Colorado Employment Law Blog

2010 Hospitality Law Conference

Wednesday-Friday, February 3-5, 2010

Omni Houston Hotel
Four Riverway
Houston, Texas 77056
(713) 871-8181

Holland & Hart partner Steve Gutierrez to speak at the eighth annual Hospitality Law Conference in Houston, TX, February 3-5th, 2010. Mr. Gutierrez will speak about the high-stakes world of unfair business practices and theft of trade secrets. He will discuss how companies need to be mindful of how technology as well as other factors have made it easy to take proprietary and other confidential information. He will use the case of Starwood v. Hilton as an example of how important it is for a company to have basic protections in place to decrease the potential for catastrophic damage that can result by such unlawful activity. 

Additionally, Mr. Gutierrez will speak on how the so-called pushing down of new technology to non-exempt employees has created a new wave of legal liability for Fair Labor Standards Act violations similar to the claims faced in the past when pagers and on-call time were implemented. The sticky issues that surround FLSA compliance will undoubtedly continue to plague employers who unwittingly allow non-exempt employees to work beyond the 40 hour work week. 

Who should attend: HR executives, In House Counsel, Executives within the Hospitality Industry

Click here for a full agenda.

Click here for a more information and to register.

2010 Hospitality Law Conference

Wednesday-Friday, February 3-5, 2010

Omni Houston Hotel
Four Riverway
Houston, Texas 77056
(713) 871-8181

Holland & Hart partner Steve Gutierrez to speak at the eighth annual Hospitality Law Conference in Houston, TX, February 3-5th, 2010. Mr. Gutierrez will speak about the high-stakes world of unfair business practices and theft of trade secrets. He will discuss how companies need to be mindful of how technology as well as other factors have made it easy to take proprietary and other confidential information. He will use the case of Starwood v. Hilton as an example of how important it is for a company to have basic protections in place to decrease the potential for catastrophic damage that can result by such unlawful activity. 

Additionally, Mr. Gutierrez will speak on how the so-called pushing down of new technology to non-exempt employees has created a new wave of legal liability for Fair Labor Standards Act violations similar to the claims faced in the past when pagers and on-call time were implemented. The sticky issues that surround FLSA compliance will undoubtedly continue to plague employers who unwittingly allow non-exempt employees to work beyond the 40 hour work week. 

Who should attend: HR executives, In House Counsel, Executives within the Hospitality Industry

Click here for a full agenda.

Click here for a more information and to register.

City of Denver Faces Medical Pot Issue

As reported by Brian Maass, with CBS4 in Denver, a Denver Department of Safety employee has made claim that he cannot be disciplined by the City of Denver for getting into an on-duty automobile accident. (http://cbs4denver.com/investigates/medical.marijuana.denver.2.1441725.html)  Increasingly, states with medical marijuana statutes will be asked whether employers have a duty to accommodate employees' use of medical marijuana.

As my partner, Tobie Hazard, indicated in his article, "The Straight Dope on Medical Marijuana in Colorado," (http://www.hollandhart.com/newsitem.cfm?ID=1557) Colorado's medical marijuana law specifically states that nothing in the medical marijuana law “requires any employer to accommodate the medical use of marijuana in any work place.” Therefore, employers have the the right to prevent employees from smoking pot at work, regardless of whether the employee holds a medical marijuana card. 

 

Follow the link above to read Brian Maass' report, and please click the video link showing the medical marijuana card to see my colleague Emily Hobbs-Wright comment on the case and respond to Mr. Maass.  It will be interesting to see how the City of Denver addresses this challenge. 

City of Denver Faces Medical Pot Issue

As reported by Brian Maass, with CBS4 in Denver, a Denver Department of Safety employee has made claim that he cannot be disciplined by the City of Denver for getting into an on-duty automobile accident. (http://cbs4denver.com/investigates/medical.marijuana.denver.2.1441725.html)  Increasingly, states with medical marijuana statutes will be asked whether employers have a duty to accommodate employees' use of medical marijuana.

As my partner, Tobie Hazard, indicated in his article, "The Straight Dope on Medical Marijuana in Colorado," (http://www.hollandhart.com/newsitem.cfm?ID=1557) Colorado's medical marijuana law specifically states that nothing in the medical marijuana law “requires any employer to accommodate the medical use of marijuana in any work place.” Therefore, employers have the the right to prevent employees from smoking pot at work, regardless of whether the employee holds a medical marijuana card. 

 

Follow the link above to read Brian Maass' report, and please click the video link showing the medical marijuana card to see my colleague Emily Hobbs-Wright comment on the case and respond to Mr. Maass.  It will be interesting to see how the City of Denver addresses this challenge.