Wyche at Work: December Employment Update
Prepared by Ted Gentry December 2012 2012 in Review: South Carolina Legislative Changes On the employment front, 2012 will most likely be noted in South Carolina for the National Labor Relations Board’s bold initiatives to protect employees’ rights to unionize and record unemployment rates. Against that backdrop, the South Carolina Legislature passed two employment-related laws that…
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A New Generation in Legal Literacy: Review of Jo S. Kittinger’s “Breath of Hope”
As published in Clearinghouse Review – read the full article here. November-December 2012 By Jo Watson Hackl This article was first published in 46 Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy 367 (November-December 2012) copyright sign 2012 Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law As any lawyer who works with low-income people knows, increasing…
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Wyche at Work: November Employment Update
Prepared by Ted Gentry November 2012 Holiday Parties We don’t want to dampen your holiday cheer, but there are a few ways employers can reduce the risk of legal problems that can arise during employer-sponsored holiday parties: Avoid customs that are not workplace appropriate (i.e., exchanging risqué gifts). Inappropriate conduct at a holiday party can later…
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Wyche at Work: October Employment Update
Prepared by Ted Gentry October 2012 Voting Leave Laws With Election Day drawing near, you may get some questions from employees about taking off time from work to vote. South Carolina does not mandate “voting leave” for employees, though companies are free to establish policies that permit voting during the workday. Other states (Georgia and Alabama,…
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Summary of Considerations for Allocating Environmental Liabilities in Transactions
Prepared by Wyche attorneys: Rita Bolt Barker & Maurie Lawrence Below is a summary of considerations that parties may want to consider in allocating environmental liabilities. This summary is not exhaustive, as considerations vary for each transaction. For example, this summary does not address the various types of deal structures. Download a PDF version of…
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Sample Buyer’s Environmental Due Diligence Checklist
Prepared by Wyche attorney: Rita Bolt Barker & Maurie Lawrence This checklist is intended to be used only as a suggested template for conducting environmental due diligence. The scope of environmental due diligence is deal-specific and will be dependent upon a variety of factors, including the buyer’s knowledge of the site and operations, level of…
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Wyche at Work: September Employment Update
Prepared by Ted Gentry September 2012 Avoiding Pitfalls in Overtime Calculations An employer’s failure to follow the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) can be costly and result in lawsuits, fines and possibly criminal prosecution. The FLSA requires that a non-exempt employee receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40…
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Wyche at Work: August Employment Update
Prepared by Ted Gentry August 2012 Wyche Achieves Major Victory for Employers Before South Carolina Supreme Court In an appeal handled by Wyche litigator Henry Parr, the South Carolina Supreme Court issued a significant decision favoring employers seeking to enforce confidentiality agreements. For example, the Court noted that a lack of time limit in a confidentiality…
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Wyche at Work: July Employment Update
Prepared by Ted Gentry July 2012 There They Go Again: NLRB Imperialism The National Labor Relations Board has published a new webpage for employees which, according to the accompanying NLRB press release, “describes the rights of employees to act together for their mutual aid and protection, even if they are not in a union.” The NLRB’s…
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Can Your Facebook Account Cost You Your Job?
Interview with Ted Gentry As heard on “The South Carolina Business Review” with Mike Switzer Broadcast Friday, July 13, 2012 Read the transcript below: Those of us with social media accounts are constantly warned not to post embarrassing items. It’s now part of conventional wisdom that indiscreet posts could keep you from getting – or…
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Are Unpaid Interns Legal?
