Grant Osborne on Employment Policies

Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Agreements with Non-Supervisory Employees: New Limitations from the NLRB

The National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") has recently declared a limit on parties' contractual rights that many private employers (and, for that matter many, of their employees) may find distressing. ...more

3/3/2023 / Confidentiality Agreements , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Policies , NLRA , NLRB , Non-Disparagement Provisions , Section 7 , Severance Agreements

Lawful Use of Cannabis in North Carolina's Workplace

The employer/employee relationship is among the most regulated. There are many (some argue too many) federal and state laws that govern how employers may and may not treat applicants and employees....more

11/9/2022 / Decriminalization of Marijuana , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Policies , Marijuana , Recreational Use

Labor Unions and "Protected Concerted Activity:" What Private Employers – Unionized or NOT – Need to Know in 2022

Employers, it seems, can't catch a break these days. They build businesses. They take risks. They face increasing supply costs, supply-chain problems, interest rates, and staff-shortages...more

8/19/2022 / Department of Justice (DOJ) , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Policies , NLRA , NLRB , Protected Concerted Activity , Unfair Labor Practices , Union Representatives , Unions

To North Carolina Governmental Employers: Heads-Up – "Unreasonable Employee Discipline" Can Now Get You Sued

No good deed goes unpunished - Little did City of Durham Police Sergeant Michael Mole' know, in his first crack at negotiating on his own the surrender of an armed and barricaded suspect, that he would be fired because he...more

10/14/2021 / Disciplinary Proceedings , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Policies , Hiring & Firing , Police , Public Employees , State Actors , State and Local Government , State Constitutions

So Much for "9 to 5": Employers' Consideration of Employees' and Applicants' Conduct Outside of Work

Arbitrary judgments are as old as humanity itself. Law evolved in part to try to spare us all from some of them and provide order and predictability in their place. That evolution, and occasional revolution, eventually gave...more

3/18/2021 / At-Will Employment , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Policies , Hiring & Firing , Job Applicants , Labor Regulations , Public Policy , State Labor Laws

Political Speech in the Workplace (And What – If Anything – To Do About It)

Politics could hardly be more conspicuous these days. A monumental presidential election looms on the horizon, and it seems that everyone has an opinion. Many who do have jobs and bring those opinions into the workplace....more

10/21/2020 / Employment Policies , First Amendment , Free Speech , Labor Relations , NLRA , NLRB , Political Expression , Political Speech , Presidential Elections , Unfair Labor Practices

EEOC Representative Provides Perspective on Sexual Harassment and Discrimination

How does the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission evaluate discrimination complaints? What trends is it seeing in the cases it’s reviewing? And how do investigators assess claims involving sexual harassment and equal...more

12/9/2019 / #MeToo , Complaint Procedures , Corporate Culture , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Policies , Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) , Pay Discrimination , Sexual Harassment , Workplace Investigations

Play by the Rules, Especially if They Are Your Rules: NC Supreme Court Creates New Constitutional Claim for Governmental Employees

On March 2, 2018, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued a remarkable decision that skewered a municipality for not abiding by its own personnel procedures. In the case of Tully vs. City of Wilmington, a municipal employee...more

5/14/2018 / Arbitrary and Capricious , Employment Litigation , Employment Policies , Job Promotions , Municipal Employees , NC Supreme Court , Policies and Procedures

Grant Osborne

Ward and Smith, P.A.

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