Purl is an online-only Pixar short about a ball of yarn appropriately named Purl who gets a job in a bro-tastic workplace. As the only female, and only ball of yarn, working at B.R.O. Capital, she struggles to fit and yearns for acceptance from her all male, all human, co-workers. Purl's story has a lot to say about diversity and inclusion, and is well worth the just under nine minutes of your time.
The Report identifies five common cybersecurity risks and outlines recommended practices for each:
Branch controls
Phishing attacks
Insider threats
Penetration testing
Mobile devices
While FINRA only regulates securities firms, the five topics its Report covers should be required reading for any employer that wants to
understand how to implement cybersecurity best practices.
Yesterday was the 26th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act being signed into law. During last night's State of the Union Address, President Trump called for Congress to make paid family leave a federal law.
I am also proud to be the first president to include in my budget a plan
for nationwide paid family leave — so that every new parent has the
chance to bond with their newborn child.
As many as 60% of employees who are laid-off, fired, or quit admit to stealing company data. Sometimes, they download information on their way out the door. Sometimes they email information to a personal email account. And sometimes they simply fail to return a company laptop or other device that contains the data. In the latter case, it costs an average of $50,000 for an employer to replace a stolen computer, with 80% of that cost coming from the recovery of sensitive, confidential, and proprietary information.
When you put this data together, it becomes increasingly apparent that businesses must take proactive steps to protect their technology and data.
The one question people ask me more than any other about this blog? "How do you write every day?"
My answer, "Because I love it."
The practice of law, for all of its challenges and rewards, can be mundane. This blog lets me be creative. I love the creativity of sharing information in a manner that makes it accessible and entertaining. If I didn't love this creative process, this blog would have died long ago, instead of just having passed 3,000(!) posts since it's inception nearly 12 years ago.
It is because of my love of this creative process that I implore you to check out Rhett Miller's new podcast, Wheels Off. It's conversations with creative people about their creative processes. Each of the first three episodes are outstanding listens, but my favorite thus far, the most interesting and engaging discussion, is Rhett's talk with Rosanne Cash. (Labor law bonus points for Cash, who discusses the musical she's writing based on the story of famous union organizer Norma Rae.)
The earnestness and passion of each as they share why they create as their careers is genuine and moving.
If you create anything in your lives, either as a vocation or avocation, or have any interest at all in those who do, I implore you to subscribe to Wheels Off in your podcast app of choice, and add each episode to your weekly listen.
All the way back in October 2014, I wrote about an Illinois Jimmy John's franchisee that had required all of its employees to sign a Non-Compete Agreement as a condition of employment. I was not kind to this employer:
It's
one thing to bind your managers and other high-level employees to a
noncompetition agreement. It's another to require the same of your
low-level sandwich makers and cash-register operators. The lower down
the food chain you move, the harder it becomes to enforce these
agreements.… [W]e're talking about sandwiches. What's
the legitimate business interest this employer is trying to protect?
Yet, in the nearly half-decade since, employers have not heeded my advice. And, when employers fail, legislatures sometimes step in to fix.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently issued its Report on Selected Cybersecurity Practices – 2018 [pdf]. 
All the way back in October 2014, I wrote about an Illinois Jimmy John's franchisee that had required all of its employees to sign a Non-Compete Agreement as a condition of employment.