The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) just approved a rule that would largely prohibit making or enforcing employee noncompete agreements. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others have already sued to block the new rule. What...more
In wrongful termination cases in the U.S., the primary source of liability for employers is an employee’s alleged lost wages. Under U.S. law, an employee who is terminated for a discriminatory or a retaliatory reason is...more
Companies utilizing noncompete agreements in the U.S. in the employment context should reevaluate their practices in light of recent changes to law and a rapidly changing legal landscape that is growing increasingly hostile...more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has released guidance confirming that employers face potential liability if they use AI tools to screen applicants in a way that disproportionately impacts employees...more
Employers have frequently included confidentiality and non-disparagement terms in their separation and release agreements. Confidentiality terms help ensure that employees won’t brag to coworkers about large payouts and...more
4/18/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Release Agreements ,
Section 7 ,
Separation Agreement ,
Severance Agreements ,
Termination
With economists predicting a recession in the coming year, many employers are considering downsizing their operations. In planning for and implementing such reductions, employers should be aware of the risk of litigation...more
Figuring out when you have to pay employees for travel time can be tricky in any state. A Washington Court of Appeals just held that the rules for determining when travel time is compensable are significantly more employee...more
Two former employees of Cresco Labs have filed a collective and class action complaint in Illinois federal court, alleging that their employer failed to compensate its employees for time spent putting on and taking off...more
The workplace safety framework in the United States is difficult to navigate at its best. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 global health emergency, employers have faced increasingly complex challenges involving...more
2/25/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Waiver of Liability ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a proposed rule addressing the definition of “independent contractor” in the context of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Canadian companies with a presence in the...more
A recent trend in U.S. employment law has been the adoption of stricter and stricter tests for when a worker may be classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee. Independent contractor relationships are...more
Employers sometimes include fixed terms of employment in their employment agreement. Sometimes a fixed term is meant to prompt the parties to renegotiate at the end of the term....more
Last week, Washington signed into law two new employment laws that may have significant impacts on many Washington employers: a salary history ban and restrictions on non-compete covenants.
Salary History Ban -
On May...more
5/20/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Garden Leave ,
Governor Inslee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Moonlighting ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Wage and Hour
Last week, the Washington Supreme affirmed the Court of Appeals in Floeting v. Group Health Cooperative, finding that employers are directly liable when their employees sexually harass members of the public under the...more
Under U.S. law, large employers have an obligation to notify their employees at least 60 days before a “plant closing” or “mass layoff.” This requirement can have serious implications for Canadian companies engaged in M&A...more
1/10/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Canada ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Layoff Notices ,
Layoffs ,
Mergers ,
Notice Requirements ,
Sale of Assets ,
WARN Act
When one thinks of the law, one often thinks of hard and fast rules. Employers cannot fire employees for a discriminatory or a retaliatory reason. Employees must be paid at least minimum wage. And so on. The law governing...more
The United States isn’t the only country addressing its history of gender inequality, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment. However, the United States is having its own unique experience in doing so. ...more
Like Canada, the United States has federal legislation protecting employees with disabilities. While Canada has the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Act, the United States has the...more
In the United States, employers are required to pay employees overtime (1.5 times the employee’s hourly rate) for hours worked over 40 per week. In some states, such as California, employers are required to pay overtime if...more
8/25/2017
/ Administrative Exemption ,
Canada ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Misclassification ,
Multinationals ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Harassment has been in the news a lot lately in the United States, with several high-profile terminations at well-known companies. Companies are losing millions of dollars, not just in settlements and verdicts, but in lost...more
During the Obama administration, the Department of Labor issued guidance letters intended to crack down on the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. On Wednesday, June 7, the DOL announced that it is...more
Canadian employment law is, in many ways, far more employee favorable than U.S. employment law. With the exception of a few states, employment in the United States is “at-will.” ...more
“He’s just the hugging type”—we have all heard one time or another in the workplace. But is there a limit to platonic hugging in the workplace? The Ninth Circuit recently ruled there is....more
It is generally a good idea for companies not to disclose biographical information about their employees, such as marital status, religion, or age. Good HR professionals counsel managers not to ask for such information during...more
Your former employee claims he was fired for blowing the whistle on alleged illegal activity. Your lawyers inform you that the deadline for filing a claim under the applicable whistleblower statutes has passed. You breathe a...more
9/22/2015
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Common Law Claims ,
Community Health Systems ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Former Employee ,
Premera Blue Cross ,
Public Policy ,
Statute of Limitations ,
WA Supreme Court ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination