This summer, the NLRB adopted a new standard for assessing the lawfulness of workplace policies. Overruling its 2017 decision in Boeing that relaxed scrutiny of workplace policies, the NLRB ruled in Stericycle that a...more
Colorado’s POWR Act went into effect on August 7, 2023, significantly increasing employer obligations to prevent and address harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Companies with Colorado-based employees should act...more
Several states continue to limit the use of non-competition and non-solicitation restrictions:
California: On September 1, 2023, California enacted SB 699, expanding the state’s ban on non-competition agreements in...more
Organizations host events that vary in scale, scope and logistics. Teams put enormous resources into planning to ensure a successful event. Unfortunately, an unanticipated accident or other catastrophic incident can...more
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, a federal law that came into effect on June 27, 2023, provides employees and applicants with pregnancy-related conditions with many of the same rights afforded to workers with disabilities...more
A growing number of companies use artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to identify and evaluate candidates, a development that promises to revolutionize recruitment and hiring. Proponents say AI-driven systems can...more
On September 9, 2020 Governor Newsom signed AB 1867 into law, giving California employers just 10 days to implement new COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave statewide. Below we highlight the major provisions of the new law...more
The federal Equal Pay Act (EPA) and its many state analogs require equal pay for equal (or, in some states, “substantially similar”) work. The EPA contains a so-called “catch-all” defense to equal pay claims, permitting wage...more
Last week, we examined the recent Third Circuit decision in Advanced Fluid Systems, which held that a trade secrets plaintiff did not need to be an owner or a licensee of the alleged trade secrets to bring a state law...more
OFCCP has announced the issuance of three new directives intended “to increase accountability and efficiency” and “to maximize the effectiveness of compliance assistance resources.” ...more
On March 31, 2020, the six Bay Area counties that previously issued the nation’s first Covid-19 shelter-in-place orders, amended and extended their prior orders to include stricter controls aimed to slow the spread of...more
For the last two decades, Congressional Democrats have attempted to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. Beginning with the 105th Congress in 1997-98, several legislators have introduced versions of the act...more
On January 1, 2019 at the stroke of midnight, Hawaii joined a growing list of states and municipalities to ban prospective employers from asking applicants about their prior salary history. ...more
1/4/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
As early as November 30, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to hear three high profile employment cases that question whether Title VII’s ban on sex discrimination protects gay and transgender employees. ...more
What do kittens, three-time NBA Finals champion Stephen Curry, and cryptocurrency have in common?
On May 7, 2018, a subsidiary of Launch Labs, a Canadian corporation doing business as Axiom Zen, released cryptocollectibles...more
8/2/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Celebrities ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Likelihood of Success ,
Misappropriation ,
Popular ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Token Sales ,
Trade Secrets ,
Virtual Currency ,
Voluntary Dismissals
In October 2017, four franchisees filed a federal complaint against the global convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, seeking to represent a purported class of over 1,000 similarly situated 7-Eleven franchisees in California. The...more
3/28/2018
/ 7-Eleven ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Popular ,
Wage and Hour
Earlier this month, a Nashville, Tennessee company filed a federal lawsuit against its former employee alleging trade secrets misappropriation under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, among other claims. ...more
In the last several weeks, allegations of rampant sexual harassment have shocked the collective conscience. With the assistance of social media, what started as an allegation against a Hollywood mogul snowballed into a...more
Earlier this month, a federal court in the Middle District of Tennessee denied an employer’s motion to compel arbitration, finding that it waived its right to arbitration by engaging in litigation....more
11/10/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Confidential Information ,
Employment Contract ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
Motion to Compel ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Proprietary Information ,
Trade Secrets ,
Uniform Trade Secrets Acts
As surprising as it may be to city dwellers, the deer farming industry generates $3 billion per year for the U.S. economy. According to the North American Deer Farmers Association, “deer farming is one of the fastest growing...more