On August 20, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, in Ryan LLC et al. v. Federal Trade Commission, granted Ryan LLC and the US Chamber of Commerce’s motion for summary judgment and barred...more
8/22/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Injunctions ,
Lack of Authority ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Set-Asides ,
Statutory Authority ,
Texas
On September 21, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United States Department of Labor (DOL) to bolster the FTC’s efforts to protect workers.According to the...more
2/5/2024
/ Automated Decision Systems (ADS) ,
Competition ,
Contract Terms ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Partnerships ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Worker Protection Standard
On September 21, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United States Department of Labor (DOL) to bolster the FTC’s efforts to protect workers. According to the...more
Employers have historically used non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions when resolving threatened or actual claims employees may pursue. The logic of proposing such clauses flows from the reasonable desire to bring...more
United States District Court Acquits all Defendants in US v. Patel -
On April 28, 2023, the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut acquitted the defendants in US v. Patel of the charges of conspiring...more
The DOJ Loses Jury Trial on No-Poach Conspiracy Charges.
In the wake of the Federal Trade Commission’s attack on non-competes, the Department of Justice (DOJ) lost its most recent fight in its related battle against...more
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted another public forum on its proposed rule to ban noncompetition agreements (noncompetes). While the public forum provided opportunity to those for and against noncompetes to...more
On January 11, 2023, Elizabeth Wilkins, the Federal Trade Commission’s Director of the Office of Planning and lead staffer for the FTC’s newly proposed ban on non-competes, provided comments and answered questions about the...more
The FTC Breaks its Silence Following Biden’s Executive Order -
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a sweeping new rule which, if enacted in its draft form, would ban virtually all...more
1/9/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
New Rules ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants
Aggressive Attacks on Employers’ Post-Employment Restrictions Continue -
Employers beware. The Department of Justice’s attack on employee restrictions has gotten a new boost in a no-poach antitrust case alleging that...more
On February 8, 2022, the National College Players Association (NCPA), an advocacy group for college athletes, filed unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the National...more
2/28/2022
/ Alston v NCAA ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Definition ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Labor Regulations ,
NCAA ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Student Athletes ,
Students ,
Unions
On January 13, 2022, a divided Supreme Court stayed OSHA’s vaccine-or-test emergency temporary standard (ETS). Nat’l Federation of Independent Business v. Dep’t of Labor, OSHA , 595 U.S. ___ (2022). The matter came before the...more
1/17/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
No good deed goes unpunished. Those of us working with 401(k) plans are familiar with this sentiment. An employee benefit plan, as the name implies, is supposed to benefit employees. Yet benefit plans – particularly 401(k)...more
10/21/2021
/ 401k ,
Arbitration ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Practices ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Terms ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Venue
The #MeToo movement caused a significant amount of legislative activity across the country, addressing, among other things, limits on the use of nondisclosure agreements in settlements of sexual harassment claims. Expanding...more
By: Sati Harutyunyan, Matthew L. Haws, Gabrielle Sigel, Emma J. Sullivan, and Joseph J. Torres The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (Task Force) issued its much anticipated guidance to federal contractors pursuant to...more
9/27/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety