On August 20, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Ryan, LLC et al. v. Federal Trade Commission, granted the plaintiffs’ motions for summary judgment and found the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on...more
8/22/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Lack of Authority ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Set-Asides ,
Statutory Authority ,
Texas ,
Unfair Competition
The FTC recently found that non-compete agreements are an unfair method of competition, and issued a final ruling that bans non-compete agreements. The commission predicts the nationwide ban will encourage innovation,...more
5/8/2024
/ Confidential Information ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Startups ,
Unfair Competition
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced it will be issuing a final rule that bans most post-employment non-competition agreements retroactively. Absent a court order to enjoin the rule, the ban will become...more
4/25/2024
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) was passed as part of the December 29, 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act, a new federal law that went into effect on June 27, 2023. This federal legislation requires covered...more
8/15/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Covered Employer ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Oregon ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State and Local Government ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Washington
The ink is not yet dry on Senate Bill 999, drafted to attempt coordination of the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) and the Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave Act also called “Paid Leave Oregon” (PLO). On June 7, Senate Bill...more
6/22/2023
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Leave ,
New Legislation ,
Oregon ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the three-member Democratic majority of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a decision in McLauren Macomb, reverting back to pre-Trump era standards and ruling that...more
2/28/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Section 7 ,
Severance Agreements ,
Unions
On July 9, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order requesting that agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), issue rules banning employers from entering non-compete agreements with employees. Following...more
1/9/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Contract Terms ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Wage and Hour
In November 2021, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard that applied to employers with 100 or more employees (the “ETS”). The ETS required those employers to either adopt a policy requiring their employees to be...more
12/21/2021
/ Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
New Rules ,
OSHA ,
State and Local Government ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
When Oregon Occupational Safety and Health (Oregon OSHA) adopted permanent rules related to COVID-19 back in May 2021, it did so with the caveat that it would repeal the rules once it determined that they were no longer...more
Prior to the pandemic, companies allowed remote work sparingly and where necessary because of the location of certain key players in other states or countries. Many employers felt that remote work was not practical, citing...more
On May 13, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) issued new recommendations for individuals who are fully vaccinated. Specifically, the CDC stated that fully-vaccinated individuals[1] can resume...more
5/21/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
GINA ,
Masks ,
Oregon ,
OSHA ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The dust has now settled on the new stimulus bill signed by President Trump on December 27, 2020. The changes to the Family First Coronavirus Recovery Act (“FFCRA”) was buried in over 5000 pages of text and provides a choice...more
12/30/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Family Medical Leave ,
IRS ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration
Your business and employees have just experienced an extraordinary year. We have learned new ways of working, embraced new technology, and incorporated many new legal requirements, but most importantly, we have persevered....more
12/21/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
GINA ,
Health and Safety ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On October 21, 2020, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) published a new guidance for use by contact tracers that clarifies what had been a somewhat fuzzy definition of “close contact.” The new definition increases the...more