Attorney's take from Cy-Fair, Texas

Employers Who Demand Facebook Passwords

Administrator — Fri, 11 May 2012 21:48:54 +0000

As the WSJ Law Blog reports, Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., took up the issue on a federal level. The Senators wrote to the EEOC and U.S. Department of Justice, asking both agencies to investigate the practice of requiring applicants to provide their social-networking-site log-in information during the hiring process.

The letter to the U.S. DOJ sought a legal opinion as to whether the practice violates the Stored Communications Act (SCA) or the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The letter citesPietrylo vs. Hillstone Restaurant Group, as support of the proposition that mandating Facebook log-ins violates the SCA.

Stay tuned…we haven’t seen the last of this issue yet, and if you are presently faced with this issue, please contact me today, I would like to help, Eric

EEOC Issues Guidance Regarding The Consideration Of Criminal Records In Employment Decisions

Administrator — Fri, 11 May 2012 21:45:14 +0000

On April 25, 2012, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued an Enforcement Guidance on employer use of arrest and conviction records in employment decisions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). The Enforcement Guidance clarifies and updates the EEOC’s longstanding policy that a categorical exclusion from employment of individuals with a criminal record raises disparate impact concerns.

The EEOC’s Enforcement Guidance comes at an important time. In the last 20 years, an increasing number of Americans, including a disproportionate number of persons from protected status groups, have had contact with the criminal justice system. As a result, more and more job applicants now have criminal records. Simultaneously, advances in technology have made accessing applicants’ criminal history oftentimes as easy as pressing a button. Given these developments, it is essential for employers to maintain proper policies for criminal record screening.

Full story continued….http://www.publiclawnews.com/public-blawg/2012/05/eeoc-issues-guidance-regarding-consideration-criminal-records-employment-decisi

A look at celebrity child support payments

Administrator — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:47:09 +0000

And you thought your child support amount wasn’t computed correctly? Well, the Wall Street Journal this week look at some recent celebrity child support agreements, and what was being paid for, and it’s not your “average” child support….

http://online.wsj.com/article/APe55a2d5377894c75967b8e3121631c5c.html

Hiding Millions From Your Ex Gets Harder, Thanks To Offshore Tax Crackdown

Administrator — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:59:07 +0000

Forbes Magazine ran a March 16, 2012 story chronicling one Alaska doctor’s attempts to hide $4.7 million from his ex-wife…the long arm of the long found him.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2012/03/16/hiding-millions-from-your-ex-gets-harder-thanks-to-offshore-tax-crackdown/

CIA divorces: The secrecy when spies split

Administrator — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 01:53:10 +0000

The Fredericksburg woman divorcing her husband laid out all the messy details, including the most secret of them all. Her husband, she wrote in now-sealed court documents, is a covert operations officer for the Central Intelligence Agency. His CIA job, she said, poisoned their five-year-old marriage.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/cia-divorces-the-secrecy-when-spies-split/2012/03/05/gIQAPpBZAS_story.html

Poor who owe child support could lose federal benefits

Administrator — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:57:04 +0000

The Washington Post reported today that thousands of poor and disabled men stand to lose their only income next year because of a change in government policy that will allow states to seize every dollar of federal benefits from people who owe back child support.

It’s worth reading because many have lost sight of how much of the “delinquent” child support is often government fees and interest that comprise the delinquency.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poor-who-own-child-support-could-lose-federal-benefits/2012/02/26/gIQA4zilcR_story.html

Eric

Mitt Romney vs. Your Income….a calculator by Slate magazine

Administrator — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:32:52 +0000

This afternoon Slate magazine posted an interesting (and quite telling) calculator that allows you to enter your annual income for 2010 and see how long it took Mitt Romney to earn that amount in 2010, and vice versa (how long it would take you to earn his amount of income).

Here it is:

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2012/01/romney_income_calculator_how_much_does_mitt_make_how_long_would_it_take_him_to_earn_your_salary_.html

Secret GPS tracking by police? Not without a warrant says the U.S. Supreme Court

Administrator — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:40:39 +0000

The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously restricted the police’s ability to use a GPS device to track criminal suspects in a first test of how privacy rights will be protected in the digital age.

The court rejected the government’s view that long-term surveillance of a suspect by GPS tracking is no different than traditional, low-tech forms of monitoring. But its decision was nuanced and incremental, leaving open the larger questions of how government may use the information generated by modern technology for surveillance purposes.

complete story from The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-warrants-needed-in-gps-tracking/2012/01/23/gIQAx7qGLQ_story.html

Happy New Year 2012!

Administrator — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:01:09 +0000

Happy 2012!
January is well under way and many of us are tidying up our matters from last year and planning for this year.
If you, your family, or friends have the need for an attorney in your new year’s planning, please feel free to call me at your earliest convenience. Happy New Year, Eric

(713) 370-7100

eric@ericgruetzner.com

www.ericgruetzner.com

Election Day Today!

Administrator — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:33:22 +0000

Please remember to vote today….the polls are open from 7:00 AM until 7:00 PM. If you need polling place information in Harris County, please visit www.harrisvotes.org. Eric