Trial Court Should Have Booted Ex-Employee Out of His New Job, January 8, 2003
by Thomas A. Bowden
Courts are often asked to stop ex-employees from working for competitors when a signed non-competition covenant prohibits such competition. In deciding on such requests, judges are supposed to weigh the potential harm to the ex-employee if he loses his job against the potential harm to the company if the wrongful competition continues.
In a recent case, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals said the ex-employee should have been enjoined from working for a competitor. The trial court made a mistake by worrying about the potential harm to the competing company (i.e., the ex-employee's new employer) if it were enjoined from bidding for jobs. Harm to the new employer was a separate issue that shouldn't have prevented issuance of an injunction against the employee, who was subject to a two-year prohibition on working for a competitor.
Ancora Capital & Mgmt. Group LLC v. Gray, 4th Cir., No. 02-1245, unpublished decision, Jan. 3, 2003.
70-Year-Old School Bus Driver Can't Be Fired, January 3, 2003
by Thomas A. Bowden
Age discrimination laws prohibit the use of chronological age as a substitute for proving the actual existence of job performance problems.
George Trout, a 70-year-old school bus driver, was fired by a Missouri School District. The district said safety was the reason, citing an incident where Trout drove the wrong way up a highway entrance ramp, and incidents where he cut off other drivers. But Trout pointed out that younger drivers were not fired when they drove unsafely, and besides, the entrance ramp was poorly marked.
The trial court threw out the case, but an appellate court reinstated it, saying there was enough evidence of age discrimination that the suit should go forward.
If drivers like Trout can't be fired because of advancing age, then parents whose children ride those buses can't be blamed for wondering whether their children's lives are being put at risk in the quest to accumulate "hard evidence" of bad driving skills.
EEOC v. Liberal R-II School District, 8th Cir., No. 02-1025, Dec. 31, 2002.
OSHA Plans to Make Material Safety Data Sheets More Accurate, January 2, 2003
Under OSHA's hazard communication program, employers must have material safety data sheets (MSDS) on each chemical found or used in the workplace. These sheets are designed to tell employees how to handle these materials, as well as disclose dangers associated with improper use. Until now, OSHA has left the preparation of MSDS's to chemical manufacturers and distributors.
The Secretary of Labor has announced plans to issue guidelines for developing MSDS's. In light of several major chemical accidents recently, OSHA has concluded that MSDS's need to be more accurate and complete.
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