On June 6, 2024, Washington’s non-compete statute will receive substantial amendments affecting employers with workers in the state. Employers should review their employment agreements and personnel onboarding practices to...more
On April 23, 2024, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) voted 3-to-2 along party lines to approve a final rule (Rule) that prevents all for-profit employers nationwide from using non-compete agreements for any worker (whether...more
California law famously bans employee noncompetition agreements, under a statute enacted in 1872. As of January 1, 2024, new amendments to this age-old statute provide clarity about what is—and is not—enforceable....more
On July 17, 2023, the California Supreme Court ruled that where an employee has brought a California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) action that is comprised of both individual and non-individual claims, a court order...more
7/20/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
In its recent McLaren Macomb decision,1 the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a ruling finding unlawful the type of nondisparagement and confidentiality provisions employers use in severance agreements with their...more
If they haven’t already, employers should ensure that their job postings comply with Washington State’s new pay transparency law, which, in many instances, applies even to businesses outside of the state. The law went into...more
1/11/2023
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Ads ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Transparency ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Washington
As a reminder to companies with independent contractors performing work in Seattle, the city's Independent Contractor Protections Ordinance, SMC 14.34, which expands protections for independent contractors, went into effect...more
What’s the difference between an employee and an independent contractor? Does it matter that you hired an engineer for your game in another country? What’s a PIIA? Wilson Sonsini Partners Jason Storck and Barath Chari know...more
7/21/2022
/ Assignment of Inventions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gaming ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misclassification ,
Online Gaming ,
Proprietary Information ,
Remote Working ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Video Games
Companies with employees or independent contractors who work or reside in Washington State should take heed that Washington's Silenced No More Act (the act) goes into effect on June 9, 2022. The act places substantial limits...more
As many may have seen, on October 11, 2021, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas issued Executive Order No. GA-40 (the "Texas Order"), immediately limiting Texas employers' ability to compel employees to receive COVID-19...more
10/26/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Abbott ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
OSHA ,
State and Local Government ,
Texas ,
Vaccinations
Many states throughout the nation have been expanding employee protections under state and federal law. This year, Texas enacted two bills that significantly expand the protections for employees who assert a claim of sexual...more
8/30/2021
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws
On June 17, 2021, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted to approve certain revisions to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA’s) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards...more
On January 11, 2021, the mayor of the District of Columbia signed D.C. Act 25-563, the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020 (the Act), which was then submitted to Congress for approval in accordance with the...more
With the passage of Proposition 22 in the November 3, 2020, general election, California's gig economy scored a victory over the state's efforts to classify app-based rideshare and delivery company workers as employees rather...more
On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the Act). The Act is one of several federal government efforts to stimulate the economy and mitigate the economic harm to individuals and...more
With the new year fast approaching, employers with Washington-based workers should ensure—if they have not already—that they are prepared to comply with legal changes substantially limiting the enforcement of non-compete...more
Two recent cases have found that employee non-solicitation agreements, at least in the form many companies currently use, are unlawful in California. In AMN Healthcare, Inc. v. Aya Healthcare Services, Inc., 28 Cal. App. 5th...more
Massachusetts has joined a growing list of states, including Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Oregon, and Utah, among others, with statutes placing limits on the permissible terms and scope of agreements prohibiting employees from...more
Once again, California's Supreme Court has underscored that California employment law can differ from federal law in significant, and typically more employee friendly, ways. In Douglas Troester v. Starbucks Corporation,1 a...more
In one of its most important employment law decisions in decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that an employer's use of a class or collective action waiver (class waiver) in a mandatory employment arbitration agreement...more
5/23/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
California's Supreme Court has issued a decision making it harder for companies to classify California workers as independent contractors. In Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, the court adopted a broad...more
In a decision receiving nationwide media coverage, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has held that an employer cannot defeat a federal Equal Pay Act claim by relying on an employee's prior salary, whether alone...more
As summer approaches, many employers are considering “hiring” summer interns, as well as what to pay them, if anything. Some employers will consider engaging the services of unpaid interns, sometimes at the request of eager...more
California has joined a growing number of cities and states seeking to advance gender pay equity by passing laws prohibiting employers from asking job applicants about their salary histories.1 Effective January 1, 2018,...more
At the proverbial eleventh hour, a federal court has blocked the implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL's) new overtime exemption rules that were scheduled to go into effect on December 1, 2016. As detailed in...more