Allyn & Fortuna LLPBy: Nicholas Fortuna, November 28, 2023 The Supreme Court issued an ethics code on November 13 to stem criticism after a series of revelations about expensive gifts, luxury travel, payment of private school tuition, and a real property transaction benefiting some of the Justices. The code does not specify how the rules will be enforced or by whom. For years there has been a push to impose an ethical code on Supreme Court Justices. It came to a head in April, when ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom that…
Nicholas Fortuna, June 17, 2016 On May 11, 2016 President Obama signed into law the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), which is an expansion of the Economic Espionage Act. The law provides for the first time a federal cause of action for misappropriation of trade secrets. Previously, state law governed all claims regarding trade secrets. Trade secrets typically include formulas, patterns, compilations, programs, devices, plans, methods, techniques or processes. To be protected, certain common elements must exist: the information is not publically known, reasonable measures have been taken…
Nicholas Fortuna, June 17, 2015. The Supreme Court will take another stab at defining the limits of class actions in the employment setting. On June 8, 2015 the Court granted review certification of a class of more than 3000 Iowa meat-processing employees on their wage and hour claims that resulted in a jury award of nearly $5.8 million in Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo. The justices will consider the Eighth Circuit’s 2-1 decision that the district court did not abuse its discretion by certifying the workers’ collective and…
Nicholas Fortuna, March 2, 2015 New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced last week he intends to submit to the state legislature proposed new laws creating a program to protect and reward employees who report information about financial frauds in banking, insurance, and the financial service industry. Currently, New York does not have a law to protect or encourage whistleblowers who report securities and other financial fraud. The program is modeled after the whistleblower programs at the Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) and U.S. Commodity Future Trading Commission…
Nicholas Fortuna, December 23, 2014 On December 10, 2014, in the matter of Purple Communications, Inc. a divided National Labor Relations Board held that workers have a statutory right to use an employer’s email system to engage in discussions about the terms and conditions of their employment (National Labor Relations Act, Section 7 rights) while on nonworking time. Section 7 of the NLRA grants employees the right to communicate about the terms and conditions of employment for the purpose of “collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.”…
Nicholas Fortuna, October 1, 2014. Google is making it a high priority to uncover unintended bias at the workplace and in hiring. Unconscious bias in hiring may lead to liability under federal and state employment law. Prevention policies, when properly implemented and followed, will avoid such biases from creeping into the decision making process. If the employer’s hiring policies include listing the qualities sought in a candidate in advance and follow a structured process, it is less likely that the employer will discriminate in hiring, and it is…
Nicholas Fortuna, August 21, 2014. Last week The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) expanded the meaning of what is considered concerted activity under the National labor Relations Act (NLRA). Under the Board’s decision in Fresh & Easy Neighborhood market, Inc. and Margaret Elias, the Board determined that Elias was engaged in “concerted activity” for the purpose of ”mutual aid or protection” within the meaning of Section 7 of the NLRA when she sought assistance from her coworkers in asserting a sexual harassment complaint. In doing so, the Board…
Nicholas Fortuna, July 25, 2014. The Supreme Court will determine next term if pregnant employees are entitled to work accommodations due to their pregnancy under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978. The case, Young v. United Parcel Service (UPS), was granted a Writ of Certiorari after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that United Parcel Service was not obligated to provide any accommodations to Ms. Young due to her pregnancy. Ms. Young claims that UPS violated the PDA because it refused to temporarily modify her work…
Nicholas Fortuna, June 4, 2014. The federal courts are struggling with what type of claims may be brought as a class action after the Supreme Court decisions in Comcast v. Behrand, (2013) and Wal-Mart v. Dukes, (2011). The latest battle is in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the matter of Jacob v. Duane Reade, Inc. regarding class certification of a wage and hour case. Wal-Mart established a stricter standard for what constitutes the required common claims within a class by mandating that the acts and/or decisions…
Nicholas Fortuna, April 29, 2014. On April 22, 2014, in the case Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-2 to uphold a voter referendum outlawing affirmative action at Michigan’s public universities. In five separate opinions, the justices set out starkly conflicting views. The majority more or less said that policies affecting minorities that do not involve intentional discrimination should be decided by the voters not judges. Seven other states, including California, Arizona, and Florida have already stopped using preferences for racial minorities…