As our regular readers know, Employment & Labor Insider is a non-partisan blog. But with the first Presidential debate coming on Monday night, I thought it would be helpful to look at the two major presidential candidates and their positions on issues of interest to employers.

The following comes from each of the candidates' websites, supplemented by some news stories, with a ...

And some catching up we have to do!

Everyone is back to school, and our friend David Phippen is back with the July-August edition of the Executive Labor Summary. David has the best summary of the National Labor Relations Board's position on employer handbook policies that I've ever seen. (Well, with the possible exception of the last one he did . . .) Seriously, do check it out. He also ...

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 another co-worker that yet another co-worker said she would ...

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.

Holy Toledo! (Or should I say, Lansing?) Here is our next celebrity employment lawsuit soap opera . . .

You may have heard about the two Tea Party legislators in Michigan who were having an affair, engaged in a bizarre cover-up that failed, had to resign/were expelled, and then lost their election bids to get their seats back. It was a big deal over the summer and into the fall of this year.

In ...

Well, it's that time of year again - what are you thankful for? Here are some Human Resources and employment law matters for which I am thankful. Please feel free to add your own in the comments.

I'm thankful that I'm not Trey Gowdy. The Republican Congressman from South Carolina and chair of the House Benghazi Committee is not out, but he's definitely down -- for the moment. He's ...

"Drag a $100 bill through a trailer park, you never know what you'll find."

"Every word she writes is a lie, including 'and' and 'the.'"

"Did NOT!"

Can a denial open you up for a defamation suit? Apparently.

This is essentially what recently happened to Bill Cosby. Three women said that Mr. Cosby sexually abused them many years ago, before many of you were born. The incidents ...

The sexual harassment case of Alexandra Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi went to the jury late yesterday afternoon. For previous coverage of the trial, go here, here, here, here, here, and here.

In closing arguments, the attorney for the defendants called Ms. Marchuk a "wolf" and said she had made up her allegations to get money. Among other things, he noted that her gynecologist, who she saw ...

As expected, Law360 reports this morning that Plaintiff Alexandra Marchuk has asked Judge Alvin Hellerstein to reconsider his ruling that Nadeem Faruqi and Lubna Faruqi, co-founders of the New York law firm Faruqi & Faruqi, be dismissed from her lawsuit as individual defendants. She also requested reconsideration of the court's decision granting judgment to the defendants on her ...

The defense completed its case yesterday at the trial of Alexandra Marchuk's sexual harassment claims against the New York City law firm of Faruqi & Faruqi and partner Juan Monteverde. Prior coverage of the trial is available here, here, here, and here.

Yesterday, Mr. Monteverde testified more about the blood-stained carpet, saying he had not noticed the stains until Ms. Marchuk told ...