As a business and employment litigator, I am interested in conflict and its resolution. I was stunned when I heard about the Sandy Hook shooting. I asked myself: why did this happen? How could someone commit such atrocious acts? How can we prevent such atrocities in the future? I once…
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This week, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a case that involves two hot topics in employment law: arbitration agreements and noncompetes. In Nitro-Lift Technologies, LLC v. Howard, two employees who worked in Oklahoma signed a noncompete with their employer at the time, Nitro-Lift. The noncompete included an arbitration clause. The…
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Welcome, guest blogger Dr. Andrew Cook! Andrew is a senior director in the Economic Consulting segment of FTI Consulting. He specializes in economic and statistical analysis to clients involved in litigation, arbitration, mediation and other contexts where parties are engaged in complex business disputes. Andrew is a labor economist with significant experience…
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I have a fear of fashion. I don’t like to wear things that are too loud, too big, or, as my best friend with the opposite fashion sense likes to say, too “look-at-me.” Yesterday I wore a scarf. It was borderline traumatic. I have another friend, Carol—a shopping expert—who helps…
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When Walter “Fritz” Mondale lost to Ronald Reagan in 1984, he is said to have asked George McGovern, who lost to Richard Nixon in 1972, “Tell me, George, when does it stop hurting?” To which McGovern answered, “When it happens, Fritz, I’ll let you know.” Watching Mitt Romney’s concession speech…
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Picture this: you have a small business with more than fifteen employees. Tough economic times require you to lay someone off. You lay someone off who happens to be female. She sues for sex discrimination. You now have to hire an attorney to defend the claim. The attorney wants a…
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Last week, my husband and I had to cut down our favorite tree. The tree was a Chinese elm that shaded our backyard. It was at least 80 feet tall. When we first bought the house, the tree guy told us it was dying and recommended that we cut it…
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This week, I was on the national Internet radio program Money for Lunch, talking about hot topics in labor, employment, and business law. The first question I was asked was whether, in Texas, an employer can make an employee or potential hire turn over his/her social media password(s). In a…
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Last week, the Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment granted in favor of the employer in a discrimination case. In this case, the employee complained that the employer’s decision to give her the second highest possible, but not the highest possible, rating on a performance review was age, race, sex, sexual…
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Last week, I fell out of my office chair onto the floor. The resulting “thud” was so loud that my brother, Russell, who occupies the office below me, immediately phoned to see if I was okay and laugh at me (to his credit, in that order). Other people from down…
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