An Ohio funeral home sued another funeral home and its former employee for alleged trade secret misappropriation. The plaintiff is also suing for defamation and tortious interference with its business expectancies. As to the trade secret claim, reporting from the Tribune Chronicle, by Renee Fox, indicates the plaintiff funeral home alleges its client list meets the statutory definition for a trade secret. The suit goes onto claim that the list was used by its former…

Despite a strong jobs report on May 3, 2019, wage growth continues to be a disappointment. See Axios post, “The Mystery of Sluggish Wages.” I don’t have all the answers, but I can point to at least a partial explanation for this mystery; the employment market is often contractually rigged by employers using overbroad contractual restrictions to artificially suppress wages. Offer Employees Better Compensation; Get Ready to be Sued. My law firm…

On April 22, 2019, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced she will establish a Payroll Fraud Enforcement Unit to investigate wage theft. More specifically, this Unit will also investigate the misclassification of workers as independent contractors and the nonpayment of overtime. The Detroit News reported the AG’s new unit will focus primarily on the misclassification of employees as self-employed independent contractors. Such misclassification allows an employer to avoid paying overtime, health benefits or worker’s compensation…

Many businesses owners (wrongly) assume they can limit their company’s liability for employment discrimination claims by entering into an independent contractor agreement. But that is not always true as shown by a recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision. Specifically, this decision provides a reminder that companies must focus on compliance with employment laws for its entire workforce, including contractors. Michigan discrimination laws: “Independent contractor” versus “employee.” In Cook v. Farm Bureau Life Ins. Co. of …

A common mistake employers make in protecting their business interests is poorly drafted non-compete agreements. And frequently that mistake involves drafting inconsistencies. As explained below, inconsistencies provide a foundation for challenging the scope or outright enforceability of a company’s non-compete restriction. In this regard, we recently defended against Christian Financial Insurance/Christian Insurance Group, Inc.’s motion for injunctive relief. The motion was filed against its former sales agents. After raising concerns about Christian Insurance Group’s business…

Depending upon your perspective, Michigan voters were given a big lump of coal or Michigan businesses got an early Christmas present. Specifically, this week Governor Snyder signed bills to delay and limit the scope of voter-approved ballot measures that would have increased the minimum wage and required employers to provide paid sick time to their employees. Citizen groups previously collected enough signatures to put the proposals on the November ballot. However, under a procedural mechanism,…

“It wasn’t intentional. It wasn’t deliberate. And it wasn’t reckless.” This defense was made in response to three chocolate bars labeled “Lab tested to 100 mg of THC” (THC refers to tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive chemical in cannabis) found on a private pilot’s plane after it made an emergency landing in October 2016. According to the National Law Journal (by C. Ryan Barber), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency order in February 2018…