Michael P. Maslanka

March 04, 2009 | Corporate Counsel

2009 is off to a bad start for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. On Jan. 15, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did a throw down to the EEOC and its conciliation process. Attorney Michael P. Maslanka looks at Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Agro Distribution LLC and talks about the commission's conciliation process. This case is a big deal, Maslanka says. It affects how every employer deals every day with the EEOC.

By Michael P. Maslanka

5 minute read

October 06, 2008 | Texas Lawyer

Americans will elect a new president and Congress next month. A lot is riding on the outcome. Here's one of particular importance for general counsel: the fate of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). U.S. Sen. Barack Obama supports it; U.S. Sen. John McCain does not.

By Michael P. Maslanka

6 minute read

April 08, 2004 | Law.com

Policies, handbooks and procedures. Boon or albatross? Useful management tool or confusing mishmash? It's not just small companies that are ending up on the wrong side of these binary questions. Policies are prophylactic. Procedures are proactive. Handbooks are, well, handy. But none are a substitute for good judgment, fair treatment or a corporate culture of integrity and respect.

By Michael P. Maslanka and Burton D. Brillhart

10 minute read

August 16, 2005 | Legaltech News

Once upon a time, Web logs were benign: a person just sharing his idle, diary-like thoughts on the World Wide Web, a Haight-Ashbury of cyberspace. But nothing so simple and refreshingly naive lasts long, says attorney Michael P. Maslanka. When an employee blogs a C-level executive's company, what's the response? There are two mind-sets: the first, opportunistic and business-based (let's learn, channel and leverage); the second, repressive and legalistic (let's regulate, squash and punish).

By Michael P. Maslanka

6 minute read

July 02, 2007 | Texas Lawyer

It is time for the fifth annual "Work Matters" summer reading list. Here are some suggestions for what to toss into the beach bag and square away in the backpack.

By Michael P. Maslanka

6 minute read

June 29, 2007 | Law.com

Attorney Michael P. Maslanka writes that Mark Twain was right: It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you think is so that isn't. Maslanka notes that one dangerous false belief is that the 5th Circuit is solidly, 100 percent, bet-the-farm employer-oriented. While the 5th Circuit purportedly is one of the most conservative circuits, employers who drill down into four of the appeals court's recent cases will discover that employees can win -- if they can back up their claims.

By Michael P. Maslanka

7 minute read

March 01, 2002 | Texas Lawyer

Talk about workplace ethics and eyes begin to glaze, yawns must be stifled and brows start to furrow. Why is this so? Conventional wisdom sees workplace ethics as an occasional dilemma to be tolerated, not a daily focus to be embraced. Conventional wisdom is wrong.

By MICHAEL P. MASLANKA and THERESA M. GEGEN

10 minute read

April 12, 2004 | Texas Lawyer

Business is litigious, and C-level executives -- sooner or later -- end up as frontline combatants. Most likely, they're conscripted to testify in a deposition. Although we wish it were otherwise, preparing for a deposition involves more than following the time-honored advice of "listening to the question and answering just that question."

By Michael P. Maslanka and Burton D. Brillhart

6 minute read

August 02, 2002 | Texas Lawyer

Ever been in an earthquake? The ground shifts beneath your wingtips, tassled loafers or - on casual day - boat shoes. As you`re steadying yourself, you have one question - how bad was it? After reading the tremor-causing Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 dealing with corporate governing and accounting reform - a benign enough sounding name, don`t you think? - signed into law on July 30 by President George W. Bush, we have an answer: pretty bad. Here`s the equation: a depressed Dow Jones Index and anemic Nasdaq + p

By MICHAEL P. MASLANKA and BURTON D. BRILLHART

9 minute read

September 16, 2008 | New Jersey Law Journal

A guide to how to go about managing, motivating and inspiring your employees.

By Michael P. Maslanka

7 minute read