Michael Starr

January 18, 2006 | Law.com

Employers often assume they may freely terminate at-will employees without consequence as long as the decision isn't based on a discriminatory or other illegal reason. This ain't necessarily so, say attorneys Michael Starr and Adam J. Heft. Sometimes, what an employer said, or allegedly said, while trying to recruit someone can come back to haunt it. Starr and Heft discuss how an at-will employee can sue after being discharged for promises unkept while still employed, and review the possible consequences.

By Michael Starr and Adam J. Heft

8 minute read

November 02, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

Fetal injury in the workplace is a growing concern as courts are increasingly holding employers liable to children born with birth defects that result from their mother's workplace exposure to toxic chemicals or her injury in a workplace accident.

By Michael Starr and Christine M. Wilson

8 minute read

April 04, 2005 | New York Law Journal

By Michael Starr and Adam J. Heft

11 minute read

January 05, 2007 | Law.com

There was a time when religious discrimination cases arose from employee requests that their work schedules or requirements be modified due to religious obligations. But a new kind of claim is on the rise from employees who feel they have a religious duty to affirm their beliefs publicly at work, proselytize to others or oppose what they see as co-workers' sinful behavior. And federal law may require employers to accommodate such practices, even if they conflict with anti-harassment or diversity policies.

By Michael Starr and Christine M. Wilson

8 minute read

September 11, 1999 | Law.com

The scope and enforceability of non-solicitation clauses was recently given extended analysis by the New York Court of Appeals, that state's highest court, in BDO Seidman v. Hirshberg. By extending judicial enforceability to such clauses in certain circumstances, the BDO Seidman decision brought New York in line with a growing trend among the states and is a useful gauge of what nonsolicitation clauses can achieve -- and what they cannot.

By Michael Starr & Jordan Lippner

10 minute read

March 17, 2011 | Corporate Counsel

The 9th Circuit ruled that employers' agreement to share revenue, to counter a 'whipsaw' strike, violated antitrust law.

By Michael Starr and Howard Sokol The National Law Journal

7 minute read

June 28, 2011 | Legaltech News

Michael Starr and Katherine Healy Marques of Holland & Knight write that in a series of recent cases, the National Labor Relation Board's general counsel has taken the position that employee activity on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter can trigger certain rights under federal labor law -- even for nonunion employees.

By Michael Starr and Katherine Healy Marques

6 minute read

March 18, 2005 | Law.com

Although it's common knowledge that employers are required to make reasonable accommodations to the actual limitations of employees with disabilities, it's less well known that the ADA also protects people who are "regarded as," or perceived to be, disabled. Is an employee who has an actual medical impairment but is not so limited as to be disabled as defined by the ADA entitled to a reasonable accommodation merely because her employer mistakenly believes she is?

By Michael Starr and Megumi Sakae

8 minute read

August 19, 2004 | Law.com

The comedian George Carlin once asked, "If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done?" Similarly, if a supervisor demands sexual favors of his subordinate and she silently acquiesces to keep her job, does she have a claim of sexual harassment against her employer? Despite the Supreme Court's many pronouncements on sexual harassment, the answer to that precise question is still unresolved.

By Michael Starr and Adam J. Heft

8 minute read

July 11, 2005 | Law.com

After observing more than 400 parent-child interactions in supermarkets, researchers determined that less-attractive children were less cared for by their parents. While some people challenge the validity of this "supermarket science," other sources support the view that appearance plays a critical role in how people are treated by others. But is that a social reality that exceeds the reach of the law or a form of invidious discrimination that should be banned? The case law goes both ways.

By Michael Starr and Adam J. Heft

8 minute read