Last month, the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments in what many expect to be an important case for employers in Glassdoor, et al v. Andra Group, LP. The case concerns several disgruntled employees who had apparently aired grievances on the popular career website, Glassdoor.com. Glassdoor provides a platform for users to publicly and anonymously post reviews and information such as salary, work hours, and corporate culture of their employers for the benefit of current jobseekers. Displeased with its negative reviews on the platform, Dallas-based apparel company Andra Group, LP filed a petition in Texas state court seeking to discover the identities of ten specific reviewers pursuant to Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 202. The company supported the petition with a sworn affidavit stating each of the ten reviews were false and defamatory in nature. Under Rule 202, a party may seek pre-litigation investigative discovery in limited circumstances as a form of equitable relief. However, due to the potential for abuse, Texas courts closely scrutinize Rule 202 petitions, narrowly tailoring any orders granting relief for discovery....

On October 1, 2018, New York State released final versions of the model sexual harassment prevention policy and the model sexual harassment training materials that relate to the anti-sexual harassment legislation passed earlier this year, along with the final FAQs to assist employers in navigating the new laws. Among other things, the anti-harassment legislation requires that employers maintain sexual harassment policies and training programs that, at a minimum, comply with the now released models. Accordingly, employers that do not have a sexual harassment prevention policy or that do not implement sexual harassment training, will now be required to do both, while employers that do have a policy and training program in place must ensure that they meet or exceed the standards provided by the models. The model policy and training program can be found here. Notably, these requirements go into effect this coming Tuesday, October 9, 2018, and are discussed further below...

US law firm WSHB and international law firm and legal service provider DWF announced on October 1, 2018 that they have agreed to an exclusive association. Through this association, the firms seek to offer greater global reach and service for their respective clients while working closely to share best practices, innovative ideas and mutually beneficial opportunities....