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The Physician Employment Trend Continues

February 8, 2012
Posted In Employee Contracts, Employment Law

As healthcare reform continues to be implemented, the trend toward clinical integration and consolidation also continues and will be a defining characteristic of healthcare delivery in the years ahead.  One critical component of clinical integration and consolidation has been health systems employing physicians to form large multi-specialty groups to serve the patient population.  Physicians contemplating entering into an employment relationship with a hospital or health system must examine a number of critical issues before entering into an employment agreement. More >

Retaliation by Association

February 6, 2012
Posted In Employment Discrimination Laws, Employment Law, Retaliation by Association

Last January, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded those protected under the retaliation provisions of Title VII and included employees who have a close family relationship to a person who has made a complaint of discrimination.  Previously, only those persons who actually made or supported a complaint were protected by law.  However, in Thompson v. North American Stainless, the Supreme Court unanimously held that it is an unlawful employment practice to fire or otherwise retaliate against an employee's "close family member" who has filed claim of discrimination.  In Thompson, two employees were engaged to one another.  The female co-worker filed a claim of discrimination against her supervisors and subsequently, the male was fired.  The male filed a claim of retaliation under Title VII claiming that his termination was in retaliation for his fiancée's discrimination complaint. While the Sixth Circuit held that he did not state a claim under the statute as one who "engaged in protected activity," the U.S. Supreme Court reversed holding that the anti-retaliation provisions protect conduct that may dissuade a worker from making or supporting a charge of discrimination.  As applied in this case, the Court determined that the female co-worker may have been dissuaded from making a claim of discrimination if she knew that her fiancée could be fired as a result.  This case gives a cause of action to the "close family member" for retaliation and opens employers up to additional liability. More >

NLRB Postpones Posting Notice Rule to April 30, 2012

January 25, 2012
Posted In Employee Contracts, Employment Law, National Labor Relations Act

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) officially announced that its implementation deadline for the new notice-posting rule has been postponed from January 31, 2012 to April 30, 2012. The NLRB issued a press release stating that it agreed to postpone the implementation of the rule per the request of a Washington D.C. federal court before which a legal challenge regarding the rule is pending. In a notice posted on its website, the NLRB announced: More >

Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, et al.

January 13, 2012
Posted In EEOC, Employee Contracts, Employment Discrimination Laws, Employment Law, Hosanna-Tabor Opinion

This week the US Supreme Court issued an opinion which has been touted by some as a huge win for religious institutions in the United States, and which has already been spun by certain political pundits as a roadblock to Federal government intrusion.  While certainly significant, the scope and fallout from Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, et al., 556 U.S. ___ (2012),[1] Slip Opinion No. 10-553 (January 11, 2012), is unknown, and may be less momentous than some hoped.  More >

It’s a New Year—Time to Review Your Employment Policies

January 3, 2012
Posted In Employee Contracts, Employment Law, Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), Social Media

Happy New Year!  In the spirit of out with the old and in with the new, now is a great time to review your employment policies and see if it’s time for an update.  Depending on your business, any one of the policies may need to be drafted or updated: More >

Is your business covered?

December 9, 2011
Posted In Business Insurance, Employment Law, Insurance Coverage

While nearly all business owners know that they need to purchase and maintain insurance to cover unexpected loss and liabilities, many discover only too late that the insurance which they purchased does not provide the extent or type of coverage expected.  It is vitally important that any business owner fully understand what his/her insurance does and does not cover and the types of insurance needed.  What insurance is needed will depend upon factors such as the size of the business, the type of business, the number of employees and the risks involved with operation.  As litigation in general increases, particularly in the employment area, the time to ask questions about the scope of one's coverage is not upon service of suit, but rather, at the time insurance is purchased.  In most instances a variety of insurance coverage is advisable, and the cost of the insurance is routinely minor compared to what the cost would be to defend a lawsuit through trial.  Employment practices liability coverage, for example, is becoming increasingly popular for medium to large employers to protect from suits for harassment, wrongful termination, and the like, and such coverage can prove of vital importance in the event of litigation.    More >

FMLA—Designating Leave and Employer Required Notices

December 2, 2011
Posted In Employee Contracts, Employment Law, Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”)

A recent article of the Kentucky Employment Law Letter outlined several important provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) regulations concerning notices which an employer must provide to an employee.  Amongst those notices are the general notices which must be posted in a workplace and made part of any employee handbook.  The general notices provide that “every employer covered by the FMLA is required to post and keep posted on its premises, in conspicuous places where employees are employed, a notice explaining the [Act’s] provisions and providing information concerning the procedures for filing complaints of violations of the Act with the [federal] wage and hour division”, and also employers must “provide this general notice to each employee by including the notice in employee handbooks or other written guidance to employees… or by distributing a copy of the general notice to each new employee upon hiring.”  These provisions for general notice regarding FMLA are easily complied with and very straight forward.  Other notices can be a bit more difficult to keep up with in a busy day-to-day business setting.  More >

The Irony of the Communications Decency Act

November 16, 2011
Posted In Communications Decency Act, Employment Law, Internet & Media Law, Internet Defamation, Social Media

As many unfortunate individuals have found, there are limited remedies for individuals who are the subject of unflattering information posted on the Internet. Next month, for the first time, a United States District Court in the Sixth Circuit will have an opportunity to rule on the Communications Decency Act which provides internet service providers immunity from liability for publishing defamatory information. The legislative history of the Communications Decency Act reveals that it originally had a far different purpose. More >

Who Breached First? Protecting the enforceability of an employer’s no-compete agreement in Kentucky.

November 11, 2011
Posted In Employee Contracts, Employment Law, Non-Compete Agreement

Many employers are aware of the substantial benefits a no-compete agreement can provide. No-compete agreements (also referred to as covenants not to compete) offer effective protection for an employer’s legitimate business interests, including but not limited to preventing former employees from taking away clients or customers[i] and protecting against the use and dissemination of an employer’s confidential and/or proprietary information.[ii] Indeed, even Kentucky courts acknowledge that no-compete agreements serve as a “valuable business tool” for employers. [iii] More >

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