In a welcome development for local employers, voters in Portland, Maine approved Municipal Question 1, which amended the emergency minimum wage ordinance so that it will only apply when the city of Portland—not the...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has appealed a Texas federal district court decision invalidating its rule governing non-competition agreements.
In August 2024, in the case of Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission,...more
On August 20, 2024, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) exceeded its authority when it adopted a regulation essentially banning non-competition agreements in the United...more
Employers are running out of time to comply with the FTC’s purported regulatory ban on non-competition agreements. The ban – announced on April 23, 2024 – is scheduled to take effect on September 4. 2024....more
On July 3, 2024, a federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary injunction barring the FTC from enforcing its proposed near-absolute national ban on non-competition agreements. The Rule was scheduled to take effect September...more
7/9/2024
/ Appeals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Texas
On May 22, 2024, a group of businesses filed suit to block the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing its Final Rule, which would substantially increase the minimum salary required for the “white collar” overtime...more
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor announced its Final Rule related to overtime exemptions, including its increase of the minimum salary threshold for employees to qualify for the duties test exemption.
In...more
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its long-awaited final overtime rule, which substantially increases the minimum salary required for the “white collar” overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor...more
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted along partisan lines to adopt its proposed “Non-Compete Clause Rule” banning outright virtually all non-competition agreements. Unless enjoined by a federal court,...more
The National Labor Relations Board recently ruled that severance agreements with broad confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions may be unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act. These widely-used provisions are...more
In a welcome development for employers, a recent ruling from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has cleared the way for a return to in-person voting as the standard format for conducting most union elections. This is a...more
In an unfair labor practice complaint recently filed against online retailer Amazon, the Brooklyn Regional Office of the National Labor Relations Board appears to be taking aim at the right of employers to hold mandatory...more
With several promising vaccinations for the COVID-19 virus scheduled to be released to the public over the next few months, many businesses have been wondering how they can speed up the return to some semblance of normalcy,...more
12/24/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
As schools throughout New England finalize their plans for the fall semester, many employees are faced with an ongoing need to care or facilitate education for their school-aged children on a part-time or even full-time...more
9/4/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Child Care ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disabled Children ,
Distance Learning ,
Employee Benefits ,
EPSLA ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Remote Working ,
School Closures ,
School Districts ,
Students ,
Wage and Hour
On April 1, 2020, the IRS released guidance on the types of information and records an employer must maintain in order to claim a tax credit for reimbursement of paid leave they provide their employees under the Families...more
In a pair of significant year-end rulings, the National Labor Relations Board overturned two Obama-era precedents that had restricted the ability of both unionized and non-unionized employers to limit the use of company email...more
1/8/2020
/ Caesars ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Electronic Communications ,
Email ,
Email Policies ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Information Technology ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Protected Activity ,
Purple Communications ,
Section 7 ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
Workplace Investigations
On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a long-awaited final rule regarding adjustments to the salary requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act for certain salaried employees, commonly known as the...more
10/10/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Job Duties ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On March 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor proposed a long-awaited update to the regulations governing overtime exemptions for certain salaried employees, commonly known as the “white collar” exemptions....more
3/13/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
NPRM ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
After more than a year of political wrangling, on May 2, 2018, the Maine Legislature overrode a second veto by Governor LePage and enacted the Marijuana Legalization Act. ...more
5/11/2018
/ Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Governor LePage ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
State and Local Government