The line between when employees are on or off the clock have become more and more grey with the advent of Blackberries, iPhones, and providing employees with remote login access from their homes. On-call time is considered compensable work time if it is spent primarily for the benefit of the employer and its business. In
City Dress Code Requires Employees To Wear Underwear
A Florida city revised its dress code last week to require that employees wear underwear to work. The dress code also prohibits provocative clothing, halter tops and piercings other than in the employees’ ears. I was asked to speak on the subject of dress codes about two weeks ago. The timing was just a bit
Job Applicants Asked To Provide Their Passwords To Social Networking Sites
The City of Bozeman, Montana asked job applicants to provide their user names and login 
information to common social networking sites on their job applications. As you may expect, this has caused a major uproar from privacy groups.
Just over one-year ago, I was asked by employers about what legalities were involved in Googling
Massachusetts Employee Seeks Refuge From Noncompetition Agreement In California
The case of David Donatelli is a good reminder to employers how important choice of law provisions can be in noncompetition agreements. The Trade Secrets and Noncompete Blog recently chronicled a fight between EMC Corp (based in Massachusetts) and Hewlett Packard Co. (based in California) over the enforceability of a noncompetition agreement with a former
$86 Million Verdict Against Starbucks Overturned: Court Holds That Shift Supervisors May Share In “Tip Apportionment” Arrangements
The $86 million trial award against Starbucks for violation of California Labor Code provisions on tips was overturned by a California appellate court (Chau v. Starbucks). The case was initiated by Jou Chau who was a former Starbucks barista. He brought a class action against Starbucks alleging that the company’s policy permitting shift supervisors