Trending on LXBN: Obama's Second Term & the Law, Hurricane Sandy Recovery, NLRB on At-Will Employment, California Cap and Trade

Though we missed this post last week, we return once again to examine the most-discussed topics on LXBN this week. The first two subjects here have been grounds for discussion going on close to a month now but the commentary remains strong. With the latter two, the NLRB on At-Will Employment and California’ Cap and Trade activities, these are stories that have flared up just recently but have seen a wealth of insight.

• Obama’s Second Term & The Law is a topic we’ve focused on extensively on LXBN TV, but also an area we’ve seen an abundance of coverage on from our own authors. Almost every area of the law has at least one post, including employment law, health care law (lots on the Affordable Care Act), privacy and cybersecurity, environmental law, immigration and energy.
• Yes, this is a section we’ve linked to in each of our ‘Trending on LXBN’ posts thus far but the amount of commentary we’re seeing on the legal side of the Hurricane Sandy Recovery is astounding. The Hurricane Sandy section, as a whole, now features a whopping 88 posts. Going even deeper with the curation, our LXBN Roundtable this week also featured commentary on this subject. Have a look—there’s some interesting points from insurance lawyers (both with insurance companies and policyholders), construction attorneys and those engaged in the utilities industries.
• The NLRB’s Memo on At-Will Employment Clauses is a subject that’s garnered a great deal of discussion over the past few weeks that’s picked up intensity recently. A quick briefing: the National Labor Relations Board released an advice memo (as they’re wont to do) on employers’ at-will employment disclaimers, ones reminding employees that they are employed “at-will” and can be fired for any reason. The NLRB is worried such disclaimers may make employees feel as though they’re losing some of the rights afforded to them under the National Labor Relations Act.
• This section isn’t as deep as the aforementioned ones but discussion surrounding California Cap and Trade is worth keeping an eye on. Just yesterday, The Golden State held its first auction for pollution permits, which will be bartered to more than 350 businesses—including utilities and refineries. In related news, the California Chamber of Commerce has already filed suit, asserting “that AB 32, California’s global warming law, did not authorize the state to raise funds by allocating GHG emissions allowances to itself and to auction them off to raise revenues for the state to use.”