The news this week in the world of labor and employment law and technology can be summed up in two words: Charlie Sheen. (I would have also accepted Tiger Blood.) Our own Megan Anderson wrote about the fiasco and its lessons for employers about responding to negative statements on the Internet. One day later, Sheen filed suit in California state court, alleging a variety of claims includingas Jon Hyman predicteddisability discrimination!
Although the news coverage (and, lets be honest, your Facebook news feed) made it seem like Charlie Sheen was the only big news story this week, there were several other important news developments in the world of The Next Big Thing. The NLRB stirred up controversy by briefly allowing and then pulling Google Ads from its website. The blogosphere continues to buzz with support (and opposition) to unions, especially with the latest news that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has won the battle to strip public employees in Wisconsin of their collective bargaining rights. The viral spread of these stories illustrates how technology is reshaping not only the workplace, but also the world we live in.
Technology in the Workplace
- Charlie Sheen files $100 million suit against Warner Bros. and Two and a Half Men Producers (Associated Press via Star Tribune, Media Decoder)
- Charlie Sheen and the National Labor Relations Board (Ohio Employers Law Blog)
- SECs Porn-Gate Now Spans the Country (WSJ Blog)
- Whac-A-Mole Maker Gets Whacked By Employee Sabotage (Delaware Employment Law Blog)
- Board Decision Warns of Photographic or Video Recording of Concerted Activity (Labor Relations Counsel)
- Employees post-termination blog postings do not preclude reinstatement (Employment Law Matters)
- Exoskeletal Arm Gives Everyday Laborers Superhuman Strength, Endurance (Fast Company)
- House Committee Seeks Information From NLRB Regarding Google Ads (Labor Relations Today, LawMemo Employment Law Blog)
- Road Warriors Rejoice! LiquidSpace Finds You a Connected Place to Work (Fast Company)
- Is it Really Illegal to Require an Applicant or Employee to Disclose her Password to a Friends-Only Facebook Page? (Workplace Privacy Counsel)
- Accelerating Change in the Workplace: Lessons from North Africa (Fast Company)
- The Perils of Badmouthing Your Boss (CNN)
- NLRB v. Social Media Policies, Round II (Delaware Employment Law Blog)
Technology and the Law More Generally
- Is The Judge Checking You Out on Facebook? (An Associates Mind)
- Florida Judge Order Debt Collector Not To Use Social Media To Contact Debtor (Shear on Social Media Law and Going Paperless)
- Why Social Media Activity May Mean Updating Your Insurance Coverage (Social Media Law Update Blog)
- Council of Europe Issues Draft Recommendations and Guidelines for Search Engines and Social Networking Providers (Privacy & Information Security Law Blog)
- Suit against north Minneapolis blogger is going to trial (Star Tribune)
- Courtney Love Agrees to Pay $430,000 in Twitter Defamation Case (Shear on Social Media Law, Arts Beat)
- Lawyers Suing Over Suspects Shooting Death Seek Facebook Information for 57 Officers (ABA Journal)
Technology News
- CSI: EmailUnmasking Anonymous Messengers (Fast Company)
- Worlds First Bionic Eye Approved for Use in Europe (Fast Company)
- Our Robot Overlords Will Walk Like USAnd Among Us (Fast Company)
- Using Phones, but Not to Talk or Surf (NY Times)
- Drumbeat to E-Mail: The Medium and the Message (NY Times book review of James Gleicks The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood.)
- Google Schools Its Algorithm (NY Times)
- Internet traffic in Libya goes dark in apparent government shutdown amid upheaval (Associated Press via Star Tribune)
- How Intel and GE Will Monitor Your GrandmaFor Her Own Good (Fast Company)