As expected, a Texas federal court issued a ruling on August 20, 2024, declaring that the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC’s”) new rule purporting to ban nearly all noncompete agreements shall not “take effect on its...more
8/22/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Lack of Authority ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Set-Asides ,
Statutory Authority ,
Texas
In a highly-anticipated ruling, a Texas federal court concluded on July 3, 2024, that the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) exceeded its authority by enacting its rule in April 2024 that purports to ban nearly all noncompete...more
7/8/2024
/ 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 April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 to issue a new rule that will dramatically impact employers that use noncompete agreements to protect their business interests. In January 2023, the FTC...more
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-1 to propose a rule that, if adopted, will dramatically impact companies that use noncompete agreements to protect their business interests. Under the proposed...more
1/9/2023
/ Competition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Former Employee ,
New Rules ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
Under Title VII, an employer can be held liable for retaliation by a non-supervisory co-worker if (1) the conduct is sufficiently severe to dissuade a complaint of discrimination; (2) management was aware of the behavior; and...more
2/15/2022
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Damages ,
Discrimination ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Punitive Damages ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII
Employees are presumptively deemed to be “at-will” in virtually every state. Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (which oversees federal courts in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee)...more
Misappropriation of trade secrets claims often turn on whether the information that was taken is truly a “trade secret.” In considering whether information is a trade secret, courts consider a number of factors, including...more
Like Title VII to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Tennessee Human Rights Act (“THRA”) forbids workplace harassment and other forms of discrimination on the basis of sex. Recently, the Tennessee Court of Appeals considered...more
Government employees enjoy more protection than employees of private-sector companies when it comes to speaking their minds about politics or other matters of public concern outside the workplace. A public employee may not be...more
It seems like we live in a tinderbox. The combination of the upcoming presidential election, emerging debates about social justice issues, and the ongoing pandemic seems to have created the perfect storm. When filtered into a...more
Under the Tennessee Public Protection Act (TPPA), also known as “the whistleblowing statute,” it’s illegal to fire an employee if the sole cause for the termination was for refusing to either remain silent about or to...more
Federal law (as well as many states’ law) forbids an employer from retaliating against an employee who engages in protected activity, such as complaining of unlawful discrimination. One way that many employees seek to...more
As employers look to transition workers back into the workplace as stay-at-home orders and other business restrictions expire, many considerations exist, legal and otherwise. These considerations have become more immediate...more
Pregnancy discrimination has been in the news quite a bit lately. Recently, Walmart agreed to pay $14 million as part of a settlement in response to accusations that it systematically discriminated against pregnant employees...more
11/26/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Medical Leave ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII
Like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Tennessee Human Rights Act (THRA) forbids sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination. To be actionable, the harassment must be so severe or pervasive that it creates...more
11/8/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Evidence ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Human Rights Act ,
Jury Trial ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Paid Leave ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title VII
In 2010, Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 was amended to require full expert reports and other disclosures for retained expert witnesses, but only summaries of anticipated opinion testimony of non-retained experts. During the ensuing nine...more
Summer is winding down, and Fall texted to say she is on her way. This means that Pro Te: Solutio is returning for its third edition of 2019. As always, our authors have taken the time to research and address current issues...more
10/3/2019
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Expert Testimony ,
Expert Witness ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False Statements ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
FRCP 26 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Medicare ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
RICO ,
Witness Preparation
President Donald Trump’s recent Tweet suggesting that four Democratic congresswomen should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came” has sparked robust debate across the country....more
Government employees enjoy more protection than employees of private-sector companies when it comes to speaking their minds about politics or other matters of public concern outside the workplace. A public employee may not be...more
An individual may file a claim under Tennessee’s “whistleblower statute”—the Tennessee Public Protection Act (TPPA)—if she was fired solely for reporting or refusing to participate in illegal activity. Similar to federal law,...more
7/8/2019
/ Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
Human Rights Act ,
Illegal Activity ,
Jury Trial ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trial Court Orders ,
Whistleblowers
We’re in the middle of flu season. The flu and other communicable diseases present a number of challenges for employers. What’s your duty to prevent the spread of contagious diseases in your workplace? Can you require an...more
3/5/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Duty to Maintain ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
Workplace Safety
Under the Tennessee Public Protection Act (TPPA), also known as the “whistleblower statute,” it is unlawful to fire an employee “solely for refusing to participate in, or for refusing to remain silent about, illegal...more
2/19/2019
/ Appeals ,
Dismissals ,
Employment Litigation ,
Evidence ,
Excessive Force ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Illegal Activity ,
Resignation ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Jerry’s generally a good employee, but he hasn’t been acting quite right. Co-workers have been taken aback that he’s lost his cool over relatively trivial issues. Although he hasn’t made any overt threats, he gets worked up...more
1/22/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Duty to Accommodate ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Interactive Process ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Illness ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence ,
Zero Tolerance Policies
I’ve previously written about the circumstances in which taking preparatory measures to compete crosses the line so as to become unlawful. A couple of recent Tennessee Court of Appeals decisions provide more insight....more
In a previous piece, I wrote about a diabetic worker in East Tennessee who won a jury award in an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) case against Dollar General. The worker was fired for violating Dollar General’s grazing...more
8/21/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Damages ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Interactive Process ,
Jury Awards ,
Reasonable Accommodation