(Non-Owned Vehicle Liability Coverage Is Not Afforded to Insured when Van Was Furnished for Business and Personal Use)

Can a supervisor who engages in excessive hugging and other seemingly innocuous conduct create a hostile work environment? The Ninth Circuit held that this question is one for the jury, and that a rule categorically excluding hugs and other common workplace behavior from creating an actionable hostile work environment would be improper.

On March 6, 2017, a divided Georgia Supreme Court issued its opinion on a ruling requested by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals pertaining to a policy limits demand in a fatal 2014 motor vehicle accident.

On February 28, 2017, the California Second Appellate District issued a decision in Vaquero v. Stoneledge Furniture LLC finding that an employer must separately compensate commissioned employees for rest periods.

California and federal case law has established that a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) may necessitate arbitration of a statutory claim if, in an explicit waiver, it is clear and unmistakable that the parties intended to waive their right to proceed in a judicial forum for statutory claims. 

It came as some surprise to those of us who practice employment law in Washington that the City of Spokane followed the lead of Seattle and other progressive cities in enacting a paid leave law. Indeed, even Spokane’s mayor was surprised.

Organized labor suffered another significant setback on Wednesday, February 6, 2017, when Missouri Gov. (R) Eric Greitens signed SB19 into law, adding Missouri to the nation’s growing list of states to adopt right-to-work protections for its public and private sector employees.