respect to these issues is governed by the Uniformed Services and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA or the Act), 38 U.S.C. ''4301 <i>et seq.</i>
Electronic Media: The Dark Side
The proliferation of electronic media in the workplace has greatly transformed business, enabling employees to communicate almost instantly with one another, and with vendors, clients and customers. The fantastic business advantages gained through advanced electronic media, however, can also negatively impact the workplace. Indeed, individuals may use electronic media improperly to infiltrate employer systems ' obtaining confidential, proprietary and sensitive information.
Features
National Litigation Hotline
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Features
Employee Stock Options: After the Dot-Coms
Employee stock option compensation, once the darling of the dot-com revolution, retains its popularity as an item of damages in wrongful termination matters. As wrongful termination claims mount, so do claims for economic damages involving stock options plans. Many of these reflect misconceptions over the nature of employee stock options, and questionable assumptions on the method of valuing the loss.
In the News
<i>Shellenberger v. Summit Bancorp Inc</i>. is a case that illustrates how a retaliation claim can often be more powerful than the discrimination claim that preceded it. When the case went to trial, plaintiff Sally Shellenberger was pursuing two claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act ' a discrimination claim and a retaliation claim.
FMLA Burdens of Proof: What You Need to Know
An important and developing issue under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA or Act) is the appropriate burden of proof to be applied in assessing a plaintiff's claim. Soon after the FLMA became law in 1993, courts automatically applied the McDonnell-Douglas burden-shifting analysis in all FMLA cases, as they do when considering many other employment-related claims. After nearly 10 years, however, courts are now focusing more directly on burden shifting issues — and revising, if not clarifying, the law.
Features
First Quarter E-Commerce Up From Year Ago, But Down From Fourth Quarter
Estimated first quarter U.S. e-commerce sales totaled $11.921 billion, the Census Bureau reported in May. The amount was a 25.9% increase from last year's first quarter.
Features
Developments of Note
Recent developments in e-commerce law and in the e-commerce industry.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.Read More ›
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.Read More ›
- The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance ProgramsThe parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.Read More ›
- Revised Proposal: Understanding the Interagency Statement on Complex Structured Finance ActivitiesMany U.S. financial institutions that have participated in equipment leasing transactions (particularly in the large-ticket and municipal markets) in the last 20 years will be keenly aware that as the structures grew ever more complicated, Congress and the federal regulatory agencies grew intensely interested. Whether the institution had a major role in the transaction or simply provided a service, some degree of scrutiny could be expected, often in conjunction with a tax audit of its client. The risks to financial institutions from participating in complex structured finance transactions of all types became a source for concern for banking and securities regulators. The principal federal regulators responded in 2004 with a proposal that financial institutions investigate, and bear responsibility for evaluating, the legal, tax, and accounting basis of their clients' complex structured finance transactions. The goal: to limit the institutions' own credit, legal, and reputational risk from such participation.Read More ›
- Removing Restrictive Covenants In New YorkIn Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?Read More ›
