Do you know the difference between an idle threat and a serious one?

Your kid plays a joke on you, and you respond, "I'm gonna kill you" while laughing at the joke. Idle threat, or serious?

A co-worker tells you she will slash your tires if you vote against the union. Idle threat, or serious?

A co-worker tells you that she heard from ...

Federal protection for trade secrets, "suitable seating," inadvertent labor trafficking, Uber's status as an employer -- whew!

Be sure to check these out if you haven't already:

*Billy Hammel of our Austin Office and Bill McMahon of our Winston-Salem Office (and my next-door neighbor), with Anna Rothschild of our Washington D.C. Metro Office, are digging into the federal Defend ...

Congratulations on your newly acquired company! Now, what do you do about that union?

Our own David Phippen has the scoop in this article that appeared in Friday's Law360.

We now have an April Fool's Day Persuader Rule challenge (but it's real). The National Federation of Independent Business leads this group of plaintiffs, and has filed suit in federal court in Texas, which is in the Fifth Circuit. The other two lawsuits were filed in Arkansas and Minnesota, both in the Eighth Circuit.

Here's our scorecard:

PERSUADER RULE SCORECARD

March 30

UPDATE (April 1): Here's the latest challenge, filed today in federal court in Texas.

UPDATE (4:33 P.M. EDT, 3/31/16): A second challenge to the Persuader Rule has been filed today in federal court in Minnesota.

Like the first robin in spring, here is what we believe is the first lawsuit challenging the "Persuader Rule," issued last week by the U.S. Department of Labor. The suit was filed ...

UPDATE (April 1): Here's the latest challenge, filed today in federal court in Texas.

Mercy me! We now have a second challenge to the U.S. Department of Labor's Persuader Rule, filed today in federal court in Minnesota. This morning, I reported on a lawsuit filed yesterday in federal court in Arkansas. What will tomorrow bring?

The Minnesota lawsuit was filed by a network of labor ...

UPDATE (April 1): Here's the latest challenge, filed today in federal court in Texas.

UPDATE UPDATE (4:36 P.M. EDT, 3/31/16): Now a second lawsuit has been filed, in federal court in Minnesota.

UPDATE (Approx. 8 A.M. EDT, 3/31/16): Boom! Here is what we believe is the first lawsuit challenging the rule, filed yesterday in federal court in Arkansas. The plaintiffs include trade ...

NOTE (3/16/16): This post has been corrected since it was originally posted. 

President Obama has nominated Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

Judge Garland, age 63, had bipartisan support when he was nominated to the D.C. Circuit (in 1995, by President ...

Wild, wonderful West Virginia is going right-to-work.

Republicans in the state legislature passed the Workplace Freedom Act and yesterday overrode a veto by Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. Also yesterday, the West Virginia Republicans overrode Gov. Tomblin's veto of legislation that repeals the state's prevailing wage law.

"Right to work" is often confused with "employment ...

Who's been naughty and who's been nice in labor and employment law? Here are my picks for 2015. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

NAUGHTY!

The National Labor Relations Board, for being naughty in too many ways to mention. Its rules on employer handbook policies, including confidentiality and social media, are unrealistic and almost impossible for ...