Seth L. Laver, Author at Professional Liability Matters

December 18, 2017 Employment Practices Liability / Risk Management

The Price of High Profile Investigations

With the recent wave of allegations concerning employment-related conduct, there may be in uptick of employers engaging outside firms to conduct internal investigations. While these can be kept in-house, high profile cases and social media often results in the publication of these reports to the public. Consider the NFL’s investigation of the Miami Dolphins known as “bullygate.”

In the Dolphins case, particular employees were identified as fostering a bullying culture and publicly identified in the conclusions. Although one of these employees had his …

December 13, 2017 Agents and Brokers

Case Study: Is a Broker a Fiduciary?

In a decision addressing the facts necessary to plead a breach of fiduciary duty claim against a broker, a California federal district court considered the difference between an “ordinary” broker-customer relationship, and one which rises to the level of a fiduciary relationship.

In Owner’s Management Co., the plaintiff (“Owner’s”) was an independent senior living property management company. Allegedly at the recommendation of its long-term broker, (“Broker”), Owner’s selected a self-funded employee healthcare benefit plan that was supposed to minimize Owner’s costs and potential exposures. …

November 28, 2017 Employment Practices Liability

Break Time is Over

Today’s employees demand flexibility. In turn, many employers are moving towards a “results orientation” business model and getting away from the standard 9-5 schedule. In other words, the employer cares less about when employees get the work done, and only cares that the work gets done effectively. Employment laws are only beginning to catch up to this shift in work hours. Take for example the recent decision where the Third Circuit confirmed that the FLSA requires employers to compensate employees for breaks of 20 minutes …

November 14, 2017 Cyber-Liability

Congress Considering Federal Cyber Breach Laws

Huge cybersecurity breaches at major retailers caught the attention of the public and have made headlines. Now, more recent breach at one of the major credit reporting agencies has the attention of Congress. 48 states and the District of Columbia already have some form of legislation governing security breaches. These statutes typically begin by laying out who is subject to the requirements, such as businesses and information brokers, and what information is considered protected “personal information.” The laws then outline what constitutes a breach, the …

November 13, 2017 Risk Management

Microcaptives Create Headaches for Professionals

Captive insurance companies have long been a popular vehicle for companies that require insurance in areas where it is hard to find coverage. Although the IRS has been somewhat suspicious of captives for some time, it was not until the past several years that microcaptives, or captives for smaller companies, apparently piqued the interest of the IRS. After the Tax Court issued an opinion over the summer, several other similar cases have gone to trial and await opinion. The result of these cases will have …

November 6, 2017 Employment Practices Liability

Performance Evaluations: A Lesson on Documentation

Cases turn on the evidence. In the case of an employment discrimination or retaliation claim, the key may lie in the employee file maintained by the employer. One common piece of documentation created and maintained by many employers is performance evaluations. In Walker v. Verizon, a federal district court in Pennsylvania ruled on a case illustrating how important documentation can be in defending these claims.

The common legal framework in an employment discrimination and/or retaliation lawsuit has three steps. A plaintiff must first establish a …

October 25, 2017 Employment Practices Liability

Bad Back? You’re Fired.

Employers rely upon employees to get the job done. Usually, the “job” requires the employee’s physical presence at work. But injuries and medical conditions throw a wrench in the works. Most employers are at least generally aware of the implications of various federal and state laws governing treatment of employees with medical conditions and injuries. Yet, there is plenty of gray area where employers may be subject to liability. Take for example the recent decision in Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, Inc. where the Seventh …

October 16, 2017 Trial Tactics

Recusal: Use it or Lose it

Attorneys and their clients must make strategic decisions during litigation whether to take certain actions that are available to them. Should you move for dismissal or answer the complaint? Should you seek more specific answers to written discovery, or just save your questions for a deposition? These are common questions that do not necessarily have a “right” answer. However, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently ruled that waiting too long to decide on a motion to recuse may result in the request being untimely.

In Lomas …

October 9, 2017 Agents and Brokers / Risk Management

Guilt by Association

Making a referral is most often understood as a recommendation as to the quality of that professional’s services or products. In turn, there are different tort theories that are recognized in many states for negligence in doing so, and potential liability for the actions of a referred professional. What is far less common is to allow liability to flow through several parties even absent independent conduct or a theory of agency.

A recent New Jersey Appellate decision appears to do just that by holding a …