Non-competition agreements are not doing so hot. Recently, more states have outlawed or tightened restrictions on them, and the federal government has stepped into the fray in policing them. For example, the Federal Trade...more
Unions won 95 percent of the elections involving groups of 500 or more workers that occurred in the first half of 2023. Overall, unions won 662 elections during that same period – covering over 58,000 workers, the greatest...more
Attacks on Non-Disclosure, Confidentiality, and Non-Compete Agreements in 2023 -
On several fronts in 2023, we saw federal agencies and entities attacking the scope and enforceability of certain employment agreements,...more
12/21/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Harassment ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
OSHA ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Religious Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII
With no chance of passing the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, we predicted that the Biden administration would seek to achieve pro-labor reforms through the National Labor Relations Board’s (the “Board”) rulemaking and...more
10/5/2023
/ Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Final Rules ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions
New Business Reporting Obligations for Employers: Beneficial Ownership Information Under the Corporate Transparency Act -
Effective January 1, 2024, most legal entities incorporated, organized, or registered to do business...more
10/3/2023
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Business Entities ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Intentional Torts ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Workplace Safety
As we have often discussed, the National Labor Relations Board under the Biden administration has prioritized expanding employees’ rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”). Most recently, in GC...more
6/23/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Section 7
In the Apple TV+ show Severance, employees of Lumon Industries may agree to a "severance" program in which non-work memories are separated from work memories. Outside of work, these Lumon Industries employees cannot discuss...more
4/6/2023
/ Confidentiality Policies ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Guidance ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Section 7 ,
Severance Agreements
Severance: Labor Board Prohibits Employers from Restricting Employee Speech in Severance Agreements -
In the Apple TV+ show Severance, employees of Lumon Industries may agree to a "severance" program in which non-work...more
4/6/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Construction Industry ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Former Employee ,
Harassment ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Law Violations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Offer Letters ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Remote Working ,
Safety Violations ,
Section 7 ,
Severance Agreements ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Unions ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
The NLRB Proposes to Re-Re-Revise Its Joint Employer Standard -
On September 6, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board issued a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the standard for determining joint employer status...more
9/9/2022
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Franchises ,
Gender Dysphoria ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Remote Working ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Unions
Recently, leading officials in the Biden administration have taken steps to prevent employers from sharing their lawful views on collective bargaining in order to aid union efforts to organize more employees. These actions...more
There has been a lot of labor activity in the past three months. President Biden announced the two appointees who would join National Labor Relations Board Chair Lauren McFerran to create a majority of Democrats on the Board....more
[co-author: Kelsie Wiltse]
Welcome to our third issue of the 2021 edition of SuperVision. It is no surprise that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is still causing issues -- and that certainly includes issues for employers....more
8/6/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Infectious Diseases ,
NLRB ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Safety
Welcome
With the second issue of the 2021 edition of SuperVision, we are focusing on "what's next." More than 100 days into Biden's Presidency and with more than 100 million Americans fully vaccinated from COVID-19, we...more
5/6/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
Infectious Diseases ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Section 7 ,
Vaccinations ,
Website Accessibility ,
Workplace Safety
In March 2021, the National Labor Relations Board’s Acting General Counsel, Peter Sung Ohr, wrote a memorandum to the Board’s Regional Offices that called for “Vigorous Enforcement” of section 7 of the National Labor...more
In February 2020, the House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (the "PRO Act"), codifying several Obama-era decisions and rulemakings that facilitate union organizing and make it easier for...more
The National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") is expected to rewrite its rules protecting employees who violate employers' policies when they use profane, racist or sexist language. In September, the NLRB requested public...more
Welcome to the fourth quarter edition of SuperVision, the e-newsletter from Spilman Thomas & Battle's Labor & Employment Law Group.
Just as we were going to press, the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") issued two...more
12/18/2019
/ Appeals ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Email Policies ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Governor Wolf ,
Internal Investigations ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Profanity ,
Public Comment ,
Public Policy ,
Racist Remarks ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Self-Defense ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Workplace Communication ,
Workplace Investigations
The National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”) began the year by again changing the test it uses to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor. The test is, however, not new. Instead, in SuperShuttle DFW, Inc....more
The Editor's Note -
Welcome to 2019's first edition of SuperVision, the e-newsletter from Spilman Thomas & Battle's Labor & Employment Law Group...
...In this edition of SuperVision, Carrie Grundmann explains a recent...more
3/14/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Salary ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reversal ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Wellness Programs ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Workplace Communication
Last month, in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, the Supreme Court of the United States decided class action waivers in employment arbitration agreements do not violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). A class action...more
6/19/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employment Contract ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
...In this issue, Mitch Rhein examines the Supreme Court decision permitting class action waivers, Spencer Cook looks at a recent decision that warns employers to be careful about asking for past pay rates, Chelsea Thompson...more
6/13/2018
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Document Retention Policies ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Required Forms ,
Salary/Wage History ,
SCOTUS
The Editors' Note -
Welcome to the fourth quarter edition of SuperVision, the quarterly e-newsletter published by Spilman's Labor & Employment Group.
With the recent headlines dominated by stories of individuals coming...more
12/20/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employment Policies ,
Flu Shot Rule ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
Public Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title III ,
Trump Administration ,
Vaccinations ,
Website Accessibility
Later this year, the Supreme Court of the United States will address the enforceability of class action waivers in employment arbitration agreements in Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris. The Supreme Court’s decision will resolve a...more
Editor's Note -
Welcome to the second quarter edition of SuperVision, the e-newsletter of Spilman Thomas & Battle's Labor & Employment Group. The look of SuperVision may have changed, but the goal remains the same: to...more
6/9/2017
/ Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Interpretive Opinions ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Workplace Safety
In this edition of SuperVision Today, Carrie Harris offers timely advice in this election season for employers who are dealing with divisive non-work issues in the workplace. Mitch Rhein explains the upcoming changes to the...more
10/13/2016
/ EEO-1 ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
NLRB ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Payroll Records ,
Political Speech ,
Presidential Elections ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Student Employees ,
Teaching Assistants ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Communication