Sexual harassment is all over the news. Harvey Weinstein, the cinematic giant, has been exposed as a loathsome lothario, a serial abuser of women, and a poster child of male privilege and abuse in the movie industry. Weinstein and sexual harassment are now inextricably linked in the public imagination, and, it seems, never the twain […]

Most, if not all, states have insurance fraud prevention statutes designed to punish those who defraud private insurers. California, however, has enacted a law that takes insurance fraud prevention a step further. The California Insurance Frauds Prevention Act (“IFPA”) contains qui tam provisions that allow individuals or entities, known as relators: i) to blow the […]

You may remember that about a year a half ago, the Department of Labor, under President Obama, issued a rule that was going change what’s called the “salary level” for “white collar” workers. The salary level is part of the federal overtime rules. Those rules basically say: if you’re a white collar worker and you […]

Equal pay for equal work has been the law in the United States for over 50 years. Both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibit employers from paying women less than men for equal work. When Congress passed these important protections in the 1960s, women […]

We all know that resignations are not always by choice. For example, it is hardly voluntary if an employer tells a worker that she can either resign or be fired. But even resignations which at first blush appear voluntary may legally be no different than a firing. The term is “constructive discharge.” Contrary to the […]

For the past 16 years, America has paused each September to reflect on the tragic morning of September 11, 2001. And while we remember the lives lost and are forced to face our worst fears and vulnerabilities, we are also reminded of the many heroes – those who prevented a more horrific attack that day, […]

Beginning January 1, 2018, New York’s Paid Family Leave Program will provide employees in New York State with a range of new benefits. Here’s what you need to know: Under the Program, employees will receive paid leave and continuation of health insurance coverage (subject to the employee contribution) for 8 weeks beginning in 2018, increasing […]

Several recent gender discrimination class action lawsuits illustrate that women in law firms face a number of additional hurdles not encountered by their male colleagues.  While women have made up more than 40% of law school students for more than three decades, the number of women diminishes at every level of advancement.  In last month’s […]

We all have a general idea of what a kickback, or a bribe, looks like. We may imagine a bag of cash discretely changing hands. Or a corrupt politician freezing money in boxes of frozen pie crusts. But kickbacks may not always appear so seedy. Many healthcare and pharmaceutical companies have been found liable for […]

The Fourth Circuit’s decision in United States ex rel. Bunk v. Government Logistics N.V., 642 F.3d 261 (4th Cir. 2016) addressed whether a successor in interest remains liable for its predecessor’s False Claims Act liability. In other words, if a company is liable for penalties under the FCA, can it avoid liability by transferring assets […]