LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are external online distributors of ALM`s extensive collection of current and archived versions of legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law clients may access and use ALM content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, New York Law Journal and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information. I`m going to go to work in a few minutes (in the couch hallway in the living room where I`m sitting right now) and I`ll never realize that I haven`t even been out of the whole day. I will be on Zoom after Zoom, call after call, writing, answering, watching a webinar, missing a webinar, eating too much, not drinking enough water, always watching the news in the background, listening to my family in the background, dogs, ducks passing by. This avoidance of change (innovation) in our industry stems from lawyers` risk aversion; Decisions are based on primacy, not future. It`s amazing that all those years (decades) later, the owners of Dr. Larry Richard Herding`s article Cats: The Lawyer Personality Revealed still apply: lawyers remain more skeptical, less resilient, and more empowered than the general population. Great for writing a legal letter, not so great when it comes to innovations and business practices. In March 2021, YouGov and Otter.ai published the results of a study conducted on various issues related to employees who have been working at least partially from home since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study found that 43% of remote workers miss “water cooler discussions” and “office chatter.” Since the release of the results of this study, more and more New Jersey employees have moved and will return from virtual workplaces to personal work environments. According to this study, employers can expect a significant portion of these employees to be very interested in talking to their colleagues again about non-work-related topics.

Employers need to realize that the cooler conversation employees will engage in these days will most likely be very different from the discussions that took place when COVID-19 first came to a standstill in March 2020. Many of these discussions could lead to allegations of a hostile work environment under federal and state anti-harassment laws. A safer (and more productive) investigation is what we mean when we say that blogging “transforms” something. If we define the term “transform” very broadly (“Do blogs have effects – how weak, speculative, indirect, over time – on jurisprudence?”), the answer is certainly yes. But trivial and speculative effects are not good excuses for a conference. The interesting question is whether blogs have a significant influence (or, as an empirical type might say, a substantial and statistically significant influence) on jurisprudence. The answer should begin with “in relation to what?” In order to maintain a sense of proportion, this article examines the elements that have had a real impact on case law in recent years. What happens if my employer fires me because I told my co-workers about pay? Parker Poe`s Charlotte office at Charlotte Three Wells Fargo Center 401 South Tryon Street, 30th Floor Approved for two hours of credit General CLE RSVP at rsvp@parkerpoe.com or 704.348.2768 Read More How are you? Is there anything I can do to help? Now that both major parties have presumed presidential candidates, heated discussions and media coverage of the primaries will focus on party conventions and the general election. The divisive political discourse could intensify further. While many employees will heed the well-known adage of not discussing politics and religion in public, political discussions can enter the workplace and invite debates, arguments, and tensions. Therefore, employers need to understand what political behavior can be regulated or prohibited in the workplace and what political conversations need to be allowed. Did 2020 make you stronger? Are you finding a new one? Making changes for the better? Did it overwhelm you? Unbalance them? Do you enter the? Or a combination of everything? Earlier this month, the EEOC released proposed amendments to its Guide to Implementing the National Origin Discrimination Act, noting a focus on enforcement in areas such as immigration status, “English only” policy, or emphasis and discrimination against foreigners.

When coupled with a public debate on immigration reform and national security, employers will decide which policy discussion is appropriate in the workplace and which discussion could violate anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies. Employers, large and small, face an ever-growing web of workplace regulations and potential entanglements with workers. At Polsinelli, we have over 50 full-time employment lawyers who understand the complexity and sensitivity of employee relations and workplace issues. Kate Litvak, Blog As a Bugged Water Cooler, 84 Wash. U. L. Rev. 1061 (2006). Available on: openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview/vol84/iss5/3 And then I came across Brené Brown. Or, better yet, all the other posts in my Facebook feed seemed to be about her.

Apparently, she`s been around for a while, but I`d never seen the TED Talk, Oprah Postcasts (parts 1 and 2), or read her books. But she quickly made me “boldly big,” and that`s how I am here. Writing. Read more Can a quote change your life? What`s wrong is losing our connection to each other. Right now, the world has a common experience. Every person on this planet has this thing in common. We are all connected. Forget six degrees Kevin Bacon. We are six degrees coronavirus. The answer to that question is no. Federal labour law prohibits employers from restricting, disrupting or coercing employees who collectively engage in activities related to terms and conditions of employment.

These terms and conditions cover a wide range of topics, such as: Employees discussing wages, hourly rates, wages, bonuses, commissions, and other forms of payment. For this reason, an employer cannot tell its employees not to discuss their salary among themselves. Otherwise, it would be a violation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). And it doesn`t matter if the employer has a union. Both unionized and non-unionized workers are protected. Whew. For the first time in what seems like an eternity, I put my fingers on the keyboard. It was at least a pandemic, a new liver (for Sports Dude) and an uprising. I don`t even remember when (although I can easily look it up).

So whoever you are, wherever you are, what does your day look like today? Where will you eat first when restaurants reopen? Where will you travel? What do you miss most right now? remind employees of all anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies; Heather is the wife of Sport Dude, mother of two daughters and is a Scout leader.