Fisher Phillips News

In June 2021, the Supreme Court ruled in Van Buren v. United States that one "exceeds authorized access" by accessing off-limit files and other information on a computer system they were otherwise authorized to access, effectively narrowing the applicability of the CFAA in prosecuting cybersecurity and computer crime. The ruling also marks the start of a “gates up or down” era for employers seeking to protect workplace computers and electronically stored information. In this podcast, Brent Cossrow and Dave Walton, partners in the Philadelphia office of Fisher Phillips and its Employee Defection and Trade Secrets practice group, unpack this new era of data protection and its far-reaching implications for employers.

On Friday July 9, 2021, President Biden signed a much-anticipated Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. The Order is ambitious in spirit, but its true impact on employers seems to depend on exactly how the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) interprets and applies its mandate. In this podcast, Brent Cossrow and Dave Walton, partners in the Philadelphia office of Fisher Phillips and its Employee Defection and Trade Secrets practice group, sit down to discuss their initial reactions, including questions of how the FTC projects to respond, whether the Order creates a private right of action, and how the Order might eventually be used in civil litigation.

How to roll out an updated and compliant mask policy is on every employer’s mind right now, especially as vaccination status plays such a key role in your decisions. This podcast, with co-leader of the Firm’s Vaccine Subcommittee, Kevin Troutman, will discuss best practices from distinguishing vaccinated employees and non-vaccinated employees, the ADA and EEOC considerations, and how firm clients are managing this new workplace hurdle.

In this podcast, Fisher Phillips partner and co-leader of the Firm’s Vaccine Subcommittee, Kevin Troutman, returns to chat with Travis Vance about the ins and outs of the new CDC mask guidance for vaccinated workers and how employers can navigate this very fluid field. The discussion touches on updated OSHA considerations that remain paramount during this turbulent time.

The success of your organization depends on effective management of remote workers. Are your remote workers visible, or invisible? Is the connection between the management of your organization and the invisible workforce best characterized as “remote,” in the sense that management does not know whether the workers are productive? Or are hurting? Or are organizing a union? Or are planning to leave? If these questions are on your mind, join us for this 15-minute podcast.

This legal alert was published on January 22nd, 2021 by Micah Dickie in Atlanta.

 

President Joe Biden has signed several Executive Orders in the first two days of his presidency, and one is an Executive Order on Protecting Worker Health and Safety that directs the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to increase enforcement of existing agency standards and investigate whether a new standard for COVID-19 mitigation is needed. Given that President Biden has nominated Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to be the next Secretary of Labor – the first union member to fill this role in nearly 50 years and soon to be in charge of the agency that oversees OSHA – employers should be aware of the key provisions of this executive order ahead of an increase in inspections. Here is what employers need to know.

This legal alert was published on January 7th, 2021 by Randall Coffey in Kansas City, Benjamin Ebbink in Sacramento, Richard Meneghello in Portland, and John Polson in Irvine.

 

The Labor Department finalized a new rule today that aims to make it easier for businesses to classify workers as independent contractors – but the rule faces a very uncertain future given that the Biden administration will take the reins of the federal government before it is scheduled to take effect and the incoming administration has signaled its opposition to this change. Businesses that use independent contractors to carry out critical work roles – especially gig economy companies and those using gig-economy-like strategies for components of their workforce – have long awaited this rule in the hopes that it would lend certainty to modern business models and reduce litigation brought by workers claiming to be misclassified as employees. But celebrations need to be put on hold for now, as we expect President-elect Biden to at least temporarily stall implementation past its planned March 8 effective date while worker advocacy groups and state attorneys general line up to file legal challenges in the hopes of permanently killing the rule.

In this podcast, Fisher Phillips partner Kevin Troutman returns to chat with Travis Vance about employee incentive programs related to the COVID-19 vaccine. The co-leader of our firm’s Vaccine Subcommittee spends some time discussing employee wellness program and what employers can and cannot do to provide incentives for employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The vast majority of employers are not considering mandating their employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine, instead choosing to encourage the shot – but a significant number of businesses remain confused and uncertain on whether and how to incentivize their workers to get inoculated. That’s according to a recent survey conducted by Fisher Phillips, with 700 respondents providing their thoughts between January 26-29. Fisher Phillips partner Kevin Troutman provides a quick review of these survey results and also sheds light on the thinking of other businesses when it comes to this specific challenge.

Conversations about COVID-19 with Fisher Phillips

Moderator: Travis Vance

Join Travis Vance, co-chair of the firm’s Workplace Safety and Catastrophe Management Practice Group and a leader of the firm’s COVID-19 Task Force, as he connects with thought leaders from around the firm to discuss timely issues related to the pandemic’s impact on the workplace.

 

In this podcast, Fisher Phillips partners Phil Bauknight and Kevin Troutman return to chat with Travis Vance about potential employer liabilities related to workplace COVID-19 vaccination programs. The two leaders of our firm’s Vaccine Subcommittee spend some time discussing whether waivers are an effective tool for employers and other best practices related to these thorny issues.