On August 20, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an order setting aside the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) ban on employee noncompetes (the “Noncompete Rule”). While the same...more
The United Auto Workers (UAW) has lost an election at two Mercedes Benz plants in Vance, Alabama. The May 2024 loss reflected that workers turned down the union by a significant margin (56% to 44%)....more
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or the “Commission”) voted to finalize a rule abolishing the vast majority of employee noncompetes across the United States (the “Noncompete Rule” or “Rule”). The FTC...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
On April 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its final rule on who is allowed to be present for an OSHA inspection. The rule becomes effective on May 31, 2024. By way of background, both the employer and...more
4/9/2024
/ Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Representatives ,
Final Rules ,
Inspections ,
New Regulations ,
OSHA ,
Safety Inspections ,
Third-Party ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
In our ever-changing technological environment, artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to exert its influence on numerous sectors, revolutionizing our approach to work. As businesses and organizations worldwide adopt...more
10/12/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automated Decision Systems (ADS) ,
Bias ,
Biotechnology ,
Compliance ,
Confidential Information ,
Discrimination ,
Due Diligence ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Investors ,
Machine Learning ,
Misrepresentation ,
New Guidance ,
Patents ,
Personal Data ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Startups ,
Strict Product Liability ,
Transparency ,
Venture Capital
Employers of salaried workers beware — you may soon have to give raises to members of your workforce in order to keep them exempt from overtime entitlement.
On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)...more
As our readers may be aware, President Biden ended 2022 by signing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) into law. The PWFA requires employers with at least 15 employees to provide reasonable accommodations to a qualified...more
8/15/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Comment Period ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Essential Functions ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII
In the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence (AI), one development stands out for its transformative potential: the rise of generative AI tools. Many major technology companies are building the large language...more
7/18/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Employment Discrimination ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Machine Learning ,
Misrepresentation ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Quality Control Plan ,
Risk Management ,
Strict Product Liability
Recent disruptions in the financial services sector as well as an economic downturn in certain industries, including high tech, may create an immediate and unanticipated liquidity crisis for impacted employers. When faced...more
Notwithstanding the very recent good news that it appears the federal government and regulators currently have control and a plan in place to limit the impact of Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) and Signature Bank’s recent...more
3/14/2023
/ Banking Regulators ,
Banking Sector ,
Breach of Contract ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Layoffs ,
Liquidity ,
Mini-Warn Acts ,
Minimum Salary ,
Personal Liability ,
Separation ,
Severance Agreements ,
WARN Act
On February 22, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling, in Helix Energy Sols. Grp., Inc. v. Hewitt, No. 21-984, that despite earning in excess of $200,000 annually, an oilfield rig worker was improperly paid...more
3/7/2023
/ Audits ,
Compensation ,
Compliance ,
Day Laborers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Energy Sector ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc v Hewitt No 21-984 ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Independent Contractors ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Rules ,
SCOTUS ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) held that an employer violates Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) when it offers employees severance agreements with certain...more
It has been three years since we updated you on New Jersey’s law that proposed to amend the state’s mini-WARN Act (Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act).
As we reported at the time, the law was...more
The Department of Labor has issued a new proposed rule to provide guidance on the classification of independent contractors and employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act and as discussed by Foley’s Labor and Employment...more
A federal court in Massachusetts granted summary judgment in favor of a franchisor in a long-running case against its franchisees. In Patel et al. v. 7-Eleven, Inc., five 7-Eleven store owners brought suit claiming 7-Eleven...more
The most recent article in Foley & Lardner’s Supply Chain Disruption Series provides background on a number of key terms and conditions for buyers and sellers in the supply chain to consider in commercial forms. Click here to...more
11/2/2022
/ China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
International Trade ,
Manufacturers ,
National Security ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Rules ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Supply Shortages ,
Sustainability ,
Tax Code
A recent decision on the scope of the so-called ABC Test gives guidance to firms using independent contractors. In Tiger Home Inspection, Inc. v. Director of the Dept. of Unemployment Assistance, a Massachusetts appeals court...more
Key Developments -
The most recent article in Foley & Lardner’s Supply Chain Disruption Series shared a number of key takeaways pertaining to accurate and compliant regulatory disclosures in areas including COVID-19...more
10/7/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Labor Shortage ,
Manufacturers ,
PFAS ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Ukraine ,
WTO
This news summary is provided by Foley’s Competitive Intelligence Team to inform business leaders of recent news and developments relevant to the Manufacturing Sector. ...more
9/23/2022
/ China ,
Consumer Price Index ,
Forced Labor ,
Foreign Investment ,
Goods or Services ,
India ,
Manufacturers ,
Philippines ,
Railroads ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Supply Shortages ,
Sustainability ,
Unions ,
Vietnam
Key developments -
The most recent article in Foley & Lardner’s Supply Chain Disruption Series provides an overview of current issues affecting the production and supply of lithium-ion batteries . Click here to subscribe...more
9/9/2022
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Blockchain ,
China ,
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
International Trade ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
National Security ,
PFAS ,
Supply Chain ,
Supply Shortages ,
Sustainability ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Unions ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
Key Developments -
The sixth installment of Foley & Lardner’s Supply Chain Disruption Series addresses some of the factors to consider pertaining to intellectual property licensing in supply agreements. Click here to...more
When drafting employment separation or severance agreements, it is relatively common to include non-disclosure and non-disparagement provisions in the documents. The notion is that in return for payment to the former...more
7/19/2022
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Illegal Conduct ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Retaliation ,
Settlement ,
Severance Agreements ,
Sexual Assault ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the face of all sorts of uncertainty amid multiple new variants and waves of infection, employers could at least be confident of one thing – it is generally okay to...more
7/15/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
New Guidance ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Title VII ,
Virus Testing
After roughly two years of isolation, the COVID-19 pandemic finally seems to be dissipating, which means employers across the country are starting to summon employees back to the office.
Not all employees are thrilled...more
On Monday, December 27, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board” or the “NLRB”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking and invited public participation in reconsidering the test for classifying independent...more