By David Phippen, Fairfax Office

UPDATE: David's client bulletin analyzing the D.C. Circuit's Noel Canning decision is available here.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down today the "recess appointments" of Sharon Block and Richard Griffin to the National Labor Relations Board. Without Members Block and Griffin, most of the Board decisions ...

Employers, has this ever happened to you?

An employee in a critical-but-inflexible position -- say, a customer service representative -- asks for "intermittent" leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. If the intermittent time off is "scheduled," it's usually not too big a problem. Most employers can manage to work around a situation if they know what to expect. They may be able to ...

"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies."

This has not been a good week for lawyers. First, we heard about the married Minnesota lawyer who had a sexual relationship with a client (a major ethical violation in itself) and then had the nerve to bill her for his time! Whether a special billing rate applied to criminal conversation is not disclosed. Hey, by the way, which task code would this fall under?  "Appear for/Attend ...

Following up on my post on the subject, I had the chance to talk with Colin O'Keefe of LXBN regarding the recent "veganism as religion" case of Chenzira v. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. In the brief interview I explain the background of the case and offer my thoughts on whether or not the plaintiff's veganism must be religious in nature for her claim to stand.  Colin, thank ...

Is this new UPS pregnancy discrimination decision really such great news for employers?

HINT: Check the dates!!!

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit* held this week that there is no "reasonable accommodation" requirement for pregnancy. The defendant, United Parcel Service, had a collective bargaining agreement that required it to offer light duty in two ...

A court says veganism might be a "religion" requiring accommodation, a school district gets nailed for failing to engage in the "interactive process" under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and yet another employer makes an avoidable and very expensive mistake with a severance package. Fun and games!

Is veganism a religion? Could be. A federal judge in Ohio has refused to dismiss a ...

Happy new year, everybody! Although I've been on vacation, the news never sleeps, and the Mayans were wrong. Accordingly, I have a few items to catch you up on.

"Ha-ha! We were just kidding!"

UPDATE: Thanks to reader John Perkins, SPHR, for the 2013 Mayan Calendar. Most educational!

"Near occasion of sin" is a legitimate ground for termination, Iowa court says. You've probably already ...