If you haven’t heard the phrase “OK Boomer” yet, you probably are a boomer – a baby boomer. And if someone said it to you, it was just under their breath. For the uninitiated, the phrase is an ironic, dismissive
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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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YouTube Shooting Raises Questions on Firearms in the Workplace
Following the April 3, 2018 YouTube workplace violence tragedy, many news sources reported that there were 500 workplace homicides in 2016, the most recent workplace homicide statistic from the Bureau of Labor Statistic. The Bureau of Labor report, found here, noted this was “an increase of 83 cases from 2015” and that the “2016 total was the highest [number of workplace homicides] since 2010.” The report also revealed that 409 (82 percent) were homicides to men and 91 (18 percent) were homicides to women.” Further, “homicides represented 24 percent of fatal occupational injuries to women in 2016 compared with 9 percent of fatal occupational injuries to men.”…
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Managing Glassdoor Reviews
Glassdoor, the website described as “Yelp for workplaces,” claims that 83% of job seekers in the United States read its reviews. For the uninitiated, Glassdoor is a website where anonymous employees and former employees comment on a company’s workplace – sharing information on topics such as salary levels, workplace policies, office politics, and much more.
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Dr. King’s Message Rings True Today in the Context of the LGBTQIA Community
Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote from a jail cell in Birmingham in 1963, “[t]here are two types of laws: there are just laws and there are unjust laws….How does one determine when a law is just or unjust?…Any law that…
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Court Finds General Contractor Liable for Subcontractor’s Employees
In a decision with potentially huge ramifications for the construction industry, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals found that employees of a framing and drywall subcontractor were also the employees of a general contractor for purposes of federal employment laws.
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How does the recent White House “call to action on non-compete agreements” affect SC employers?
Last week, the White House issued a “State Call to Action on Non-Compete Agreements” that calls for “state policymakers” to pursue certain restrictions on the use of non-compete agreements. It also released a report entitled “Non-Compete Reform: A Policymaker’s Guide…

Recent SEC Actions Signal Possible Enforcement Proceedings and Monetary Penalties Relating to Certain Standard Confidentiality Provisions
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules adopted under Section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act provide financial incentives for employees and others (whistleblowers) to report corporate wrongdoing to the SEC, and prohibit retaliation against them for doing so. One such…
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How will the new DTSA help employers protect trade secrets?
On May 11, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”), which provides a federal, civil cause of action for misappropriation of a trade secret. This opens up federal courts to trade secret owners…
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Breaking News on North Carolina Bathroom Bill
This post is an update to my recent post on North Carolina’s controversial bathroom law (known as “HB2”), which can be found here. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department sent a letter to North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory warning…
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