Employee Mobility: Theft of Confidential Customer Information Results in Criminal Conviction

By Bob Egelko

A jury in San Francisco convicted a former manager of an executive search firm of six felonies Wednesday for taking confidential customer information from the company’s computers, which he used to start a competing firm. … Continue Reading

Employment Contracts: No-Hire Provisions In Settlement and Commercial Agreements — Are they Legal?

By Robert D. Goldstein

The potential antitrust impact of no-hire agreements between competitors has been a hot topic over the last few years, particularly in the high-tech industry where competition for the most talented programmers, developers and engineers is intense. An antitrust class action pending in the US District Court for the Northern District of California against six high tech firms — Intuit, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit and Pixar – illustrates just how high the stakes can be when a no-hire agreement among competitors is challenged under federal and state antitrust laws. … Continue Reading

Exit Management: How to Leave a Job With Your Personal Tech Intact

(Editor’s Note:  HRG usually includes articles from the employer’s or HR’s point of view.  This excellent article by Mary K. Pratt from PC World, is an excellent example of how the employer and employee work together to untangle tech at the point of departure.  Mary Wright, Editor)

By Mary K. Pratt, Computerworld

The ability to transition ethically and legally from one job to another has always been something of an art.

Now, in these days of personal gadgetry and social media mania, it’s become infinitely more difficult moving from old employment to new. Today’s job changers must figure out how to untangle personal information and unplug personal electronics from company property. And the lines aren’t always clear. … Continue Reading

Employee Mobility: Watch Your Assets! Protect Company Assets from Employee Misappropriation (4 Part Series)

By John C. Glancy and Tobias E. Schlueter

In this series of blog posts we will examine the use of injunctive relief in state and federal courts in response to employees who have misappropriated confidential information and trade secrets, who solicit clients and employees, or who violate non-compete agreements. We will address strategic decisions that must be made quickly when unfair competition is first discovered, examine the legal process of securing equitable relief, and explore other remedies available in these situations. … Continue Reading

Exit Management: Steps in Handling Employee Resignations

By Michael D. Haberman

A small client asked me the other day “What do you do when someone resigns?” For someone who has been in HR for a long time you just don’t think about that anymore, you just do it. But the question made me think that they may not be the only company out there that has not really dealt with resignations. So here is some guidance on the steps needed in handling employee resignations.
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Sexual Harassment: Employee “Love Contracts” — Office Romance to Paperwork!

Schaefer’s advice is not just for Valentine’s Day.

By Lorene Schaefer

Concerned about sexual harassment charges, employers are wary of cupid’s arrow this Valentine’s Day and some of them are turning to “Love Contracts” or in lawyer terms – a Consensual Relationship Agreement.  A Consensual Relationship Agreement is an effort to mitigate the risk of sexual harassment claims from an office romance gone awry by documenting that the relationship is consensual. … Continue Reading

Massachusetts Contingent Workers Law Goes Into Effect in January

By Susan G. Fentin

Massachusetts’ new law requiring staffing agencies to provide temporary workers with more information regarding their employment will go into effect on January 31, 2013.  The Temporary Workers Right to Know Act (H. 4304) requires staffing agencies to provide workers with written notice of the agency’s name, its workers’ compensation carrier, and the name of the worksite employer. … Continue Reading

New CA Overtime Law Codifies “No Explicit Mutual Wage Agreements”

By Mary Wright, Editor

Recently, the California Advice Group received the following question from a human resources manager concerning salaried non-exempt employees.  As the law is changing in this area, it is a very timely question. … Continue Reading

Concepcion and the California Supreme Court

By Steve Pearl

I have said before that the California Supreme Court seems to be lacking direction in employment law cases since the departure of Justices George and Moreno. This seemed apparent in its decisions in Harris v. Superior Court and Brinker v. Superior Court, though it was less apparent in State Building and Construction Trades Council (charter cities need not comply with prevailing wage law) and Kirby v. Immoos (no attorney fees under section 218.5 in meal and rest period cases).

The Court’s actions in the wake of AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion lend further support to my theory. The Court has granted review in four post-Concepcion arbitration cases and denied review four others. The results yield no clear picture of where the Court is headed. Here are the cases and their key rulings, listed chronologically. Click on the case name for further discussion. … Continue Reading

Review Severance Packages to Limit Liability for Age Bias

(Editor’s Note:  This is important to look for when HR receives the final severance package from in house legal or outside employment lawyers.  – Mary Wright)

When employers offer severance packages, they often ask employees to waive their rights to sue the employer. That’s a smart strategy, but small discrepancies in the agreement’s wording can make the difference between a successful severance package and a call from the EEOC.

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