Articles Discussing General Human Resources Issues.

When the pandemic hit last year and turned the world upside down, I found myself searching for solace and a much-needed laugh in the form of my favorite show of all time, The Office. Apparently, I’m not alone. According to Nielsen, Americans streamed over 57 billion minutes of The

Dear Littler: You alerted us to some wage & hour and leaves & benefits issues stemming from our “wandering workers” who have scattered across the country during the pandemic, yet continue to work for our Texas-based company.

The FMLA was enacted in 1993, way back when fax machines had just begun ruling the world and we were only learning how to send an email to a friend. When the law was passed, FMLA didn’t contemplate a remote workforce, let alone one hastily relegated to their homes during

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released a preliminary draft of its Cybersecurity Framework Profile for Ransomware Risk Management. The public comment period for this draft runs through July 9, 2021. NIST says “The profile can be used as a guide to managing the risk of ransomware

I have two teenage sons, so I’ve watched all that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has to offer. (“Sure, blame it on the kids, dork.” “Shut up, Internal Monologue—this doesn’t concern you.”) This spring, Marvel rolled out its latest offering, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, featuring Falcon (“Sam Wilson,” played by Anthony

In Van Buren v. United States, No. 19-783 (June 3, 2021), the Supreme Court of the United States recently waded into the meaning of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act’s (CFAA) “exceeds authorized access” prohibition.

Thousands of devices connecting to the internet make up the Internet of Things (IoT). While helping to streamline operations and improve productivity, the advantages of IoT are not without risks. Recent federal and state laws will influence the controls needed to minimize business interruption, workplace safety and data breaches.

On June 11, 2021, the federal government released its unified federal regulatory agenda for spring 2021, which outlines regulatory and deregulation actions agencies expect to take in the coming months. With over 70 items on the docket, the U.S.

Recently, the size and number of ransomware attacks that have adversely impacted various industries and organizations, from information technology firms and gasoline pipelines to meat processors and local, state and federal government agencies, have been on the rise. Cyberattacks on healthcare facilities, resulting in inability to access electronic medical records

Before the pandemic hit, remote work was, in most cases, a thing of the future. Concern about the productivity of remote workers caused many employers to resist these arrangements. Employees, they thought, would rather be taking care of laundry or kids than taking care of their duties. Enter Covid-19 –

On June 3, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), a cybercrime statute providing civil claims against someone who “exceeds authorized access” to a computer system to obtain trade secrets or other information, does not apply to employees or others who steal information from computer systems to which they had legitimate, technical access.  This ruling sharply curtails the CFAA’s effectiveness as a litigation option against employees who violate employers’ computer use policies or confidentiality restrictions to divert company information for themselves or a prospective competing employer.

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is an anti-hacking statute making it illegal “to access a computer without authorization and to use such access to obtain or alter information in the computer that the accesser is not entitled to so obtain or alter.”  Violations of the statute may

In this podcast, Littler shareholders Bruce Sarchet and Bob Long discuss a common feature of many American workplaces: the “Open Door” policy. But adopting such a policy is just the first step. Bruce and Bob discuss the actual application of these policies, providing examples where managers and supervisors not

For employers, the decision to terminate an employee is never an easy one. Ripple effects, including the burden on remaining staff and a potential decrease in productivity, can be felt across the organization. Even in the best of times, termination decisions are fraught with innumerable risks, including the ever-present threat of litigation.

Dear Littler:  Thank you for answering our question last month about what wage and hour issues we needed to consider for our “wandering worker” who moved to North Dakota and wants to continue remote work. Of course, now that that issue is resolved, we have another question for you.