Welcome back to Labor of Law. I'm Erin Mulvaney in Washington, covering the labor and employment beat from the Swamp to Silicon Valley. Happy New Year! And thanks for reading.

This snow storm that battered us here on the east coast got me thinking about work-from-home policies. Here's one attorney who seems to be doing it right and really knows the drill. Wherever you are, your feedback is always welcome. Send me your ideas or just say hi: [email protected] or @erinmulvaney on Twitter.

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CORPORATE OUTLOOK

➤➤ Blurred lines. The intersection between technology and the workplace can perpetuate harassment, The Financial Times reports. Social media accounts can be used to stalk or harass workers. Companies are now examining some of their policies. The FT notes that the “intimate details of workers' personal lives and systems deployed by some companies allow would-be stalkers to track their colleagues' location in real time.” The article points to social networks such as Facebook's Workplace and Slack. Other systems were noted, such as Outlook's shared calendar features.

➤➤ Social media leaves a paper trail.

Jay Holland of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, spoke to me about the issue of technology and sexual harassment. Holland says almost every case he handles involves social media—the text messages, instant messages and social media activity of a harasser can become evidence. “You can't separate the two. The lines and borders are blurred,” Holland says. “There is no longer strict separation from personal and professional.” Holland, who represents individuals as well as companies, says many business owners are looking to update their social media policies as part of the scrutiny from the #MeToo movement. “With the Weinstein effect and other cases, there is definitely heightened attention and concern amongst companies as to what to do,” he says.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

➤➤ Teamsters mount new attack on NLRB's reversal on “joint employer.” A labor union hasn't given up its fight in defense of the Obama-era “joint employment” standard that had been pending at the D.C. Circuit. The new Republican-led NLRB struck the previous standard—and the board successfully asked the court to remand the case Browning-Ferris Industries v. the NLRB to the agency for further review.

Not so fast. The union on Thursday asked the appeals court to consider its remand—on the ground that the NLRB's revocation of the Obama-era standard was “defective.” Read the union's court filing here.

➤➤ What's the union's argument? The Teamsters tee up an issue that labor lawyers are closely following: In what matters must NLRB member William Emanuel recuse? The union argues Emanuel, a former partner at Littler Mendelson, should not have been able to weigh in on the case the board used to overturn the Obama-era joint employment standard. The union's lawyers write in their papers: “Littler is counsel to one of the two respondent employers before the board in Browning-Ferris. Member Emanuel is thus unquestionably barred from participating in Browning-Ferris.” Bloomberg BNA has more here on the union's legal fight.

➤➤ This is all part of a much larger fight. The largest U.S. labor groups, including the AFL-CIO, have vowed to fight a string of business friendly decisions handed down by the new Republican-led board. AFL-CIO General Counsel Craig Becker told Reuters that those decisions would face legal challenges.

AROUND THE WATER COOLER

A round up of news from the labor and employment realm…

➤➤ States may play defense on tax reform. The states imposing income taxes may reconsider their laws, attorneys at Mintz Levin say. [Employer Matters]

➤➤ “Scary news” for gig economy companies in GrubHub trial order. Fisher Phillips analyzes a fascinating development as we await the decision in the closely watched case. [Gig Employer Blog]

➤➤ Transparency is questioned in federal government harassment settlements. Executive branch agencies have settled dozens of sexual harassment cases involving federal workers in recent years, but the resulting taxpayer-funded payments are shrouded in secrecy. [Politico]

➤➤ New Year brings higher wages. Workers in 18 states and nearly 20 municipalities will get minimum wage increases this year, marking a move to increase pay for low-income workers. [Wall Street Journal]

➤➤ California is confronting sexual harassment. This time it's for hotel workers. A state lawmaker says employers should provide a “panic button” to workers in case they are abused by a guest and impose a three-year ban on guests who harass workers on the property. [LA Times]

➤➤ Secretary Acosta wants to revive drug testing. The Labor Department is eyeing a new drug test rule for unemployment pay. [The Hill]

➤➤ Iceland's effort to end wage gap. The government is working to “publicly shame” companies into paying women equally compared to men. [Washington Post]