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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.

Social Media NetworksNowadays 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.
Continue Reading When Social Media, Politics and the Workplace Collide

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.
Continue Reading Utilizing Arbitration Agreements Effectively

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.
Continue Reading Legal Measures for Protecting Employees from Workplace Violence

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.
Continue Reading Congress Addresses Who Can Share Tips

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
Continue Reading Federal Judge in Texas Issues Final Ruling Striking Down New Overtime Rule

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
Continue Reading Failure to Accommodate Sincere Religious Beliefs Can Be a Costly Mistake for Employers