Academic

Obama Board Reaffirms Narrow Accretion Standards

Posted on August 29, 2010
CHS, Inc., 355 NLRB No. 164 (August 27, 2010), is an interesting case. A union successfully brought a Unit Clarification petition seeking to accrete employees into the unit that were acquired as a result of a merger. The Board summarized...

School Law Jobs

Posted on August 28, 2010
Job TitleEmployerJob LocationLabor & Employment AttorneyLozano SmithFresno, CaliforniaMid-Level/Senior Special Education AttorneyHarbottle Law GroupOrange County, CaliforniaSpecial Education AttorneyLozano SmithFresno, CaliforniaChief Counsel to the School BoardSchool District of Palm Beach CountyWest Palm Beach, FloridaSchool Law AttorneyBrannan Legal SearchChicago, IllinoisEmployment/Labor Law Associate AttorneyThrun...

6th Holds Teacher Complains About Class Size Held Not To Be Protected Under 1st A

Posted on August 27, 2010
Fox v. Traverse City Area Pub. Sch., ___F.3d___(6th Cir. May 17, 2010), is an interesting case. the 6th Circuit held that a teacher whose contract was not renewed failed to state a valid First Amendment retaliation claim. The court held...

Breaking News: NLRB Member Peter C. Schaumber departs NLRB as second term expires

Posted on August 27, 2010
Nominated by President George W. Bush, Member Peter C. Schaumber leaves office today after having served two terms. After his first confirmation by the United States Senate, he took his seat on the Board in December 2002. He was named...

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Proposed Pennsylvania legislation seeks to limit punishment for ?sexting?

Posted on August 26, 2010
CBSNEWS reported on June 10, 2010 that a bill has passed a Pennsylvania committee that would limit the punishment for "sexting" (the practice in which adolescents forward sexually explicit images of themselves or their peers via text message). The bill...

The Job With Exposure to Most Germs is?

Posted on August 26, 2010
You would never guess this one. The correct answer is "teacher." A Fox News story about this is available here and a Wall Street Journal Health Blog is available here. Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Reinstatement of coal miner who tested positive for marijuana upheld

Posted on August 25, 2010
CCH Workday recently reported on an interesting case. A lower federal court recently held that an arbitrator did not exceed her authority when she ordered reinstatement of a coal mine worker who was discharged after testing positive for marijuana. The...

Bathroom Leave

Posted on August 24, 2010
Workplace Prof Blog reported on an English employer who made employees clock in and out to go to the bathroom. As the article states: Factory workers who claim their wages were docked every time they went to the toilet are...

Pending New York Bill Would Fine School Administrators Who Fail To Investigate School Bullying

Posted on August 24, 2010
The New York Post reported on June 9, 2010 that there is pending legislation that would fine school administrators who do not investigate allegations of school bullying. Bullying is a series problem in schools as well as in employment, but...

The Most Dangerous Job In America

Posted on August 23, 2010
The BLS actually publishes stats on the most dangerous jobs in America. A New York Times blog story about these stats is available here. The winner is the fishing industry. I bet you all knew that! Here is a copy...

Washington school district ties proposed policy allowing cell phone searches to compliance with state laws on cyber bullying and sexting

Posted on August 23, 2010
The Local media reported that Oak Harbor School District (OHSD) in Washington is proposing a policy that would allow school officials to search students? cell phones. OHSD believes the policy is necessary in order for the district to comply with...

10 Important Education Law Cases

Posted on August 22, 2010
Online degrees, a commercial site, wrote an interesting posting summarizing 10 important Education Law Supreme Court decisions. They are as follows: West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette: This 1943 Supreme Court decision dealt with the Pledge of Allegiance...

10 Unforgettable Judges

Posted on August 22, 2010
Court Reporter School, a commercial site, posted a list of 10 unforgettable Judges. There are some surprises on list list including Rehnquist and Burger-but the list includes some pictures and is an interesting read. Mitchell H. Rubinstein Hat Tip: Ava...

School Law Jobs

Posted on August 21, 2010
Job Title Employer Job Location Labor & Employment Attorney Lozano Smith Fresno, California School Attorney Harbottle Law Group Orange County, California Special Education Attorney Lozano Smith Fresno, California Chief Counsel to the School Board School District of Palm Beach County...

High Profile Employment Discrimination Case Involving Law School Settled

Posted on August 20, 2010
Kyndra Rotunda, a former director of a clinic at George Mason Law School and the wife of constitutional law scholar Ron Rotunda. Her high profile case against the university was recently settled, but the terms were not disclosed. You can...

