The Labor Law Insider: Non-Disclosure and Non-Disparagement Agreements under Fire: A New Board Decision and a New General Counsel Memorandum, Part II
The Labor Law Insider: Non-Disclosure and Non-Disparagement Agreements under Fire: A New Board Decision and a New General Counsel Memorandum
Chambliss Update – NLRB Decision Alters Landscape for Employee Severance Agreements
DE Under 3: New NLRB Decision Prohibits Virtually All Employment Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Clauses, Nationwide
The Reintroduction of Net Operating Loss - A Pepper Hamilton and Financial Executives Alliance Webinar
II-26 – Superbowl Concerns, Tax Reform/MeToo, Restrictive Covenant Crimes, and Expanded Religious Discrimination Theories
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to investigate companies for including language in their employment and separation agreements or retail client settlement agreements that potentially discourages...more
Over the closing months of 2023, New York lawmakers at both the state and local levels were busy passing new legislation impacting the workplace. As a result, New York employers should take some time to familiarize themselves...more
With the New Year in full swing, it is important for New York employers to be aware of recent changes to New York’s statutes relating to severance agreements. On November 17, 2023, New York enacted S4516, which provides...more
When settling a lawsuit or pre-litigation disputes, parties sometimes insist on including non-disparagement clauses in their settlement or severance agreements. Broadly speaking, these clauses prevent one or both parties to...more
On Nov. 17, 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law amendments to New York’s General Obligations Law § 5-336 that prohibit the use of certain terms in release agreements. The amendments are principally intended to strengthen...more
New York employers who use separation agreements or settle claims of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation must ensure they comply with a new amendment to Section 5-336 of the New York General Obligations Law....more
Q: I heard New York amended the law on nondisclosure provisions in employee settlement agreements. What do I need to know?...more
Companies routinely use separation agreements with departing employees. Through those agreements, the employee receives some type of separation benefit (typically a payment or severance) in exchange for waiving and releasing...more
New York State recently enacted further restrictions limiting language that can be contained in employment-related release agreements (including severance, separation, and settlement agreements). The changes, which were...more
Since 2015, the SEC has brought nearly two dozen enforcement actions for violations of the whistleblower protection rules under Rule 21F-17(a) against employers for actions taken to impede reporting to the SEC. The bulk of...more
During this legislative session, Colorado enacted more protections for employees in the workplace, including redefining what constitutes unlawful harassment, restricting confidentiality agreements, expanding the ability to...more
On March 22, 2023, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board issued an Advice Memo regarding Separation/Severance/Settlement Agreements in light of the Board’s decision in McLaren Macomb, which was issued on...more
Bad news, but at least employers know where they stand. Does your settlement or separation agreement contain non-disparagement or strict confidentiality provisions? If so, it may not be worth the paper it's printed on....more
In late 2022, a new Maine law took effect restricting the use and reach of nondisclosure provisions in Maine employment agreements. The new law, Nondisclosure Agreements in Employment, 26 M.R.S. § 599-C, is one of the most...more
Dear Littler: Considering the recent passage of the federal Speak Out Act limiting the use of pre-dispute nondisclosure and non-disparagement clauses involving sexual assault and sexual harassment claims, what impact will...more
Penny Chen, Jin To, and Jessica Kang, lawyers in K&L Gates’ Labor, Employment and Workplace Safety practice group, discuss California, Illinois, and Washington states’ various “silence no more” type acts, which prohibit...more
Maine recently joined the list of states—including California, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Washington, and others—with laws restricting employers’ use of nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) and...more
When spouses reach agreement on terms for a divorce, a written settlement document – commonly known as a Separation Agreement – is prepared. Parties then decide whether the agreement will either “merge” into the Judgment of...more
Earlier this month, Microsoft announced three major changes to its employment practices for U.S. workers. First, Microsoft will no longer use or attempt to enforce non-competition covenants with its workers....more
On March 24, 2022, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed into law Senate Bill 1586, which amends Oregon's Workplace Fairness Act to further restrict what an employer may request in a settlement or separation agreement with an...more
In an effort to support the Me Too movement, California previously enacted Code of Civil Procedure section 1001 to prohibit any provision in a settlement agreement that prevents the disclosure of an act of sexual harassment,...more
Signed into law on October 7, 2021 by California Governor Gavin Newsom and effective January 1, 2022, the “Silenced No More Act” amends and expands the previous Stand Together Against Non-Disclosures (STAND) Act. The...more
Here's what employers need to heed in 2022. No. 1: Settlement and separation agreements. Pay attention to any new settlement, employment, or severance agreements. We already know that settlement agreement provisions...more
California has once again reined in the use of confidentiality provisions in the employment context with its recent enactment of the Silenced No More Act (SB 331), which goes into effect January 1, 2022. California...more
The California Legislature passed and Governor Newsom signed several new or amended employment laws covering topics ranging from non-disparagement and separation agreements, the California Family Rights Act, and warehouse...more