Copperheads were fairly common in my yard growing up. One afternoon the family dog came to the door with a live snake flailing around from her mouth. Luckily we recognized this before she came in, but I wonder what would
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Denny Major
Denny Major is a litigator in the firm’s Greenville office. Denny has devoted a significant portion of his practice to helping clients in the prosecution and defense of employment related disputes involving trade secrets, copyright and contractual issues.
Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd Hosts March Employment Law Seminar
Join us for our next employment law seminar, Protecting Your Assets When Employees Leave – Trade Secrets and More, on Thursday, March 28.
Denny Major will discuss how employers are investigating and taking action on employee theft of company information including:…
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When Social Media, Politics and the Workplace Collide
Nowadays we are constantly bombarded with news of events that arouse our political views. Social media both perpetuates these events and provides a platform for virtually anyone to express their social and political views. Political views are often visible to coworkers, including management and supervisors who have the discretion to make termination decisions. What difference might this make for South Carolina employers?
South Carolina statute S.C. Code §16-17-560 makes it a crime to “discharge a citizen from employment or occupation . . . because of political opinions or the exercise of political rights and privileges guaranteed to every citizen by the Constitution and laws of the United States or by the Constitution and laws of this State.” In certain circumstances, an employee may bring a lawsuit against their employer for wrongful termination when this section is violated.
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Utilizing Arbitration Agreements Effectively
By now, most, if not all, of you are familiar with the Supreme Court’s decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 138 S. Ct. 1612 (2018), which upheld the validity of waivers of FLSA collective actions in arbitration agreements. The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina recently issued an order expanding on Epic Systems. …
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Legal Measures for Protecting Employees from Workplace Violence
Workplace violence is high on every HR professional’s list of worst nightmares regardless of the source – an employee, former employee, angry customer, or random third party. Of course, there are a host of security measures employers can undertake in an effort to prevent or mitigate violent incidents on their premises. While there is no substitute for good security measures, we are occasionally asked about what legal steps an employer can take where it is concerned that a particular person may engage in violence or inappropriate behavior on the premises – for example, a disgruntled former employee, a customer who is obsessed with an employee, or an angry ex-spouse of an employee. Unlike some jurisdictions, South Carolina does not have workplace violence restraining orders that allow an employer to obtain a restraining order on behalf of an employee that needs protection. However, depending on the circumstances, there are some legal options an employer can take to help protect its employees.
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Congress Addresses Who Can Share Tips
The 2018 federal appropriations bill signed into law on March 23rd includes an addition to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) stating that “[a]n employer may not keep tips received by its employees for any purposes, including allowing managers or supervisors to keep any portion of employees’ tips, regardless of whether or not the employer takes a tip credit.” The amendment also nullifies certain regulations issued by the Department of Labor in 2011, including regulations which prohibited an employer from using an employee’s tips as part of an invalid tip pool even where the employer was paying the employees the full minimum wage without utilizing a tip credit.
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Are Unpaid Interns Employees Under the FLSA?
On January 5, 2018, the United States Department of Labor announced that, going forward, it would utilize the “primary beneficiary” test for determining whether interns are employees under the FLSA, consistent with recent rulings from appellate courts. Its updated Fact…
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Federal Judge in Texas Issues Final Ruling Striking Down New Overtime Rule
By now, employers are certainly well aware that on November 22, 2016, a federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary injunction that effectively prevented the implementation and enforcement of the new Department of Labor (“DOL”) regulations regarding the exemptions from…
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DOL Rolls Back Its 2016 FLSA Overtime Rule
Today, July 26, 2017, the Department of Labor issued a Request for Information seeking notice and comment from the public before issuing revised proposed regulations regarding the minimum salary level required to meet the executive, administrative, and salary level exemption…
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Failure to Accommodate Sincere Religious Beliefs Can Be a Costly Mistake for Employers
Last week, in the case of EEOC v. Consul Energy, Inc., the Fourth Circuit affirmed a $586,860 judgment for a coal miner who claimed that his employer (Consul Energy) failed to accommodate his religious beliefs and constructively discharged him…
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