Court Nixes Fired Employees’ Defamation Suit

All of us have made intemperate remarks about others. If the intemperate language is directed to employees whom we supervise or manage, however, the words may become fodder for a defamation lawsuit. What can you do if you are on the receiving end of such a suit? How do you defend yourself? Read more

Federal Contractor Pays $500K to Settle OFCCP Claims

A half-million dollar settlement against a large Virginia employer serves to remind all Virginia federal contractors of the enforcement powers of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”), which regulates the employment practices of government contractors.

An article discussing the OFCCP’s recent enforcement action, entitled “OFCCP Settles Race Bias Claims Against Virginia Contractor for $500K,” appears in the August, 2016 issue of the Virginia Employment Law Letter. Jayna’s article highlights the need for all federal contractors to take their non-discrimination obligations seriously. This especially is the case given the OFCCP’s updated rules prohibiting sex discrimination in the workplace. Those rules took effect just last month. With these new sex discrimination regulations in force, federal contractors can expect to receive added scrutiny as part of any OFCCP compliance investigation.

Click here to read Jayna’s article

Supreme Court to Review VA Transgender Bathroom Case

Transgender individual’s rights have become a headline issue in civil rights law. At the forefront of these often controversial discussions is the Gloucester County School Board case about a transgender high school student’s right to use the bathroom matching his gender identity. This case has spent the last year going back and forth between the U.S. District Court in Norfolk and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, finally making its way to the United States Supreme Court earlier this month. While the case concerns a local school board’s bathroom policy, it’s outcome will likely be felt throughout the Fourth Circuit (including Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and the Carolinas), and perhaps throughout the country, in a wide range of public and professional circumstances.

An article discussing the history of the case, written by DiMuroGinsberg attorney Rachael Loughlin, appears in the July 2016 issue of the Virginia Employment Law Letter and on the Diversity Insight website. Click here to read Rachael’s article.

Ben DiMuro and Jonathan Mook are co-editors of the Virginia Employment Law Letter, a newsletter specifically designed for employers and HR professionals in Virginia. For more information about the Virginia Employment Law Letter or to subscribe, please email Michele Kraftschik.

Protecting your Trade Secrets

DiMuroGinsberg attorney, Jayna Genti’s article, “Protecting your Trade Secrets from Former Employees” discusses a recent Virginia case involving a terminated employee who was able to remotely access the business’s computers. In this case, by the time the company learned of the unauthorized access of its computers and servers, substantial harm had already occurred.

Fortunately, there are a number of steps you can take to make sure the barn door stays closed and pre­vent former employees from gaining unauthorized ac­cess to your computer system and stealing valuable trade secrets. To learn more about the steps every company should take, read the article here.