discovery

EEOC Lawsuit Reminds Employers To Exercise Caution In Planning And Executing Holiday Parties

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As the holiday season approaches, it is a good time for employers to review their policies and take preventative measures to ensure festivities do not get out of hand at office holiday parties.  The dangers of blurring the lines between professional conduct and holiday celebrations was demonstrated in a recent case out of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.  The lawsuit alleges that following an office holiday party, a managerial employee invited several co-workers to a second location to continue celebrating.  It further alleges that toward the end of the night, the manager and one of his reports ended up alone in the hotel room and the manager sexually assaulted her.

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SDNY Offers Practical Lessons in Preserving Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Protection for In-House Counsel

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A company’s general counsel learns that an executive assistant has made an internal report of sexual harassment against the CEO.  Given the allegations and people involved, the GC personally investigates the report and enlists the help of a senior VP to interview key witnesses.  The GC also retains outside counsel to advise the company and its board of directors on the matter. READ MORE →

Court-Sanctioned Employee Theft? Self-Help Discovery May Be Protected Activity In Discrimination Cases

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Recently in Verdrager v. Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, P.C., No. SJC-11901, 2015 WL 10937776 (Mass. May 31, 2016), the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held, as a matter of first impression, that self-help discovery “may in certain circumstances constitute protected activity” under the state anti-retaliation statute, provided that, “the employee’s actions are reasonable in the totality of the circumstances.”

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California Supreme Court May Limit The Scope Of PAGA Plaintiffs’ Access to Statewide Discovery

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The California Supreme Court is poised to clarify what limits may apply to burdensome discovery demands in litigation under California’s Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”), which allows employees to bring non-class representative actions against employers on behalf of themselves and other “aggrieved employees” for alleged violations of the Labor Code.

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