In 2025, three key areas stand out as critical for fostering a positive and productive work environment: promoting collaboration and respect, supporting employee well-being, and responsibly integrating artificial...more
True to its word, the FTC has appealed the ruling. Texas District Court Blocks the Non-Compete Rule - As we previously reported, on August 20, 2024, Judge Ada E. Brown, a United States District Judge for the Northern...more
As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In that spirit, what follows are certain pay and leave issues employers may confront during times of natural disaster – all of which are better to be thought...more
9/20/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Natural Disasters ,
NLRB ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
OSHA ,
USERRA ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
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 a recent presentation by Ward and Smith attorney Angela Doughty, in-house counsel received an overview of Artificial Intelligence (AI), how it can be used for various legal tasks such as research, discovery, and contract...more
4/10/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automation Systems ,
Best Practices ,
Bots ,
Copyright ,
Corporate Law Departments ,
In-House Perspective ,
Innovative Technology ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Legal Operations ,
Legal Project Management ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Technology
Few governmental agencies can require private employers to permit their employees to say things on the job, in the presence of customers and co-workers, that employers don’t like. But the National Labor Relations Board can....more
Sometimes, the only constant is change. This New Year is no different. In 2023, we saw several developments in labor and employment law, including federal and state court decisions, regulations, and administrative agency...more
1/4/2024
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Classification ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Terms ,
Enforcement ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exemptions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Salary ,
NLRB ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Rules ,
Threshold Requirements
At Ward and Smith’s recent annual Employment Law Symposium, two attorneys from the firm’s labor and employment group, Grant Osborne and X. Lightfoot, interviewed Shannon Meares, a regional attorney with the National Labor...more