Ed Piper

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Ed Piper is a technology-focused employment lawyer. He advises clients in all aspects of labor and employment law (including both counseling and litigation) and focuses on guiding employers through the intricacies of the ever-evolving digital workplace. He has experience in matters involving misappropriation of trade secrets, data security, employee privacy, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, and employment-related antitrust issues.

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What Tom Brady, Underinflated Footballs, and “Deflategate” Teach Employers About Arbitration

By Todd Hanchett and Ed Piper on Posted in Cases, Labor
Fans of unscrupulous professional football players and coaches often justify their heroes’ misbehavior with a now-classic sports adage: “If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’.”  In the 1970s, for example, legendary Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis allegedly bugged locker rooms, watered down fields, and spied on other teams using a helicopter.  Such extreme shenanigans are … Continue Reading

Northwestern University Football Players Can’t Vote for Union Representation …but it’s not over until it’s over…

By Terry Briscoe and Ed Piper on Posted in Labor, NLRB
Depending on your allegiance, “the Play” was one of either the most memorable or the most infamous moments in the history of college football. It happened in the final seconds of 1982’s annual “Big Game” between the Stanford Cardinal and U.C. Berkeley’s Golden Bears. As the fourth quarter was winding down, the Bears had taken … Continue Reading

Oregon Tightens the Screws on Noncompetes: 18 Months Will Soon Be the Maximum Period of Restriction

By Ed Piper and Amy Joseph Pedersen on Posted in Oregon
As we blogged about earlier, courts in most states just plain don’t like employee noncompete agreements. Particularly when it comes to mid- and low-level employees, courts worry that enforcing a noncompete agreement will hamper innovation, restrict competition, and unfairly burden a former employee’s ability to earn a living. For that reason, a court typically will … Continue Reading

Oregon Legislature to Employers: Stay Out of Employees’ Personal Social Media Accounts!

By Ed Piper and Amy Joseph Pedersen on Posted in Articles, News, Oregon, Updates
As we noted a while ago, Oregon recently joined the growing number of states that prohibit an employer from demanding access to an employee’s personal social media account. An Oregon employer may not require an employee or applicant to disclose her username, password, or “other means of authentication that provides access to a personal social … Continue Reading

9th Cir. Finds FedEx Delivery Drivers Are Employees, Not Contractors

By Ed Piper on Posted in California, FLSA, Oregon
Last week, the 9th Circuit held in two related cases from California and Oregon that FedEx misclassified approximately 2,600 delivery truck drivers as independent contractors, rather than as employees. The cases—Alexander v. FedEx and Slayman v. FedEx—are an important reminder for employers that reality matters more than labels when it comes to classifying workers.  On that … Continue Reading

Does Data Discriminate? Perspectives for Employers on the White House’s Recent “Big Data” Report

By Ed Piper on Posted in EEOC
Last month, the White House released a comprehensive report on the use of “big data” in the public and private sectors. Employers should pay particular attention to one of its central forecasts: the EEOC and other federal antidiscrimination agencies may begin scrutinizing how employers collect and use big data in managing their workforces. The concept of … Continue Reading

David Nosal, Employee Data Theft, and Why Employment Lawyers Should Understand Their Clients’ IT Infrastructure

By Ed Piper on Posted in Cases
Earlier this month, a federal judge in San Francisco sentenced David Nosal to a year in prison, three years’ supervised release, 400 hours of community service, and $60,000 in fines. His crime? Nosal violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), among other federal statutes, when he departed from his former employer with a stash of its … Continue Reading

Happy New Year from the Oregon Legislature: New Employment Laws To Watch Out For in 2014

By Ed Piper on Posted in Oregon
Today we continue with our recent New Years theme.  Not to be outdone by their neighbors to the south, the Oregon Legislature was also busy in 2013.  And now that 2014 is upon us so too are a slew of new Oregon employment laws. In areas ranging from social media to sick leave, Oregon employers should carefully review their policies and practices … Continue Reading
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