2. Social Networking. Mark Zuckerberg made the top of Time Magazine's annual list, but could only reach number two on mine. Last year’s top story fell a spot to number two this year. Nevertheless, 2010 was huge year for social networking. In 2010, courts addressed the discovery of social media in employment disputes, the NLRB took up whether social media policies violate federal labor laws, and employers continued to harness social media as a screening tool for job applicants. Do you want to harbor a guess on whether this story will be near the top of 2011's list too?
1. Activist Federal Agencies. President Obama’s labor and employment legislative agenda may be a been a big dud, but that has not stopped the EEOC, the NLRB, and especially the DOL (and here, and here, and here, and here) from picking up the torch and running with it. And, as we've seen over the last couple of weeks, as big as story has been in 2011, it is poised to be even bigger in 2011. Employers, be afraid.
There you have it—the top 10 labor and employment stories of the past year. Everyone have a safe and happy new year. I’ll be back on January 3 with fresh content.
Presented by Kohrman Jackson & Krantz, with offices in Cleveland and Columbus. For more information, contact Jon Hyman, a partner in our Labor & Employment group, at (216) 736-7226 or jth@kjk.com.