The Library

In this era of increasing sensitivity about the release of hazardous substances and other varieties of environmental contamination, industries are, or at least should be, concerned as to whether their liability insurance policies will afford them a defense against environmental claims that are not lawsuits filed in a court of law. Such claims generally come to the attention of management through the receipt of “potentially responsible party (PRP)” and “general notice” letters issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The claims typically seek management’s “cooperation” in the EPA’s investigation of the release of hazardous substances at or from a site […]

The new law will prohibit an employer from requiring an applicant or an employee: (1) to disclose his/her user name and password to that individual’s social media account; or (2) to add an employer (supervisor or IT administrator) to the list of contacts associated with a social media account. Further, employers are prohibited (a) from taking action against or threatening an employee for “exercising his rights under this section” or (b) from refusing to hire someone for “exercising his rights under this section.” The statute contains a very broad definition of “social media accounts” but also contains important exclusions. “Social […]

According to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and other federal circuits, the overtime calculation is significantly more employer friendly when paying salaried non-exempt employees. Keep in mind that just because an employee is salaried does not automatically mean that he or she is not entitled to overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The determination as to exempt or non-exempt is based on the actual duties performed – not whether the employee is paid a salary. The Fourth Circuit, joining several other courts as well as the Department of Labor, has held that salaried employees may only be […]

Gentry Locke Partner Todd Leeson is an associate member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys. 2014 was the year that sexual assaults of college students became an important part of our nation’s discourse. In the last year or two, there have been a flurry of new Federal laws, regulations, guidance documents, proposed laws, and initiatives on the topic. In my communications with College Title IX coordinators in Virginia and other interested parties, I have found that it has been challenging for them to keep up with these developments. This is a short article that provides a description […]

On December 11, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued its long-awaited decision in Purple Communications, Inc., 361 NLRB No. 126 (Dec. 11, 2014).  Purple Communications is a non-union company that had a computer and email policy that limited use of its email for “business purposes only.”  The policy also banned employees from “engaging in activities on behalf of organizations or persons with no professional or business affiliation with the Company,” and stated that employees could not send “uninvited email of a personal nature.”  In a highly controversial 3-2 decision, the Board majority concluded:  “we decide today that employee […]

The Department of Labor (DOL) promulgated a Final Rule which made a number of changes to the regulations concerning the companionship services exemption from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). These changes were scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2015. The Final Rule would have drastically reduced the number of domestic employees who would be entitled to an exemption from minimum wage and overtime. There are two major components in the Final Rule:  (i) the companionship exemption would only be available to individuals and families who employ workers in the home directly (rather […]

Each year employers and employees in a variety of industries across the country face issues related to violence in the workplace. Given that the hospitality industry faces issues involving everything from alcohol consumption to guest frustration on a near-daily basis, it is particularly susceptible to workplace violence. Generally, workplace violence can be categorized in two ways: (1) violence by one employee upon another or (2) violence by a third party upon an employee. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that on average, 1,700,000 workers are injured each year as a result of workplace violence.  It is so […]

Mineral rights cases are property disputes that often turn on obscure questions of historic ownership or interpretation. For example if a river name changes over time, land previously described as “on the banks of the Smith River” is now on the banks of the Jones River, and the deed may become vulnerable to legal challenge. Likewise, when Becky’s Creek flowed into Smith River, it was a Smith River tributary; but, now, it is within the Jones River watershed. Today’s GPS technology allows us to find our way around anywhere and describe locations not only by postal address but also by […]

This article was first published as a guest post on Gentry Locke’s Virginia Construction Law Update blog.  “Except in the middle of the battlefield, nowhere must men coordinate movement of other men and all materials in the midst of such chaos and with such limited certainty of present facts and future occurrences as in a huge construction project . . .” — Blake Construction Co. v. C.J. Coakley Co., 431 A.2d 569, 575 (D. C. Ct. App. 1981) How true. Anyone who has stepped foot onto the site of a large construction project understands it is little more than bedlam […]