On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 to ban the use of nearly all noncompete agreements in America’s for-profit businesses (with only a few narrow exceptions). The party-line vote comes after...more
4/25/2024
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
On April 15, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) Final Rule, scheduled to take effect on June 18, 2024. The Final Rule largely leaves in place the...more
4/24/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Final Rules ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII
Certain construction workers and other employees in the construction industry must be paid the entire balance of accrued and unused paid sick leave if those workers separate from employment before they reach their 90th day of...more
2/7/2024
/ Construction Industry ,
Construction Workers ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Regulations ,
NAICS ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Washington
Multiple new laws will take effect in Washington state beginning January 2024, bringing changes to the state’s minimum wage laws and adding requirements under the state’s Paid Sick Leave Law. ...more
The recently enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) requires covered employers (i.e., public or private employers with more than 15 employees) to provide reasonable accommodations to “qualified” employees or candidates...more
9/11/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Labor Reform ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Undue Hardship
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2023-2 on May 17, 2023, to provide guidance to its field staff regarding enforcement of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act...more
7/11/2023
/ Breastfeeding ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Training ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement ,
Exceptions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State and Local Government ,
Undue Hardship ,
Wage and Hour
On May 24, 2023, the state of Minnesota enacted a labor bill (SF 3035) that prohibits employers’ use of noncompetes, effective July 1, 2023. The ban does not apply retroactively to noncompetes signed prior to July 1, 2023....more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) recently reinstated setting-specific standards to determine whether employers have violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the Act) by unlawfully disciplining...more
Following delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has finally revisited its indoor heat illness prevention standard (the Standard)....more
4/18/2023
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Training ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Heat Exposure ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety
Under a newly issued decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board), “an employer violates Section 8(a)(1) of the [National Labor Relations] Act when it proffers a severance agreement with provisions that...more
2/28/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Section 7 ,
Severance Agreements
The Illinois legislature, on January 10, 2023, passed the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLFAW), which Governor Pritzker announced he will sign into law. Should the bill be enacted, Illinois would become the third state...more
U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act) into law on December 29, 2022. This combined legislation aims to bridge...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its proposal of a new rule on January 5, 2023, that would ban employers from imposing noncompete clauses on their workers and invalidate all existing noncompetes currently in...more
1/10/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
The National Labor Relations Board (the Board) released its notice of proposed rulemaking (Proposed Rule) to establish a new “joint employer” legal standard under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) on September 6, 2022....more
12/29/2022
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Supervision ,
Unions ,
Wages ,
Workplace Safety
It has never been more important to conduct quality workplace investigations. Workers are demanding more of their employers, and demanding answers as well. Often, however, employers begin workplace investigations without...more
As part of more than 100 new pieces of legislation, on September 29, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1949. Effective January 1, 2023, AB 1949 adds section 12945.7 to the Government Code to require employers...more
Many San Francisco employers have faced new requirements to comply with the city’s amended Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance (FFWO), which went into effect on July 12, 2022, to provide flexible or predictable working...more
Earlier this year, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law amendments to the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFML Amendments), which permit additional paid leave opportunities for new parents. The PFML...more
7/14/2022
/ Employee Handbooks ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Family Medical Leave ,
Governor Inslee ,
New Amendments ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
State and Local Government ,
Washington
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance on May 12, 2022, regarding the use of software, algorithms, and artificial intelligence (AI) in assessing job applicants and employees. The EEOC’s...more
Governor Jay Inslee signed ESHB 2076 into law on March 31, 2022, making Washington the first state to require minimum per-trip payments, paid sick leave, and workers’ compensation benefits for rideshare drivers. The law also...more
As a matter of first impression, on April 7, 2022, a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit panel held that two related employers may be treated as one integrated employer to meet the 15-employee headcount threshold...more
A judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, on March 17, 2022, denied defendant Scribe Opco, Inc.’s motion to dismiss a class action alleging violations of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining...more
4/26/2022
/ Appeals ,
But For Causation ,
Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Florida ,
Layoff Notices ,
Layoffs ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Natural Disasters ,
WARN Act ,
Written Notice
Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law the Silenced No More Act (Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1795) on March 24, 2022, making Washington the second state in the nation after California to prohibit employers from...more
4/6/2022
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Governor Inslee ,
Independent Contractors ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Washington
The Washington Legislature made several significant changes to the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program during the 2021 legislative session that all Washington employers should know. First, as of July 25,...more
In Port of Tacoma v. Sacks, the Court of Appeals of the State of Washington recently held that all out-of-town employee travel time is compensable under state law. The decision confirms the Washington State Department of...more
10/5/2021
/ Appeals ,
Compensation ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Travel Time ,
Traveling Employee ,
Wage and Hour ,
Washington