If you attended our Annual Employment Law Seminar on April 12, then you already know that the ways in which employers deal with sexual harassment is changing. Even if you didn’t attend, you probably have a sense that the cultural attitude towards sexual harassment is changing. This is primarily due to movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp that are striving to bring attention and accountability to issues of sexual harassment. Continue reading
Category Archives: Delaware Specific
Delaware Choice of Law News
Last month, the Delaware Superior Court issued a key ruling on the enforceability of Delaware choice-of-law provisions. These contract clauses provide that, if litigation arises over the terms of a contract (often a settlement agreement or an employment agreement), that the law to be applied to the contract will be Delaware contract law (as opposed to the law of the state where the employee works). Continue reading
Right-to-work: Right or Wrong?
Recently there has been a lot of talk in Delaware regarding right-to-work laws.
When a private-sector company is organized, the union will try to negotiate a requirement that all employees either join the union and pay union dues or pay a so-called agency fee for the services provided by the union like negotiations and grievance processing. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) authorizes individual states to outlaw this practice. Any state who passes such a law is called a “right-to-work state.”
Delaware, like 21 other states, is not a right-to-work state. Delaware Governor Carney wants Delaware to stay that way. Continue reading
Domestic Violence Discrimination
A bill pending in the Delaware legislature would expand the state’s anti-discrimination statute. House Bill 4 would prohibit discrimination on the basis of domestic violence, sexual offense, or stalking. If passed, the bill would have important implications for Delaware employers. Here’s what you need to know. Continue reading
Delaware Social Media Privacy Law Moves Ahead
At our Annual Employment Law Seminar last week, I spoke about the “Facebook Privacy” bill that was then pending in Delaware’s House of Representatives. The bill passed the House on later that day and is now headed to the Senate. For those of you who weren’t in attendance last week, here’s a brief recap of the proposed law. Continue reading
If You Need Me, I Will Be In the Hall of Fame
Well, it’s happened again. The Delaware Employment Law Blog was selected as one of the Top 100 Legal Blogs in the country by the ABA Journal Magazine. Because this is my fifth year as an honoree, I’ve been inducted into the magazine’s Hall of Fame, where I join my friend Dan Schwartz, whose Connecticut Employment Law Blog was inducted in 2013. In my world, this is the most prestigious award a legal blogger can receive and it is such an honor to have been selected again. It is, as the saying goes, truly an embarrassment of riches. Continue reading
Delaware Gov. to Sign Law Expanding Retaliation Protection for Whistleblowers
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell signed into law legislation that expands the protections provided to employee-whistleblowers. H.B. 300 extends whistleblower protections to employees who report noncompliance with the State’s campaign-contribution laws,who participate in an investigation or hearing regarding an alleged violation of the campaign-contribution laws, or who refuses to violate the campaign-contribution laws. Continue reading
People First Language: Delaware Legislation Gets It Right
Delaware’s General Assembly has passed a law “relating to the removal of insensitive and offensive language.” When I first saw the title of this Act, I admit, I was alarmed that our State’s legislature was banning profanity in some context. I was relieved to read the text of the law, though, and learn exactly what it actually does provide. Continue reading
Employment-Law Legislation In Delaware’s General Assembly
Employment legislation has been a popular topic for the Delaware General Assembly in recent months. Here are two recently proposed legislation that Delaware employers should keep an eye on. Continue reading
Bill Would Limit Use of Criminal Histories for Delaware Employers
So-called “ban-the-box” initiatives, which limit employers’ inquiries into an applicant’s criminal history, have been adopted by several cities and municipalities. Philadelphia adopted such a law in the Spring of 2011. The City of Wilmington joined the ban-the-box bandwagon in Fall 2012, when then-Mayor Baker signed an executive order that removed a question about criminal convictions from job applications. But that executive order applied only to applicants seeking work with the City of Wilmington. Other Delaware employers have not been subject to these restrictions.
A bill is pending in the Delaware legislature, though, would change that and more if passed. Continue reading
