As we previously reported, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized a rule in April that would prohibit non-competes in most contexts, and was slated to go into effect on September 4, 2024. Businesses and business groups...more
As previously reported by HR Legalist, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently finalized a rule that would prohibit non-competes in most contexts, and which was set to take effect on September 4th of this year....more
As covered in our April 2024 blog and client alert, the US Department of Labor has unveiled a new rule, substantially increasing the salary threshold for exemptions to mandatory time-and-a-half overtime, that is set to take...more
6/25/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Effective Date ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Pending Litigation ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
While the return of spring is a happy time for baseball fans, employers may be feeling a little less festive this April. Companies across the U.S. have been bracing for two significant regulations that were expected to be...more
4/24/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
As HR Legalist predicted when the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced the proposed rule in September 2022, the pendulum of federal labor and employment law has once again swung in an employee-friendly direction....more
10/30/2023
/ Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Control Test ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Franchises ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Unions
This fall, employers may be faced with tough choices about how to handle overtime pay – at least, if the US Department of Labor (“DOL”) has its way. Today, the DOL announced a notice of proposed rulemaking that would make it...more
Over the past decades, standards for profanity, inappropriate social media use, and other workplace issues commonly addressed in employee handbooks have changed along with the political makeup of the National Labor Relations...more
On March 23, 2023, the City of Somerville revised its ordinance to protect people in multi-partner relationships from employment discrimination. In doing so, this Boston suburb of about 80,000 people became the first U.S....more
As previously covered by HR Legalist, the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) recent decision in McLaren v. Macomb ushered in a significant crackdown on non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions in employee...more
Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a Decision and Order that fundamentally alters the legality of nondisparagement and confidentiality clauses in employee severance agreements. ...more
A huge change could be coming to the enforceability of non-compete agreements—and it might be very bad news for employers who rely on such agreements to protect their businesses. On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade...more
1/9/2023
/ Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Section 5 ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms ,
Unfair Competition
While the Fall of 2022 marked the return of many employees to the physical workplace, the labor and employment landscape has changed significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In this lunchtime program, our labor &...more
On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced that in the next several weeks, companies with 100 or more employees must mandate that all of their employees either (1) be vaccinated for COVID-19; or (2) undergo weekly...more
9/15/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biden Administration ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
OSHA ,
Private Sector ,
Religious Exemption ,
Subcontractors ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Thanks to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, workers in the Commonwealth are now more likely to be considered “fair game” to other potential employers, even in the presence of an agreement otherwise between...more
March 2021 has been a busy month in Washington, D.C. In addition to the passage of the American Rescue Plan (which includes tax updates relevant to employers), there have been three notable developments in the labor and...more
3/19/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Tipped Employees ,
Trump Administration ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
Under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 (“WARN Act”), employers with more than 100 employees are generally required to provide a minimum of sixty (60) days’ notice prior to a plant closing or mass...more
After only a few days in the White House, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have already made notable changes to the leadership of federal agencies that administer the nation’s labor and employment...more
2/3/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Webinars
As HR Legalist predicted, President Biden is taking steps to swing the pendulum in an employee-friendly direction. While implementing substantive changes may take some time in light of the administrative procedures required,...more
Newly inaugurated President Joe Biden recently outlined his plans to hit the ground running in his first 100 days in office, including a $1.9 trillion spending bill that he hopes the Democrat-controlled Congress will pass...more
Recent events in Washington D.C. and elsewhere have heightened tensions across the United States and led to renewed questions from employees and employers regarding how to respond to political speech inside (and outside) the...more
1/18/2021
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Hate Speech ,
Insurrection ,
NLRA ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Political Speech ,
Private Sector ,
Protests ,
Public Employers ,
State Labor Laws
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, providing funding for the government as well as COVID-19 relief. Among other provisions relevant to businesses (summarized here), the...more
Second in a Series of Blogs Regarding the Presidential Transition -
On Saturday, November 7, 2020, all major media outlets called the 2020 presidential election in favor of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and President-elect...more
On Saturday morning, November 7, 2020, major news organizations called the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. On Sunday, November 8, 2020, the Biden-Harris team updated its transition website to...more
11/11/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Stimulus ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
OSHA ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Presidential Elections ,
Social Justice Issues
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney recently signed an amendment to Philadelphia’s paid sick leave law, which provides paid leave to workers not already covered by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). Companies...more
The “joint employer” test, which determines which organizations are liable for employee discrimination, wage and hour, and labor law claims, has in many ways resembled a game of legal “Whack-A-Mole” over the years. Indeed,...more