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Federal Court Blocks Increased Salary Thresholds for Exempt Workers

By: Cody Weyhofen & John Vering

In April 2024, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a Final Rule that significantly raised the minimum salary thresholds for certain overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). However, a Texas federal court recently invalidated the Final Rule nationwide, restoring the minimum salary thresholds to pre-2024 levels.

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Missouri Increases Minimum Wage and Adopts Paid Sick Time

By: John Vering and Mark Opara

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Texas Federal Court Blocks FTC Rule Banning Non-Compete Agreements

By: John Vering

FTC Issues Rule Banning Non-Compete Agreements

On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 to issue a Final Rule (“Rule”) that would have generally banned employers from entering into non-competes with workers and would have required employers to notify workers that their existing non-compete agreements are unenforceable. We published a client alert explaining the Final Rule, which was scheduled to take effect September 4, 2024 (unless enjoined/stopped by a court).

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Update on Court Rulings on FTC Final Rule Banning Non-Competes

By: John Vering

FTC Ban on Non-Compete Agreements

On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 to issue a Final Rule (“Rule”) that would generally ban employers from entering into non-competes with workers and require employers to notify workers that their existing non-compete agreements are unenforceable. We published a client alert explaining the Final Rule, which is scheduled to take effect September 4, 2024 (unless enjoined/stopped by a court).

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EEOC Issues Final Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace

By: Katie A. Conklin and John A. Vering[1]

On April 29, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published a long-anticipated update to its enforcement guidance on harassment in the workplace. The EEOC’s previous guidance had not been updated since 1999. The updated guidance reflects the legal and social changes of the past two decades and includes over 70 hypothetical examples of unlawful workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; sexual orientation; and gender identity), national origin, disability, age, and genetic information.

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Update on New DOL Overtime Rule and FTC Final Rule Banning Non-Competes

By: John Vering and Cody Weyhofen

Overtime Regulations

On April 30, 2024, we published a client alert advising you that on April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released its Final Rule, significantly raising the minimum salary thresholds for certain overtime exemptions (the so-called white collar exemptions [“WCE”] for executive, administrative, and professional employees) under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The minimum salary levels for an executive, administrative, or professional employee to be exempt from overtime is scheduled to increase effective July 1, 2024, from $684 per week (equivalent to $33,568 per year) to $844 per week (equivalent to $43,888 per year). For employees eligible for the highly compensated employee exemption, the increase effective July 1, 2024, is from $107,432 per year to $132,964 per year. The regulations also provide for a second increase effective January 1, 2025, which would increase the WCE threshold to $1,128 per week ($58,656 per year) and the threshold for highly compensated employees to $151,164 per year.

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Department of Labor Increases Overtime Pay Thresholds

By: Cody Weyhofen and John Vering

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released its Final Rule, significantly raising the minimum salary thresholds for certain overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Importantly, the thresholds outlined in the Final Rule are higher than those initially proposed by the DOL in August 2023. As a result, millions of employees are set to become entitled to overtime compensation when the Final Rule takes effect.

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FTC Issues Final Rule Banning Non-Competes

By: John Vering

On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 to issue a Final Rule (“Rule”) – Non-Compete Clause Final Rule – that would generally ban employers from entering into non-competes with workers and require employers to notify workers that their existing non-compete agreements are unenforceable.  The majority of FTC commissioners concluded that non-compete agreements constitute an unfair method of competition, and, therefore violate Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The Rule will take effect (unless enjoined by a court) 120 days after it is published in the Federal Register (likely during the week of April 29, 2024).

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