I wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year ..read more

This article is the first of 3 parts to cover 3 Acts of Congress directed at expanding the rights of sexual harassment and abuse victims. The series of 3 federal laws on sexual harassment claims Congress first in 2017, with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”), limited employer tax deductions for settlements of sexual harassment and abuse cases where the settlement agreement included a nondisclosure agreement. That’s what this article is about. Congress next in March 2022 passed the  Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Harassment Act of 2021 which invalidates arbitrat ..read more

I hope everyone has a great Christmas and New Year! Here is a picture of my best present this year, a watercolor painting my daughter (age 17) gave me, showing Santa delivering presents to beluga whales (and you can see that one of the belugas is wearing a Christmas hat): Santa delivering presents to beluga whales might seem like an unusual Christmas present, but my daughter and I have been in love with belugas since we visited Chicago when she was 9 years old, and we encountered beluga whales at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. Here are some pictures I took on that trip that help explain why we lov ..read more

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has updated its poster that employers are required to display in their workplaces. Here is the EEOC’s web site on its poster. Here is an internet (HTML) copy of the poster. Here is the PDF of the printable poster for wall display. The name of the poster is “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal”. The poster does a good job of educating employees and employers on essential aspects of the federal anti-discrimination laws. It covers what employees are protected, what employers are covered, the protected characteris ..read more

Part 1 of a series on West Virginia employment law This blog article is the first part of a series I will write on employment law in West Virginia, with a focus on litigation issues relating to alleged wrongful discharge. I will start with the employment at will rule, and will carry through with articles on the numerous exceptions to the employment at will rule. What is the employment at will rule? The courts have long had a love-hate relationship with the employment at will rule. West Virginia, like virtually all other states, adheres to the rule. So, what is the employment at will rule? For ..read more

Courage. While still a practicing lawyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1973 argued to 9 men on the United States Supreme Court in a historically significant case, Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677 (1973). Ginsburg asked the Supreme Court to recognize for the first time that the guarantee of “equal protection of the laws” contained in the Fifth Amendment (ratified in 1791) protected women and men from discrimination based on sex. In talking to the 9 men on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg stated: I “urge[] a position forcibly stated in 1837 by Sara Grimke, noted abolitionist and advocate of equal righ ..read more

I look forward to speaking at the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association’s annual conference on October 12 and 13, 2018, at Hawk’s Nest State Park in Ansted, West Virginia. I will be speaking and presenting an article on the Harless wrongful discharge doctrine, which deals with termination of employees where the employer’s motivation allegedly violates a substantial public policy. I will also be presenting an article and participating in a panel discussion on social networking & electronic discovery issues. Here is information on the conference, joining the WVELA, and ..read more

Lessons for Employers The U.S. State Department has about 70,000 employees. Rex Tillerson was confirmed as President Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, and yesterday was his first day on the job. So Tillerson spoke yesterday to hundreds of State Department employees to introduce himself and talk about their shared mission. I was impressed by the speech, and I thought the speech could give a lot of guidance to management about the message that companies and government agencies should communicate to their employees. Here are my thoughts on what Secretary Tillerson said that should be view ..read more

On March 29, 2017, I will be speaking and presenting an article on “The Perilous Intersection of FMLA and ADA,” at a seminar hosted by Sterling Education Services. The Seminar, “Employment Law: Rights, Benefits, and Emerging Issues,” will take place in Morgantown, West Virginia. If you would like to attend the seminar click here for more information and a registration form. Here is the agenda for my speech and article: FMLA updates ADA updates and EEOC guidelines Expansion of what can be considered a “disability” What constitutes “reasonable accommodation” according to the EEO ..read more