Part 2 of The DEI Stalemate builds on the lessons learned in the first session, focusing on practical strategies for implementing successful DEI initiatives without legal missteps. Attorneys X. Lightfoot, Avery Locklear, and...more
At Ward and Smith’s recent annual Employment Law Symposium, two attorneys from the firm’s labor and employment group, Grant Osborne and Genesis Torres, interviewed Shannon Meares of the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB"...more
On Tuesday, August 20, 2024, Judge Ada E. Brown, a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, delivered a nationwide victory to businesses and employers across the country when she granted Ryan LLC (a...more
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") narrowly voted (3-2) to issue a final rule banning almost all non-compete agreements nationwide. The rule is set to take effect 120 days after it is published in the...more
4/25/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Trade Secrets
In the high-stress, life-or-death environment of the medical profession, Cupid's love arrow can strike about as quickly as an infection. But before letting the heart do the rounds, it's imperative to consider the legal...more
Under California law, it has been the longstanding policy that non-compete restrictions are generally void and unenforceable, subject to narrow exceptions. At the end of 2023, California signed two more bills into laws to...more
Five Ward and Smith attorneys provided updates related to employment law, including non-compete agreements, unionization efforts, pregnancy laws, and overtime rules for exempt employees, during the firm’s recent In-House...more
1/29/2024
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Employee Definition ,
Employment Policies ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Over-Time ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Proposed Rules ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Religious Accommodation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations
In a seminar focused on recent updates to labor and employment laws, Will Oden, of Ward and Smith’s labor and employment practice group, provided an overview of employee and independent contractor classification guidelines,...more
Participants in Ward and Smith's Employment Law Symposium received updates on topics important to the EEOC, from jurisdictional issues and governmental agency partnerships to documentation procedures, pronoun use, and...more
On November 15, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law, which is popularly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ("BIL").
The BIL is estimated to create an...more
Three Ward and Smith labor and employment attorneys analyzed a number of real-life situations many employers are dealing with in the current landscape.
The webinar, part of Ward and Smith's In-House Counsel virtual...more
1/21/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
On January 13, 2022, in a 6-3 per curiam opinion in NFIB v. OSHA, the United States Supreme Court ordered the OSHA ETS be stayed pending disposition of the matter at the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Large Employer...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), signed into law on March 11, 2021, includes a whole host of requirements and provisions impacting private employers, their employees, and the benefit plans they offer....more
We have written previously about the U.S. Department of Labor's ("USDOL") informal guidance and FAQs addressing compliance with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act ("FFCRA").
While we are adjusting to our...more
...Governor Roy Cooper announced a new Executive Order ("EO") to close all restaurants and bars to dine-in customers.
The EO still allows those businesses to continue operations through takeout and delivery orders. In his...more
Attendees at Ward and Smith’s 2019 Employment Law Symposium got a taste of the legal twists and turns that any human resources professional could face: Employee vs. independent contractor questions, social media policies,...more
Over the past several years, there has been much speculation surrounding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the "ACA"), including whether it would be repealed in full, only partially, or not at all.
Despite this...more
Last week Congress passed H.R. 34, which will exempt certain health reimbursement arrangements ("HRA"), including premium-reimbursement plans, from most Affordable Care Act requirements for small employers (i.e. those...more
If your business involves construction, then you may be familiar with the concept of piece-rate compensation. Under this system, employees are paid based on the number of units, or pieces, they complete, rather than on the...more
As 2014 wound to a close, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a significant decision impacting third-party agencies that provide in-home care to the elderly and ailing. On December 22, 2014,...more
1/20/2016
/ Administrative Authority ,
Companionship Exemptions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Domestic Workers ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Home Health Care ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Minimum Wage ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Vacated ,
Wage and Hour