On July 17, 2024, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed the Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act (the Act) into Pennsylvania law. The Act prohibits the enforcement of certain noncompete covenants entered into after the...more
On July 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (the Court) issued a memorandum opinion and order that enjoined the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from implementing or enforcing its Rule...more
On June 13, 2024, an administrative law judge (ALJ) of the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) joined the growing chorus of federal and state agencies condemning the use of restrictive covenants, in J.O. Mory, Inc.,...more
On April 16, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that, next Tuesday, April 23, it will be releasing the final version of its proposed rule largely prohibiting employee non-competition restrictions. See FTC...more
4/18/2024
/ Comment Period ,
Employee Mobility ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Trade Secrets
It’s no secret that employee non-compete — and, to a related extent, non-solicitation — restrictions are increasing disfavored and targeted across the U.S., both on a federal and state level. We’ve recently written about the...more
The WLG Human Resources Group is hosting a series of podcasts where they will rapid-fire discuss what's in store for 2023 in employment law across the regions. Join us for the Americas on March 16....more
3/14/2023
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Labor Regulations ,
Mental Health ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Webinars
The pandemic forcefully introduced many companies and employees to remote work. Although many have returned to the office, many others are embracing the idea of remote work indefinitely, and employers and employees alike face...more
9/21/2022
/ Cross-Border ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
Job Duties ,
Misclassification ,
Remote Working ,
Tax Liability ,
Webinars ,
Work Permits ,
Work Visas
As we have written about previously, an increasing number of states, and Washington, D.C., have limited the circumstances under which employers can bind their employees to non-compete and similar agreements, particularly when...more
The Washington, D.C. Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Act of 2020 (D.C. Act) is on hold once again, this time due to emergency legislation signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser earlier this week. The new legislation pushes the D.C....more
On March 3, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021” (the Act) into law. Upon signing the bill, which had bipartisan Congressional support, President...more
On August 11, 2021, the City of Philadelphia announced that in order to curb the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19, it would be reintroducing certain mask requirements throughout the city.
Specifically, the new...more
As part of “a whole-of-government effort to promote competition in the American economy,” President Biden’s July 9, 2021 Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy (E.O.) encourages the Federal Trade...more
In a decision handed down yesterday, the Supreme Court held that civil liability under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) does not attach for employees who abuse or misuse their access credentials in accessing their...more
Recently, in Pittsburgh Logistics Systems, Inc. v. Beemac Trucking, LLC, No. 31 WAP 2019, — A.3d –, 2021 WL 1676399 (Apr. 29, 2021), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that a no-hire provision that was ancillary to a...more
5/11/2021
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employee Mobility ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
No-Poaching ,
Objective Unreasonableness Standard ,
PA Supreme Court ,
Restraint of Trade ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State and Local Government
On March 12, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) was signed into law, providing an estimated $1.9 trillion stimulus package to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the ARP’s key provisions include a...more
3/25/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) ,
Paid Leave ,
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) ,
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Benefits
On January 11, 2021, Muriel Bowser, the Washington, D.C., mayor, signed the D.C. Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020 (the Act). In doing so, the District follows the recent trend set by other states, including...more
On November 17, 2020, Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine issued two new orders in response to rising levels of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth. These orders (1) place certain restrictions on individuals traveling...more
On September 17, 2020, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed the Public Health Emergency Leave (PHEL) bill. The PHEL amends Chapter 9-4100 of the Philadelphia Code to create additional sick leave protections for Philadelphia...more
In a decision issued on September 14, 2020, U.S. District Court Judge William S. Stickman IV ruled that certain restrictions ordered by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf to slow the spread of COVID-19 were unconstitutional....more
On August 8, 2020, President Trump authorized the creation of the Lost Wage Assistance (LWA) program to provide lost wage assistance to unemployed individuals as a result of COVID-19. The LWA is intended to provide additional...more
On Friday, June 26, 2020, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed the Essential Workers Protection Act, providing protections to workers who speak out about unsafe workplace conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The...more
In Pennsylvania, it has long been known that waiting until after the start of employment to have an employee sign a non-competition agreement comes with the real risk that the agreement will be unenforceable for lack of...more
On April 22, Governor Tom Wolf outlined a three-phase plan for reopening Pennsylvania businesses, following a color-coded system: Red, Yellow and Green. As the COVID-19 threat continues to slow, each county has been moving...more
A recent Delaware Chancery Court opinion has elucidated Delaware’s approach to judicially modifying, or “blue-penciling,” overly broad noncompete agreements and deferring to parties’ choice of law provisions. The case, FP UC...more
After an initial wave that saw a focus on closing or limiting “non-essential” or “non-life sustaining” businesses and limiting individual travel, states and municipalities have shifted their attention to protections for those...more