A ruling of the National Labor Relations Board in favor of an employee fired for using vulgar language on a company bulletin board was affirmed in August by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The ruling of both the NLRB and the court of appeals in Constellium Rolled Products v. NLRB regarding the employer's discipline for the comment is a perfect example of how confusing the protection of concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act can be ...
The changes in the cannabis industry in Southeastern United States represent some of the most surprising and remarkable changes in the history of the industry. The South is well positioned to be a leader in the cannabis industry, and in some ways, it should be expected. The region has been instrumental in highly regulated industries, such as alcohol and tobacco, and the only federally sanctioned cannabis grow program has operated at the University of Mississippi since the 1960s ...
As we begin 2022, the renewable energy industry in the United States has much for which to be thankful: A strong demand for clean power, increasing recognition of the need for an accelerated energy transition, and a thriving, successful base of developers and contractors working toward this common goal ...
The overturning of Roe v. Wade, combined with a largely unknown workers' compensation case presented to the U.S. Supreme Court — for which certiorari was recently denied — reveal the Biden administration's position on cannabis: The Biden administration doesn't care about cannabis issues ...
Introductory signals, according to The Bluebook, help legal writers “organiz[e] authorities and show how authorities support or relate to a proposition given in the text.” In a perfect world, The Bluebook would be easy to follow, all lawyers would use it uniformly, and there would always be a case on point. But the practice of law is rarely perfect. Consider The Bluebook ...
Cyber risks are increasing, and as a result, due diligence inquiries and valuations are increasingly focusing on the cybersecurity and privacy risks inherent in a business’s collection, use, retention and disposal of data. Similarly, a business’s information security posture and vulnerability to cyberattacks has become a key concern in corporate due diligence ...
The leaked opinion overturning Roe, combined with a largely unknown workers’ compensation case pending before the Supreme Court, reveals the Biden administration’s position on cannabis: The Biden administration doesn’t care about cannabis issues ...
Have you ever heard a story and thought, “That only happens in the movies!”? Well, this story may invoke that thought, but unfortunately for one lawyer, it transpired in real life. Although the rule is clear that lawyers cannot reveal privileged communications without client authorization, a Washington lawyer’s conduct illustrates that the rule is tough to remember, or recognize, in casual, friendly settings ...
The onslaught of ransomware attacks by cybercriminals increases unabated every year, affecting everyone from mom and pop shops on Main Street to corporate lions of Wall Street. Hackers infiltrate an organization's computer network through social engineering tactics like phishing emails or by exploiting network security weaknesses, allowing vital digital information to be hijacked and held for ransom ...
The Second Circuit recently broadened the circumstances for when a public company should disclose government investigations. Bradley partner Elisha Kobre explains that companies will need to consider when reasonable investors would “want to know” about a probe, which is a higher standard than in earlier cases ...
Successfully navigating the Florida state court litigation system has become easier and less costly based on recent procedural and logistical developments. With more changes on the horizon, staying current on these developments is vital for anyone with a presence in the state court system. The COVID-19 pandemic brought extensive logistical changes to Florida courthouses ...
Bradley attorneys Heather Howell Wright, Elizabeth R. Brusa and Andrew Tuggle authored chapter 12 of A Practical Guide to Cyber Insurance for Businesses. This book is a practical guide for insurance brokers, underwriters, risk managers and businesses as each of these constituencies work with each other to choose the right cyber insurance product for commercial businesses ...
Construction law is NOT boring, at least that’s what I tell my daughters. In these series of posts, I will explore some of the VERY interesting historical facts about construction law that can be used at your next motion hearing, family gathering, social event or fellow lawyer meeting. While these anecdotes may not keep your kids or significant others from rolling their eyes, hopefully they can provide a small respite from your (yes, I admit) sometimes boring life in construction law ...
When Neil Young wrote that “Southern change gonna come at last,” he wasn’t talking about cannabis— but he might as well have been in light of the recent and extraordinary developments in the cannabis industry in the southern United States ...
Until recently government enforcement and regulatory scrutiny of fraud and other misconduct relating to COVID-19 relief programs were generally limited to end recipients of the relief. These efforts have mostly been directed to fraud in connection with the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, a nearly $1 trillion business loan program administered by the U.S ...
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up? I grew up in a small town of about 3,500 in rural North Carolina, nestled in the middle of the Uwharrie National Forest. Like many small towns, it fostered a close-knit community of people who supported and encouraged me to dream big ...
On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed the long-titled Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021. Seen as a result of the #MeToo movement, this fairly simple amendment to Title 9 of the United States Code prohibits private employers from mandating that employees submit to arbitration of sexual assault and sexual harassment claims ...
[!<CDATA[ A recent decision by the Eleventh Circuit (the federal appeals court supervising trial courts in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama) sheds light on at least one way that insurers with complicated policies (and a host of exclusions) may avoid providing coverage and defense resources to insured material suppliers whose products are the focus of defect claims. In Morgan Concrete Company v ...
[!<CDATA[ Most state and federal courts have expressed a strong preference for parties to resolve their legal disputes via binding arbitration when there is an arbitration clause applicable to the dispute, there are instances where courts will deny such a request – even when the parties have expressly agreed to this particular forum in their construction contract ...
[!<CDATA[ A recent opinion from the Court of Appeals of Texas provides clarification regarding a contractor’s right to payment where the adequacy of the work performed is challenged and an owner attempts to rely on a satisfaction clause to withhold payment. It also sheds light, in the context of complex construction contracts, on the common contract requirement that the contractor must “strictly comply” with the Contract requirements. In Turner v ...
[!<CDATA[ As of September 1, 2021, in a change to Texas caselaw that had been in place for over a century, Texas contractors now have protection in certain circumstances from liability for defective plans and specifications provided to the contractor by someone else. In the 1907 Texas Supreme Court case Lonergan v ...
[!<CDATA[ Generally, the government has immunity from being sued with some exceptions grounded in statute or case law. Having a contract with the federal government is one such exception, and an interrelated exception falls under the Severin doctrine ...
The joint employer rule has been a hot topic in the last several years, mostly in the context of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Recall the drama of the Trump administration's narrower definition of a joint employer for wage purposes, followed by the Biden administration's almost immediate rescission of that rule. Gig economy workers have battled about overtime and their entitlement to it under the FLSA's definitions ...
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson is not a stranger to the False Claims Act. In her eight years as a U.S. district judge for the District of Columbia, before she was elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2021, she handled at least two FCA cases — one about a federal grant recipient and one about a government contractor. Her decisions in these cases show a meticulous and thorough approach, with particular attention to pleading standards ...
How has the use of digital technology, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, contributed to the rise in fraud? As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses experienced a rapid and significant increase in the use of digital technology. Bearing in mind health concerns, as well as business continuity, many businesses began to shift to widespread remote working environments ...
