HR - General

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's employment and labor law final exam. We hope it was challenging and informative. Congratulations to Marla Guenther of Hilton Head Hospital and Ruth Pastula of Georgetown County Water & Sewer District for being selected from the pool of perfect sc

What effect are liberalized marijuana laws having on employer drug policies?

Ruling that under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), an individual “exceeds authorized access” only when he obtains or alters information on a computer that he does not have authorization to access for any purpose, the federal appeals court in New York has reversed the conviction of a

It seems the White House and Congress can agree on at least one thing—financial institutions are over-burdened by current privacy notice rules. In a move that is hoped to save financial institutions significant costs on postage, printing and administrative resources, on Friday, December 4, 2015, Pre

With the new year less than one month away, the compliance countdown for new laws has begun. Limited time remains in 2015 for employers to ensure policies and practices are developed or revised to meet 2016 obligations. Time is of the essence, particularly as key management personnel are more likely

As 2015 winds down, it's time to test your employment and labor law knowledge with Nexsen Pruet's fifth annual exam. From COBRA to the ADEA to right to work law, it's your time to show off your knowledge of employment law!

It is not a matter of "if" but "when" an employer will be required to notify employees of a security breach. Forty-seven states require employers to notify employees when defined categories of personal information, including Social Security numbers, are acquired by unauthorized parties, and every em

On Monday, President Obama signed into law a two-year bipartisan budget deal that has several implications for employers. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (H.R. 1314) suspends the debt ceiling limit until March 2017, and eases some of the effects of sequestration. The measure necessarily contains s

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act or CISA passed the Senate this week by vote of 74-21, but not without controversy. CISA would not establish a generally applicable federal standard for safeguarding personal information, nor would it enact a federal breach notification requirement. Rather, i

Halloween is traditionally a time for “trick or treating.” For human resource professionals, many days can be Halloween-like, filled with unexpected events or career rewards. Recently, dozens of HR professionals participated in a fun, thought-provoking survey as part of the annual South Carolina Soc

As multinational employers are aware, data privacy laws can vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Ensuring compliance with the different requirements can be challenging, and the penalties for noncompliance can be severe. FordHarrison has joined with Ius Laboris member firms to produce Data

On October 8, 2015, President Obama signed the Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees (PACE) Act, which will block the scheduled expansion of the definition of “small employer” under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). PACE, which was passed by a rare unanimous vote in the Senate, will limit the fe

On Wednesday, the White House hosted a Summit on Worker Voice, an all-day event focused on promoting organized labor. The Summit featured panel discussions involving workers, union officials and organizers, and "model" employers. Both President Obama and Vice President Biden spoke at the event. Pres

On October 7, 2015, the White House and the U.S. Department of Labor will host a "Summit on Worker Voice," an event intended to "ensure that working Americans are fully sharing in the benefits of the broad-based economic growth that they are helping to create." The all-day event marketed for workers

Courts continue to wrestle with preemption issues, the tension between sweeping federal laws purporting to regulate an industry or industries and laws enacted at the local level, such as labor laws impacting labor costs. In the most recent example, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejec

Sensitive employer information may be the subject of secret Government prying. With the pervasive use of smart phones in business today, and with those phones containing confidential personal and business information, law enforcement has the ability to take information from those smart phones withou

With the race for the White House heating up, the “politics of marijuana” is looming as a possibly significant factor.

It is vital that all employers investigate internal complaints that may be covered under a variety of laws, including EEO laws (for example, Title VII, ADA, ADEA, and state EEO laws), whistleblower laws such as, Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd Frank (and state whistleblower laws), OSHA, the False Claims Act, a

Executive Summary: Florida Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency as forecasters continue to track the path of Tropical Storm Erika, which is predicted to hit the state on Monday. Although it is unclear how strong the storm will be when it reaches land, it has killed several people in

Before the Senate adjourned for the August recess, two Democratic members tried to force the chamber to agree to bring minimum wage, paid sick leave, and flexible scheduling bills to the floor for a vote in the fall. On Wednesday, Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) asked for unani