Cert granted: Is the NLRB authorized to act when only two of its five positions are filled?
The NLRB has had only two Members (instead of the normal five Members) since the end of 2007. Near the end of 2007, there were still four Members, and they delegated their powers to a group of three. Everybody knew that only two of those three would be left at the end of the year. The NLRB's position has always been that the surviving two Members are a quorum of the three to whom powers were delegated. Employers have argued that the whole thing was a sham. On a more technical level, the argument was that the Board's delegation could not survive the loss of a quorum on the Board itself. The 7th Circuit held that the

Same-sex harassment: Absurd decision by the 5th Circuit
Connie Love claimed her employer violated Title VII because a female co-worker subjected her to sexual harassment through inappropriate comments, gestures, and physical contacts. The 5th Circuit, in a "non-precedential" 2-1 decision, upheld summary judgment for the employer, saying that Love failed to show that the alleged harasser made "explicit or implicit proposals of sexual activity." Love failed to provide "credible evidence that the harasser was homosexual." Love v. Motiva Enterprises (5th Cir non-precedential 10/16/2009) (2-1). The majority ha

LawMemo's Latest Cases - Sneak Preview
Up until now, LawMemo has provided a three-per-week email service - Employment Law Memo - summarizing employment law decisions. It's quite popular, and we plan to keep it going. Let's compare Employment Law Memo to BNA's Daily Labor Report. LawMemo reports on more appellate court decisions. Lots more. LawMemo's goal is to report on all precedential decisions from all federal and state appellate courts. LawMemo provides a free link directly to the court decision. One click does it. LawMemo customers get cases f

New GINA rules protect patients’ genetic information
GINA - Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 - is resulting in new government rules relating to the use of genetic information. The rules were announced Thursday and will be published in the Federal Register on October 7, 2009. Interim Final Rules Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Genetic Information in Health Insurance Coverage and Group Health Plans (Publication date 10/07/2009) Proposed Rule Modifying HIPAA Privacy Rule (Publication date 10

Weil Gotshal acquires Merrill Lynch employment law head
Allan Dinkoff has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as counsel in the New York office. Dinkoff was Managing Director and Head of the Employment Law Group at Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. Press release from Weil Gotshal: New York, NY, September 22, 2009 – Weil, Gotshal & Manges announced today that Allan Dinkoff, formerly a Managing Director and Head of the Employment Law Group at Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., has