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Employer’s contract provision prohibiting ex-employees from recruiting away employees...
April 10, 2012, 8:55 am
Gross Shuman charts new territory and preserves a client’s case with a ruling by the court that employers have a “legitimate interest” in protecting client relationships developed at the employer’s expense, and that a non-recruitment provision is a valid means of furthering such interest. Does an employer have a legitimate interest in protecting client relationships that it has developed at its own expense? And if so, may the employer further such interest by means of a non-recruitment contract provision that prohibits its ex-employees from recruiting the employer’s sales representatives? The United States District Court for the Western District of New York (the “district court”) answered in the affirmative when it recently confronted these very questions in Renaissance Nutrition, Inc. v. Jarrett. Noting that New York state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals,...
ACCESS TO THE OPPOSING PARTY'S FACEBOOK ACCOUNT DURING LITIGATION
March 1, 2012, 2:26 pm
By: Harry J. Forrest, Esq. With the explosive growth and participation in social media in recent years, it is no surprise that the Courts in New York have been called upon to determine whether a party’s social media information, most commonly Facebook account information and entries, must be disclosed to the opposing party during the discovery phase in personal injury litigation. The Appellate Division, Fourth Department held in McCann v. Harleyville Insurance, 78 A.D.3d 1524 (4th Dept., Nov. 12, 2010), that the defendant was not entitled to the plaintiff’s entire Facebook account information and entries. The defendant had demanded disclosure of all photographs and sought an authorization for plaintiff’s Facebook account. Although the defendant insurance company argued that the information was relevant to the plaintiff’s injury claim, the Fourth Department affirmed the Erie County trial court’s denial of the motion as overly br...
Mixing Business with Pleasure:
February 20, 2012, 11:44 am
Does an employer have an ownership interest in the social media accounts and activities of its employees? Federal district courts in Pennsylvania and California say…maybe. Social media such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn has made the world a smaller place by allowing people to connect and communicate with the click of a button. Many social media users strongly identify with their social media accounts and may even consider them a virtual extension of their person. It is not surprising that as the popularity of social media has skyrocketed, businesses have recognized the potential for social media to be used to conduct and solicit business. Many businesses have jumped on the social media bandwagon to market products and services, or to develop professional networks. Many businesses prefer to communicate via social media because it is relatively inexpensive and can lend an air of grassroots authenticity to a business’ message. &nbs...
Wage Theft Prevention Act-A Simple Guide for Employers
January 30, 2012, 9:52 am
On December 14, 2010, the Wage Theft Prevention Act was signed into law in New York. The Act aimed at providing greater protections for employees by establishing more stringent wage notification procedures for employers. Among other things, the Act explicitly requires employers to provide written notice containing information pertaining to an employee’s wages. The notice must be provided to new hires as well as every employee after January 1 but no later than February 1 each year. Additionally, the notice must be provided to employees both in English as well any language an employee identifies as his or her primary language. Included in the notice must be an employee’s rate of pay, including overtime, the manner in which the employee is paid (i.e. hourly, salary, commission etc.), the typical day on which employees are paid, and any deductions taken from an employee’s minimum wage. Furthermore, the Act requires that the notice also provide the name of...
New York's Highest Court Holds that Final Settlement of a Check Must Occur Before Depos...
January 25, 2012, 12:45 pm
By: John K. Rottaris, Esq. with the help of Amy E. Belmont. The New York Court of Appeals issued a decision in Greenberg, Trager and Herbst, LLP v. HSBC Bank USA, 17 N.Y.3d 565 (2011) which could have serious implications for law firms and other businesses. The plaintiff “GTH,” a law firm, received an email from a Hong Kong company seeking legal representation in collecting a debt owed to it by one of its customers. GTH requested a $10,000 retainer, and was informed that the customer of the company owing the debt would be sending a check to GTH. GTH was instructed to deduct the retainer fee from the total amount and wire the remaining balance to the Hong Kong company. GTH subsequently received a “Citibank” cashier’s check in the amount of $197,750, deposited the check into its attorney trust account, and wired the balance to the company after being notified by a bank representative that the check had “cleared.” However, the ban...