Why is confidentiality in the workplace so important? What employee information needs to be kept confidential? In Episode 3 of the Hiring to Firing Podcast, Troutman Pepper Partners Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs sit down with Richard Eskew, executive vice president, general counsel, and chief privacy officer of Accolade, Inc., to discuss the hit T.V. show Squid Game and lessons learned about confidentiality agreements and restrictive covenants. Tune in to hear a lively discussion about the balance between corporate confidentiality and employee engagement, different types of corporate confidential materials (and the methods used to maintain their secrecy), the risks of employees taking such materials, as well as what companies can do to protect themselves.
Continue Reading What Can Squid Game Teach Us About Confidentiality Agreements and Restrictive Covenants?
What Can Moneyball Teach Us About People Analytics?
Are you making the best hiring and firing decisions? Is improving employee engagement and retention a challenge? How can you use data to leverage and get the most out of your most valuable asset – your employees?
In Episode 2 of the Hiring to Firing Podcast, Troutman Pepper Partners Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs sit down with Spring International CEO Fiona Jamison to discuss the hit movie Moneyball and the use of people analytics in the workplace.
Continue Reading What Can Moneyball Teach Us About People Analytics?
Lessons Learned on National Origin Discrimination from Emily in Paris
In Episode 1 of the Hiring to Firing Podcast, Troutman Pepper Partners Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs sit down with European Metal Recycling VP of People and Deputy General Counsel Kate Puccio to discuss the hit show Emily in Paris and the lessons learned about national origin based on events from the show. This episode blends pop culture and fashion into a discussion about important and contemporary legal issues in the workplace.
Continue Reading Lessons Learned on National Origin Discrimination from Emily in Paris
Introduction to Hiring to Firing Podcast
What do Emily in Paris, Squid Game, Severance, Ted Lasso, and Moneyball have in common? Find out by listening and subscribing to our Hiring to Firing Podcast hosted by Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs. The pair delve into hot-button labor and employment law issues with unique perspectives drawing on pop culture and hit shows and movies. Stay informed and entertained!
Continue Reading Introduction to Hiring to Firing Podcast
Protecting Trade Secrets in a Work-From-Home World
Q: Do work-from-home arrangements create a heightened risk that company trade secrets may be exposed?
A: Without proper precautions, in many ways, “yes.”
Since the onset of the pandemic, we have observed an increased use of external storage devices by employees to save and access work-related documents. We have heard several reasons for this, but the primary one is that employees often complain that accessing large data files remotely takes considerably more time than when they access files via the network in the company’s physical offices. Thus, employees have resorted more often to using personally owned external storage devices, such as external hard drives and thumb drives to download and access company materials.
Continue Reading Protecting Trade Secrets in a Work-From-Home World
Supreme Court Likely To Resolve LGBTQ Title VII Coverage
The United States Supreme Court has indicated that it will finally settle the circuit-splitting issue of whether gay and transgender status falls under the protection of Title VII. The court signaled this when it agreed recently to hear three cases that have been appealed to the high court. The three cases are: Altitude Express v.
U.S. Department of Labor Releases Long-Awaited Overtime Rule
Last week, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued its long-awaited proposed change to the minimum salary threshold for the white-collar exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The new minimum salary threshold is $35,308/year (or $679/week).
This new rule is not finalized nor in effect now. Rather, the new rule is open for
The Potential Pitfalls Of Using Non-Competes For Low-Wage Workers
The Bloomberg Editorial Board recently published an article entitled “Too Many Workers Are Trapped By Non-Competes” arguing that the practice of requiring relatively low-wage and/or unskilled workers to sign non-compete agreements is a drag on the economy and is contributing to wage stagnation. The article contends that restricting unspecialized workers’ ability to freely change jobs
The Shifting Sands of the Joint Employer Test
The National Labor Relations Board is signaling yet another change to the joint employer test in its recent issuance of a new proposed rule. The Board has waffled back and forth on this important issue recently, creating a lot of uncertainty for employers. Here’s an explanation of what has been going on and what is
Revisiting The NLRB’s Workplace Rule Standards
We wrote recently about the Trump Administration’s efforts to roll back the Obama-era NLRB’s workplace handbook and rule restrictions. It’s time to update you further on where that effort stands.
As a reminder, the Obama NLRB held in December 2017 in The Boeing Company case that facially-neutral employment policies and rules will now be classified