The Library

The full article is available in pre-formatted PDF format under the Additional Reading section. INTRODUCTION Changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which became effective December 1, 2006, now require the parties and their attorneys to come to grips quickly with the discovery of “electronically stored information” (“ESI”). These new Federal Rules put a fine point on the need for law firms (and their business clients) to become familiar with and conversant about their clients’ use of computers and other electronic devices where ESI is stored. Planning for and educating businesses before litigation arises, particularly the IT staffs and […]

The EEOC’s revised EEO-1 report has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget, and becomes effective September 30, 2007. The EEO-1 is an anonymous report the EEOC uses to track the number of women and minorities in certain broad occupational categories. All private employers with 100 or more employees, as well as some federal contractors with 50 or more employees, are required to file an EEO-1 report annually. Employers will be expected to use the new form for the report due September 30, 2007. Until that time, employers are to use the previous EEO-1 form. The new EEO-1 […]

The debates over immigration and border security have renewed focus on “English-only” policies. Across the country, efforts to formally make English the “national language” of the United States are gaining momentum. Earlier this year, the Senate overwhelmingly voted in favor of designating English the “national language” (63-34) to “promote national unity.” More recently, a town just outside of Dallas, Texas made national headlines for unanimously approving tough, local anti-immigration measures, including a provision naming English the town’s official language. Now, some companies are jumping on this bandwagon. Geno’s Steaks, a landmark cheese steak restaurant in Philadelphia, recently made national news […]

In today’s global economy, more and more companies employ workers in foreign countries – either non-U.S. citizens, or U.S. citizens employed abroad. These types of employment relationships present unique challenges for employers, including language and cultural differences that can be, or develop into, cultural barriers. Such cultural barriers have the potential to corrupt an employment relationship and lead to litigation. For this reason, it is essential that companies that employ workers abroad understand how U.S. employment laws apply to their foreign or “extraterritorial” employees. This article briefly examines the application of the major federal employment laws – the Fair Labor […]

The Commission has addressed the issue of whether a claimant may file for permanent total disability benefits while he/she is still on an open award for temporary total disability benefits. The case law suggests that this procedure is not favored. “As a matter of practice, the Commission does wait until nearer the expiration of the 500 weeks before converting a temporary-total award to a permanent-total award since by that time, there is frequently no question as to whether the claimant is permanently and totally incapacitated.” Long v. DBR Const., Inc., VWC File No. 164-30-05 (decided July 6, 2000). Further, “an […]

In Burlington Northern v. White, 126 S.Ct. 2405 (June 22, 2006), the United States Supreme Court decided an important case that set forth a new test as to how courts would need to analyze Title VII retaliation claims. A recent decision by Chief Judge Jones of the Western District of Virginia gives us some helpful insight as to how retaliation cases may be analyzed after Burlington Northern. In Martin v. Merck & Co., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60830 (W.D. Va. Aug. 28, 2006), the Court granted summary judgment to Merck in a case involving allegations of race harassment, discrimination and […]

On October 6, 2006, Mr. Paxton and Mr. Leeson presented on the above topic at the Virginia Bar Association’s Section on Labor and Employment Law’s 36th Annual Conference. This paper is a shortened version of the 23-page written paper that accompanied the presentation. Readers of this article who would like additional information on this topic should contact Mr. Paxton or Mr. Leeson. In June the United States Supreme Court decided an important Title VII retaliation case, Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railroad Co. v. White, 126 S. Ct. 2405 (June 22, 2006). The initial reaction was that this decision would […]

Organize. Do not necessarily follow the order of opposing counsel’s direct examination of the witness. Use principals of primacy and recency. What the jury hears first and last are most memorable. Utilize the Two Types of Cross-Examination, as Appropriate. There are two types of cross-examination, constructive and destructive. With constructive cross-examination, the lawyer seeks to get helpful testimony from the witness. Such testimony can corroborate the testimony of one of your witnesses or impeach another witness, either or both of which may be helpful to your case. The format, “Mr. Jones, can we agree that…?” is often useful in framing […]

On November 17, 1987, National Linen Service v. McGuinn was decided by the Virginia Court of Appeals. Since that time, many questions have arisen concerning what constitutes a de facto award, when is the de facto award applicable, and what defenses, if any, survive an entry of a de facto award. In McGuinn, the claimant sustained an injury to his ankle in August 1983. Although the claimant had not filed a claim for benefits and no memorandum of agreement had been forwarded to the claimant, the carrier paid temporary total disability benefits from November 22, 1983 through December 17, 1984. […]