Interview with Ted Gentry As heard on “The South Carolina Business Review” with Mike Switzer Broadcast Thursday, June 28, 2012 Read the transcript below: As summer approaches, industrious students are eager to gain workplace experience and make connections with potential employers, and businesses will always welcome some low-cost help. As a result of these pressures,…
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Wyche at Work: June Employment Update
Prepared by Ted Gentry June 2012 Statistics for Discrimination Charges Now Available Online The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) just posted statistics for private sector workplace discrimination charges. With 1,370 total charges in Fiscal Year 2011, South Carolina accounted for 1.4% of the total workplace discrimination charges nation-wide. Here is a breakdown, by frequency of type…
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Wyche at Work: May Employment Law Update
Prepared by Ted Gentry May 2012 EEOC Issues Enforcement Guidance on Employer Use of Arrest and Conviction Records Following several public meetings, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued an Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII. In light of the EEOC’s recent $3.13 million…
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Wyche at Work: April Employment Law Update
Prepared by Ted Gentry April 2012 NLRB Posting Not Required in SC … For Now We have previously discussed the recent National Labor Relations Board regulation requiring employers to post a notice advising employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. With an effective date of April 30, 2012, South Carolina employers had been…
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Wyche at Work: March Employment Law Update
Prepared by Ted Gentry March 2012 NLRB Issues Second Report Challenging Social Media Policies The Office of the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board recently issued Memorandum OM 12-31 summarizing the Board’s findings on 14 social media cases. This is the second such report – the first, OM 11-74, was issued August 18,…
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How Much is Your Nonprofit’s Brand Worth? The Path to Trademark Protection
Written by Wallace K. Lightsey and Josh Weiss As seen in South Carolina Lawyers Weekly March 11, 2011 “It”s fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A . . . ” As the theme of the song goes, the YMCA has been recognized and has become a leader in youth and adult recreation. The YMCA, a globally…
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Nonprofit Tax Exempt Organizations
Interview with Cary Hall As heard on “South Carolina Business Review” with Mike Switzer Broadcast October 16, 2009 Most of us have “causes” we would like to pursue and support for the good of our community, to help others or just to be good citizens. There are important advantages to be secured by establishing a…
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Illegal Music Downloads: When It’s Not Nice to Share
Interview with Ted Gentry As heard on “South Carolina Business Review” with Mike Switzer Broadcast February 19, 2009 As parents, we spend a lot of time teaching our children to share. But if their generosity extends to copyrighted music and other works, sharing can turn out to be a bad – and costly – habit.…
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From the Client Meeting to the Boardroom: Presenting Your Case When the Stakes are High
Interview with Wallace K. Lightsey As heard on “South Carolina Business Review” with Mike Switzer Broadcast October 30, 2008 Introduction: Studies continue to reveal that one of the greatest fears for many people is public speaking. Here are some tips from the courtroom that will help seasoned and neophyte presenters effectively present their case in…
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Redeveloping Contaminated Sites: Turning Brownfields into Green
nterview with Rita Bolt Barker As heard on “South Carolina Business Review” with Mike Switzer Broadcast July 18, 2008 What is a brownfield? Brownfields are real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The EPA estimates that there…
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Raising Capital 101: Legal Considerations for Entrepreneurs, Start-ups and Small Businesses
Interview with Eric Graben As heard on “South Carolina Business Review” with Mike Switzer Broadcast June 26, 2008 If you are raising capital, you are probably selling securities. Many businesses at some point need to raise capital from outside sources. Generally if you raise money from one or more outside investors (other than bank loans),…
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Conservation Easements: Protecting Special Places
Interview with Cary Hall As heard on “South Carolina Business Review” with Mike Switzer Broadcast May 2, 2008 The forests and open spaces of South Carolina are rapidly disappearing. A recent study by the Strom Thurmond Institute at Clemson estimates the Upstate of South Carolina will see 86 acres of open space developed per day…
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Retaliation: Don’t Get Mad, Don’t Get Even
Interview with Ted Gentry As heard on “South Carolina Business Review” with Mike Switzer Broadcast April 24, 2008 Many employers are familiar with the traditional disputes that can arise with their employees — in areas like worker’s compensation and anti-discrimination law. But many don’t know about one of the fastest-growing groups of claims — suites…
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You’ve Been Sued: Now What?
Interview with Ted Gentry As heard on “South Carolina Business Review” with Mike Switzer Broadcast April 11 and 12, 2007 If you run a business, large or small, there’s a good chance that at some point your company will be sued. And while you may have to live with that lawsuit for months or years…
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The Medimmune Decision: A Major Legal Development for Patent Licenses
Interview with Wallace K. Lightsey As heard on “South Carolina Business Review” with Mike Switzer Broadcast March 29, 2007 In January, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that could have profound implications for patent holders and patent licensees. The Change in the Law Previously, one who entered into a license agreement with a patent…
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