Generally no, the employer will not be responsible for intentional acts resulting from personal workplace disputes except in limited instances. An employer will be deemed responsible for employee conduct that occurs within the “scope of employment” (or within a…
Over the past few years, the Virginia Supreme Court has evaluated the language contained in restrictive covenants, and clarified the types of non-compete clauses which create permissible restraints on trade under Virginia law. Over the past few months, the…
In the District of Columbia, an at-will employee generally cannot sue a third party (other than an employer) for causing his or her firing. This holds true even for a third party strongly adverse to the employee like a…
The Virginia Supreme Court recently answered a question long asked by employment lawyers: can a court decide a non-competition lawsuit just by reviewing the non-competition agreement? The Court answered “no,” which means that employers now have a better opportunity…
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires most employers to provide notice to current employees and new hires about the forthcoming health insurance exchanges (termed “Marketplaces” by the Department of Labor), and subsidies that may be available…
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) originally set January 1, 2014 as the effective date for employers to fulfill certain reporting provisions on health insurance coverage offered to employees. The IRS pushed back the date to January…
Yes, as shown by a recent Virginia federal decision. In that case, a company allegedly agreed to buy business information and materials from an ex-employee of a competitor. The ex-employee was subject to a non-compete, and offered to sell…
In the landmark decision of United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act’s (DOMA) provision which denied federal benefits to gay couples who are legally married in their states. The Department of Labor (DOL)…
One of the most common misunderstandings in criminal and traffic law is that mistakes on the warrant or summons automatically results in a dismissal of the case. Most of the time, such mistakes have no effect. In a recent…
Often, words used in Virginia criminal statutes are not colloquial. In a recent case, an allegation of Violation of a Protective Order was elevated from a misdemeanor to a felony based on whether the defendant entered a home “furtively.”…