The Library

Like the roads in our region affected by 2016’s Winter Storm Jonas, the avenue of compliance for federal contractors has just become a little more treacherous. The Department of Labor’s Final Rule affecting federal government contractors’ policies on pay transparency went into effect on January 11, 2016. [1] The Rule, which implements Executive Order 13665, which was signed by President Barack Obama back in April 2014, is the DOL’s effort to promote pay transparency by barring policies of certain federal contractors which previously prevented workers from discussing their wages. Now, covered federal contractors are prohibited from firing or otherwise disciplining employees […]

Some Advice for Business Owners with Commercial Insurance Policies Every business that owns or operates out of a brick and mortar location needs a commercial insurance policy for that building. This we can all agree on. But what happens when the insurance policy will pay out only after the policy holder replaces the destroyed property? What happens if the insurance company (surprise, surprise) decides it may not pay at all, based on policy exclusions? As a business owner, you can be left high and dry if you don’t have the capital to pay for the replacement up front. It is […]

How would you have handled the following personnel matter? A supervisor and HR director met with an employee to provide him with a first-level attendance counseling. The employee became quite angry and refused to sign the counseling document. He then told the supervisor that he was incompetent (and repeated this comment over and over). He stated (and restated) that management was a “bunch of liars” and complained about low pay for him and others. When management tried to discuss his concerns with him, he told them that he did not trust them and he continued his disparaging comments. The HR […]

When we say that an amendment to a pleading “relates back” to the filing of the original pleading, we are simply saying that we are going to pretend that the new allegations appeared in the original document, even though they didn’t. The reason for this concept, and indeed the only reason that anyone would care whether an amendment relates back, is the statute of limitations. If a party, almost always a plaintiff, seeks to amend his or her pleading before the statute of limitations runs, he or she doesn’t need anything to relate back. It is only when the original […]

This article by Gentry Locke Qui Tam Relator attorney John Thomas was published on December 1, 2015 by The Scientist Magazine on its website, www.the-scientist.com. Recent years have seen a spate of scientific scandals. Whether this is due to an increase in dishonesty or foul play in the lab or simply closer attention to the issue, research misconduct is now squarely in the public eye. Scientific scandals come in all shapes and sizes and can result from the actions of lab members at any level. While misconduct cases involving principal investigators garner the most attention, lab heads are not the […]

This article by Gentry Locke attorney Brad Tobias was published in Gentry Locke’s “Virginia Construction Law Update” blog. What is the “ban the box?” Many employers are starting to see the term “ban the box” creep into the lexicology of phrases and buzzwords which permeate the regulatory framework imposed on government agencies and government contractors. Across the country, 19 states and more than 100 cities and counties have enacted various versions of “ban the box” legislation and rules. So what does this term mean? Put simply, the term refers to a requirement to remove any questions regarding a person’s criminal […]

This outline was presented at the Local Government Attorneys Association 2015 Fall Conference at the Hotel Roanoke Conference Center on Saturday, October 17, 2015. For the full article, click here. Speakers: Cynthia D. Kinser, Retired, Supreme Court of Virginia Honorable Elizabeth K. Dillon, United States District Court, Western District of Virginia Honorable David B. Carson, 23rd Judicial Circuit of Virginia Moderators: Timothy R. Spencer, Chief Deputy, City of Roanoke, City Attorney’s Office Gregory J. Haley, Gentry Locke Outline Authors: Timothy R. Spencer, Gregory J. Haley, and Jonathan D. Puvak We have prepared this outline based on discussions with and comments […]

In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia approved the new Department of Labor (DOL) rule that will extend minimum wage and overtime coverage to about 2 million workers employed by home healthcare agencies. In doing so, the Court of Appeals overturned a lower court’s decision that held DOL had overstepped its authority when it adopted the rule. The Home Care Association of America which brought this lawsuit asked the Court of Appeals to delay implementation of its decision while the Association filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. On September 18, 2015, the Court […]

Recently, several Gentry Locke lawyers attended the second Annual ABA Southeastern White Collar Crime Conference outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The timing of this year’s conference proved to be fortuitous as Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates issued a new Department of Justice (DOJ) memo on September 9, 2015 regarding individual accountability for corporate wrongdoing. Members of the Bench and Bar alike offered different views of how the Yates memo will impact corporate government investigations. For any company that engages in any sort of regulated activity, from ensuring fair wages to government contracts, the Yates memo cannot be ignored. Below is the […]