Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Friday, June 13, 2014
NC Supreme Court Strikes Down
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The North Carolina Supreme Court says the state's first local ordinance banning people from using cellphones while driving is invalid.
The high court on Thursday ruled unanimously that state laws regulate highways and roads and that prohibits the town's enforcement of the cellphone ban.
The court also struck down parts of a separate town ordinance regulating towing. Judges said the town could not cap towing fees or prevent towing companies from passing credit card fees to consumers.
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The North Carolina Supreme Court says the state's first local ordinance banning people from using cellphones while driving is invalid.
The high court on Thursday ruled unanimously that state laws regulate highways and roads and that prohibits the town's enforcement of the cellphone ban.
The court also struck down parts of a separate town ordinance regulating towing. Judges said the town could not cap towing fees or prevent towing companies from passing credit card fees to consumers.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Spring cleaning series: employee handbooks
Read this article we found:
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Spring is almost over, but we still have time for some spring cleaning before the season comes to an end. There have been many recent changes to federal and state labor and employment laws, so now is a great time to review your company policies and update those employee handbooks. This Spring Cleaning installment provides you with a quick overview of some, but certainly not all, recent employment law developments that employers should consider when updating their employee handbooks.
Federal Developments
Employee Conduct Policies
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continues to heavily scrutinize employee conduct policies in employee handbooks. In particular, employers’ policies on social media, the use of employer email systems, employee codes of conduct, and confidentiality are all being targeted in order to determine whether these policies dissuade or “chill” employees from communicating about their work conditions — a protected concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act. As such, these policies should be reviewed to determine whether they are overbroad and/or susceptible of being interpreted as chilling employee rights.
At-Will Disclaimers
The NLRB has recently provided guidance suggesting that at-will disclaimers, which merely restrict the employer’s own representative from entering into employment agreements with employees, are appropriate so long as they do not require employees to refrain from seeking to change their at-will status or agree that their at-will status cannot be changed in any way. Employers should review their at-will disclaimers to ensure that they do not infringe upon employees’ rights to organize or otherwise change the terms and conditions of their employment.
Criminal Background Checks
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has taken an aggressive approach on the use of criminal background checks and is pursuing litigation against various employers whose policies, the EEOC claims, are discriminatory and in violation of federal law. Employers that utilize criminal background reports should review their policy and consider recent EEOC guidance on the subject in order to craft their policies in a way that is likely to withstand scrutiny by the EEOC.
For more information on this topic, see the April 2014 Spring Cleaning Series installment on criminal background checks. (Click here.)
Break Policies for Nursing Mothers
Last year, the U.S. Department of Labor reminded employers that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to require that employers provide reasonable break time for employees to express breast milk for their nursing children and provide a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public.
To the extent that employers do not have specific handbook policies addressing this issue, it may be time to consider adding such a policy. At a minimum, employers may want to review their existing break policies to ensure that such policies do not run afoul of the FLSA.
Description of Benefit Policies
Employers that describe benefits in employee handbooks run the risk that the benefit description may conflict with the description in the plan document or the Summary Plan Description. When such a conflict arises, courts generally interpret the contradictory provisions in the manner most beneficial to employees. Ambiguous language in a handbook may also have the unintended consequence of creating an ERISA plan.
Employers should revisit benefit policy statements in employee handbooks and consult with counsel to ensure that these descriptions and the benefit plan documents do not conflict.
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Employee Handbooks are Necessary
To avoid navigation through the court system in a messy case, you should have an employee handbook for your company. This handbook should state that employee come to you first to settle any disputes they may have before talking to a lawyer. There have been many cases where this excerpt in an employee handbook could have saved a business from disgruntled employee backlash.
As an employment attorney in San Diego (http://wblawgroup.com/employment-attorney-san-diego.html), I would be happy to help construct a well written book for your employees to read and sign. I believe this is a wise decision, and very necessary if you end up in court. It could be used as evidence.
Read more here:
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Hillary Shoe Thrower Once Filed Restraining Order Against Aurora Shooter for ‘Entering Her Mind’
Check out this article we found:
read more at http://www.mediaite.com/online/hillary-shoe-thrower-once-filed-restraining-order-against-aurora-shooter-for-entering-her-mind/
As more details emerge about Allison Michelle Ernst, better known as the Hillary Shoe Thrower, police discovered a strange connection between her and James Egan Holmes, the man allegedly responsible for the 2012 Aurora movie shooting. According to Colorado police, Ernst seemed to be unhealthily obsessed with Holmes, to the point where she filed a rambling lawsuit against him for “entering [her] mind through subliminal messaging and causing [her] to be obsessed with him on a daily basis.”
Ernst, 36, was arrested for, but not charged with assaulting Hillary Clinton during a speech last week in which she hurled a shoe at the former Secretary of State. However, Ernst has a history of erratic behavior: back in 2012, Ernst, boasting a red dress and a shaved head, broke into a Colorado courtroom during one of Holmes’s hearings and declared that she had “information vital to the defense of James Holmes to the public defender,” before being escorted out.
Later, via her own personal website, she filed a lawsuit against the imprisoned Holmes, claiming that he had been stalking her through “mind manipulation,” though she also claimed he was innocent:
James Holmes is innocent and has been framed by the u.s. govt for new world order… James has taken over my life. I sleep, eat, and think James Holmes 24/7 and i seek a restraining order to have this james holmes mind manipulation to stop. I watched inception, so I’m fully aware of james holmes magical powers and also his neuo science studies which now james enters my head like dennis quaid in innerspace and he zooms to my heart and plays with it and forces me to care for him. James sent me naked photos of himself in a joker outfit which offends me. James Holmes wont even look at me on when he is in court and this offends me, my life and skin.
She also believed that the US government was attempting to “Tim McVay” him:
Tim McVay was the man accused of the Oklahoma City Bombing. Much like James Holmes, he was a mind controlled patsy that they dumped the blame for the bombing on and even after proof of other accomplices emerged they were able to keep the death penalty case together. This so called team of lawyers are either the worst lawyers in the world or have been purposely put in to lose the case for the defense.
read more at http://www.mediaite.com/online/hillary-shoe-thrower-once-filed-restraining-order-against-aurora-shooter-for-entering-her-mind/
How do you Apply for a Restraining Order?
Here at Webb & Bordson, APC, we have many family law attorneys in Fresno, CA (http://wblawgroup.com/family-law-attorney-fresno.html). Our attorneys are experienced in dealing with several types of restraining orders.
Documents That You Must Complete to Obtain a Temporary and/or Permanent Restraining Order
Documents That You Must Complete to Obtain a Temporary and/or Permanent Restraining Order
In order to qualify for a Temporary Restraining Order OR a Permanent Restraining Order, you must fill out legal documents that tell the court why you are applying. This will give them an idea of the circumstances and the amount of protection you may need.
To read the full version of this blog post please click the link below:
