On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a final rule, Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees, which increases the salary and compensation thresholds necessary to qualify for certain overtime…
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its final rule banning virtually all employee non-compete agreements nationwide in approximately 120 days. The FTC initially issued its proposed rule in January 2023. The FTC thereafter received and considered over 26,000 comments to…
At the beginning of March 2024, the Biden Administration released its proposed budget (the “Budget”) for the 2025 fiscal year. In the Budget, the Biden Administration provides funding for a new national paid family and medical leave program (the “Program”). The Program is merely a proposal and will…
Effective post-employment restrictions have fallen into limbo. Several states have banned such restrictions outright, and the FTC has taken steps to eradicate them.1 Most states disfavor noncompete agreements and many impose unpredictable and shifting tests of validity. Court decisions provide no…
Effective January 1, 2024, most full-time employees in Illinois are entitled to 40 hours of paid leave annually, to be used for any reason. Illinois now joins Maine and Nevada as the only three states implementing such legislation. The Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLAWA) emphasizes liberal…
A recent federal court decision reminds employers that workers on reduced schedules as part of federally guaranteed leave must have their performance metrics scaled down proportionately. In the case of Wayland v. OSF Healthcare System (No. 23-1541, February 28, 2024), the Seventh Circuit Court of…
On October 30, President Biden issued his Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, along with a companion Fact Sheet issued by the White House. The Executive Order establishes the federal government’s priorities with respect to Artificial…
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the “undue hardship” standard that allows employers to reject some employees’ requests for a religious accommodation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). With the Court’s recent decision in Groff v. DeJoy,1 employers must…
Pay transparency mandates—requiring companies to publicize employee salary information—may arrive soon in many states and municipalities. Viewed as a first step toward pay equity, the salary transparency movement is gaining traction throughout the United States. Pay transparency laws aim to give…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) recently responded to a high volume of complaints regarding automated workplace surveillance technology. In its response, the CFPB indicated an intent to apply the protections of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) to employee information…
Recently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued a new publication on the impact of software, algorithms, and artificial intelligence (“AI”) in employers’ decisions on who to hire, fire, and promote (collectively “Selection Decisions”). Employers are increasingly using tools…
On May 30, 2023, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memo outlining her position that the proffer, maintenance, and enforcement of non-compete agreements violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) with few exceptions. Abruzzo’s memo follows recent actions by the Federal Trade…
