The Library

This article first appeared in Staffing Industry Analysts’ online publication, “The Staffing Stream.” This and other articles are available at the link below. It seems like every week there is some decision, guidance or policy change that alters companies’ ability to transact business. Whether it’s the courts, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the National Labor Relations Board, the employment law landscape is constantly changing. In July, Randstad suffered a blow as did all of staffing companies that have multiple offices and place a significant number of temporary employees. These staffing firms are the unfortunate recipients of an EEOC Charge. […]

There was recently an employment discrimination case in Roanoke that provides a valuable lesson to HR professionals. Here are the key facts: Manager supervises an employee whose job performance is deemed to be deficient. He drafts proposed written warning, and emails it to HR for review. Employee belongs to protected class (e.g., race, age, gender, disability) and/or there is a reason for the company to exercise caution before implementing any disciplinary action against employee (e.g., lengthy service; employee has exercised rights–complained, taken FMLA leave; good performance reviews). HR edits the proposed warning, and sends e-mail to manager with comments. Company […]

This article was published on “The Staffing Stream,” an online blog sponsored by Staffing Industry Analysts. To read this article and more on their site, click the link offered below the article. Who’s the boss? And who is liable in the event there is an issue? Employers and courts have been mulling through this problem. However it all comes down to the control that the employer has over its workers. Last month, the need for some type of written agreement between customers and their staffing vendors defining their relationship may have just become clearer when the U.S. Court of Appeals […]

This article appeared in the Summer/Fall 2012 issue of “Virginia Human Resources Today” magazine. Are you aware of the dramatic developments within the last year as a result of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (“ADAAA”)? If not, read on! In amending the ADA, Congress expressed its view that the definition as to whether a person was “disabled” was being interpreted too narrowly and that persons with impairments such as cancer, diabetes and epilepsy, to name a few, were being improperly denied protection under the law. The ADAAA states that the definition of disability should be interpreted broadly in favor […]

This article, written by Virginia attorney David N. Cohan, was originally published in the Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal and is reprinted with permission of Aspen Publishers. To read the article as published, click here or via the link under Additional Reading.

This article was co-authored by Gentry Locke attorney Travis Graham, and in 2009 was published in Virginia Lawyer Magazine. To download the article from the VSB site in PDF format, click here. It has been a long time since we’ve been wrong about anything. It has been even longer since we were incorrect, and together we cannot remember the last time that we misread a case. This is not to say that either of us is especially smart or perceptive. It’s just that, over the past few years, we’ve noticed a trend in the language we see in briefs and pleadings. […]

On May 21, 2008, President Bush signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”) into law. The law prohibits discrimination by employers and insurers based on genetic information. This article touches upon some of the key provisions of GINA. GINA expands Title VII by prohibiting employers from discriminating against employees or applicants on the basis of genetic information. “Genetic information” is defined broadly to include information about that individual’s genetic tests, the genetic tests of the individual’s family members, and the manifestation of a disease or disorder in the individual’s family members. The term “family member” is also broadly defined to […]

This article appeared in the Blue Ridge Business Journal on November 5, 2007. A formatted PDF is available under the Additional Reading section. Since 1994, the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) has been sending “no match” letters to employers when an employee’s name or Social Security Number does not match SSA records. The purpose of these letters is to ensure that employees receive proper credit for earnings. Mismatched records are a growing problem for the SSA. The agency currently has more than 255 million mismatched records, and this number increases at a rate of 8 to 11 million per year. There are […]

This article appeared in the Blue Ridge Business Journal on November 5, 2007. A formatted PDF is available under the Additional Reading section. In recent years, we have begun to realize the importance of saving older buildings in our region which can be historically significant bridges to our community’s past. Not only do these buildings add character and diversity to our surroundings, they provide significant tangible and intangible benefits to building owners, developers and our community. Recognizing the positive impact revitalization can have on communities, the federal government and Virginia have implemented programs to encourage rehabilitation and preservation of historic […]