Special Ed in NYC

Posted on August 19, 2010
The Wall Street Journal ran an interesting article on August 18, 2010 which discusses how NYC speeds millions in paying for special education of students in private schools, here. As the article states: Families in the most affluent New York...

Attorney Sanctioned For Not Following Appellate Court Rules

Posted on August 19, 2010
Cottonwood Financial v. Estes, from the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District III, dated May 25, 2010 is a decision that attorneys should all be aware of. It reminds of us of the importance of following court rules. The court criticizes...

Union awarded $165,000.50: fifty cents in damages plus $165,000 for attorney fees

Posted on August 18, 2010
Local 32B-32J, SEIU v Port Authority, USDC SDNY 96 CIV 1438 Although Locals 32B and 32J won only fifty cents in damages after refusing a settlement offer of $50,000, they were awarded attorney fees and court costs totaling more than...

Employees of an entity providing services to a school district pursuant to a contract are not employees of the school district

Posted on August 17, 2010
Handley v New York State Teachers' Retirement Sys., 2010 NY Slip Op 04667, decided on June 3, 2010, Appellate Division, Third Department [5 proceedings] Brett A. Handley, Kenneth M. Ford, Theresa Phillips, Neil Tebbano, and Thomas M. White all worked...

Concerning name-clearing hearings

Posted on August 16, 2010
Browne v City of New York, 2010 NY Slip Op 04583, Decided on May 25, 2010, Appellate Division, Second Department [Browne II] In general, a name-clearing hearing is to provide an employee who claims that he or she has been...

Employees vs. Volunteers

Posted on August 16, 2010
Readers will know of my interest in the legal status of volunteers, having written a law review article on this subject. I just noticed an interesting August 2, 2010 NYLJ article which discusses volunteer status, mostly with an emphasis on...

Worker's Death Results In $1.6 Million OSHA Fine

Posted on August 15, 2010
OSHA is an important part of employment law. We do not cover it hear as I frankly do not find it of much interest. However, This story from the National Law Journal caught my eye about a workers death which...

School Law Jobs

Posted on August 14, 2010
School Law JobsJob TitleEmployerJob LocationLabor & Employment AttorneyLozano SmithFresno, CaliforniaSchool AttorneyHarbottle Law GroupOrange County, CaliforniaSpecial Education AttorneyLozano SmithFresno, CaliforniaSchool Law AttorneyBrannan Legal SearchChicago, IllinoisEmployment/Labor Law Associate AttorneyThrun Law FirmEast Lansing, Michigan

Columbia Student Loses Challenge To School's Grading And Related Academic Policies

Posted on August 13, 2010
Keles v. Trustees of Columbia University, ____A.D.3d____(1st Dep't. June 1, 2010), is an interesting case. It also demonstrates how difficult it is to challenge academic decisions. The entire court opinion reads as follows: Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Milton...

Failing To Investigate Without More Is Not An Adverse Employment Action

Posted on August 12, 2010
Fincher v. Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., ____F.3d____ (2d Cir. May 14, 2010), is an important case, here. In this Title VII case, the 2d held that employer?s failure to investigate a complaint of alleged employment discrimination is not an...

Article 78 Applied To Decisions of Private Universities

Posted on August 11, 2010
In New York, Article 78 is often thought of as being applicable to decisions of public bodies. And it is. However, it is also applicable to decisions of private universities. The significance is that Article 78 proceedings contain a very...

Important Law Review Article On the Current State of The Legal Academy And The Lack of Emphasis on Training Lawyers

Posted on August 11, 2010
Preaching What They Don't Practice: Why Law Faculties' Preoccupation with Impractical Scholarship and Devaluation of Practical Competencies Obstruct Reform in the Legal Academy is an interesting law review article by Adjunct Professor Brent Newton (Georgetown Law School)...

IDEA's fee-shifting provision doesn't apply to private schools

Posted on August 10, 2010
Without addressing the timeliness of a private school's bid for attorney's fees, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a decision that the school could not recover the legal fees it incurred in defending its termination of a preschooler's...

President Obama's Remarks at August 4, 2010 AFL-CIO Executive Board Meeting

Posted on August 10, 2010
A copy of the President's remarks to the AFL-CIO Executive Board on August 4, 2010 is available here. What I found most interesting was that Obama states that he still plans to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. Mitchell H....

Public Employees Personal E-Mails Exempt From Disclosure From FOIL

Posted on August 09, 2010
The Wisconsin Supreme Court held in Schill v. Wisconsin Rapids School District, 2010 WI 86 (July 16, 2010), that purely personal e-mails of public employees sent from workplace computers and e-mail accounts are protected from disclosure to a third party...

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