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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By: Cody Weyhofen and John Vering

On Monday, April 15, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released its final rule (the “Final Rule”) interpreting the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”). The Final Rule, published on April 19, 2024, is expected to take effect sixty (60) days later on June 18, 2024. Many of the provisions within the Final Rule mirror the proposed rule announced by the EEOC in August 2023; however, the Final Rule does contain important differences and additional interpretive guidance for employers.

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By: John Vering

The United States Supreme Court has issued a unanimous ruling in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, 143 S.Ct.2686 (April 17, 2024) 22-193 Muldrow v. St. Louis (04-17-2024), which will make it easier for employees to bring discrimination lawsuits against their employers under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Title VII bars discrimination against employees and applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity), and national origin.

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By: Shannon Johnson

Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) announced a new rule, which will go into effect on March 11, 2024, establishing a six-factor analysis that businesses should use in order to properly classify independent contractors vs. employees.  To businesses with past experience utilizing contractors, this “new” rule will not appear new at all – rather, it rejects a more recent rule published in 2021 that made it easier for businesses to classify their workers as independent contractors, and largely reinstates the long-standing “economic realities test” that was developed through Court precedent over the course of decades.

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By: Cody Weyhofen and John Vering

On August 30, 2023, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a proposed rule that seeks to significantly raise the minimum salary threshold needed to qualify for overtime-pay exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). If the rule takes effect, it’s estimated that an additional 3.6 million employees will become entitled to overtime compensation.

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By: Shannon Johnson

As explained in our previous client alert, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”), effective June 27, 2023, requires public and private sector employers with at least 15 employees to make reasonable accommodations for employees or applicants with known limitations related to or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, and other related conditions, absent undue hardship. The PWFA did not define what constitutes a reasonable accommodation, and Congress required the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) to propose regulations by the end of the year to provide examples of reasonable accommodations, among other things.

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By: Cody Weyhofen, Mark Opara, and John Vering

On August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) adopted
a new standard to determine whether an employer’s workplace rules or policies violate employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”). As a result, many employers will need to review and revamp their employee handbooks and manuals to avoid a potential lawsuit.

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