The new year begins with one of the most anticipated labor cases on the high court’s docket in decades. On January 10, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Glacier Northwest, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union No. 174 to decide whether the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or the “Act”) preempts state court lawsuits for tort damages caused by unions during strikes. Employers should gain much greater clarity into whether they can seek relief from such conduct via a damages lawsuit. If the U.S. Supreme Court finds that such conduct is not preempted and may be litigated in state court, such a ruling would go far in protecting employers’ interests in contentious labor disputes and potentially shift the balance of power toward employers during these disputes. …

Continue Reading SCOTUS Hears Oral Argument on Whether NLRA Preempts State Court Lawsuits Against Unions for Property Damage Caused During Labor Disputes

Courts and state legislatures continue to take aim at post-employment non-competes. In a companion blog, we recently detailed the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed rule banning post-employment non-competes. However, for years (and even under the FTC’s overreaching proposed rule), non-competes in the sale of business context have generally received less scrutiny.…

Continue Reading Buyer Beware: Delaware Declines to Enforce Sale of Business Non-Compete

The Third Circuit is expected to soon make a decision as to whether student-athletes can be considered university “employees” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). But its interpretation of the law might reverberate beyond the confines of college sports and could implicate whether unpaid student interns must also be treated as employees.…

Continue Reading What the Third Circuit’s Looming Decision Regarding Whether College Athletes Can Constitute “Employees” Will Mean for Universities and Employers of Unpaid Student Interns

As we previously reported here last fall, California enacted a pay transparency law (SB 1162) requiring employers with 15 or more employees to disclose pay scales in job postings beginning January 1, 2023. The Labor Commissioner recently issued guidance in the form of FAQs to address some of the unanswered questions regarding the interpretation and enforcement of the California Equal Pay Act.…

Continue Reading California Labor Commissioner Issues FAQs Clarifying Pay Transparency Law

On December 19, 2022, the New Jersey Legislature passed a bill that, if signed by Governor Phil Murphy, would amend the effective date of amendments to the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act (“NJ WARN”) that were originally passed in January of 2020. Those amendments were previously paused as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and under that pause would take effect 90 days after Governor Murphy’s Executive Order No. 103 expired. Because Executive Order No. 103 remains in effect, without any indication of when it may expire, the New Jersey Legislature passed this bill to set an effective date of such NJ WARN amendments.…

Continue Reading New Jersey Legislature Passes Bill to Set the Effective Date of Amendments to the New Jersey WARN Act

On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a broad proposed rule that would ban employers from imposing noncompete clauses on their workers. The FTC press release announcing the proposed rule states that noncompete clauses—which apply to about one in five American workers—suppress wages, hamper innovation, block entrepreneurs from starting new businesses and reduce American workers’ earnings between $250 billion and $296 billion per year.[1] The proposed rule would prohibit employers from: (1) entering into or attempting to enter into a noncompete with a worker; (2) maintaining a noncompete with a worker; or (3) representing to a worker, under certain circumstances, that the worker is subject to a noncompete. The term “worker” covers paid staff in addition to independent contractors and unpaid staff. The proposed rule does not apply to noncompete provisions imposed upon 25% owners of a business in transaction documents related to the sale of the business. The proposal is subject to a 60-day public comment period commencing when the Federal Register publishes the proposed rule.…

Continue Reading FTC Seeks to Ban Noncompete Agreements in Employment Contracts

On December 16, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) abandoned the employer-friendly access standard for off-duty employees of an onsite contractor that was adopted under the Trump Administration in Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation d/b/a Tobin Center for the Performing Arts and Local 23, American Federation of Musicians, 368 NLRB No. 46 (2019)(“Bexar County I”). Given a chance to revisit the Trump-era standard, the current Board, seeing “no reason to attempt to rehabilitate a standard that fundamentally fails off-duty contractor employees by almost always denying them their right to engage in Section 7 activities at their workplace,” rejected the access standard from Bexar County I and reinstated the previously court-approved (and union advantageous) standard announced in New York New York Hotel & Casino, 356 NLRB 907 (2011), enfd. 676 F.3d 193 (D.C. Cir. 2012), cert. denied 568 U.S. 1244. See Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation d/b/a Tobin Center for the Performing Arts and Local 23, American Federation of Musicians, 372 NLRB No. 28 (2022) (Bexar County II).…

Continue Reading NLRB Provides Off-Duty Contractor Employees With Property Access to Engage in Section 7 Activity

As previously discussed in our blog Inflation Reduction Act: Wage and Apprenticeship Requirements, the Inflation Reduction Act (the “IRA”) restructured the tax credit system associated with qualified clean energy projects. In particular, to receive the full value of various tax credits, companies must now pay the prevailing wage rates and employ a certain number of registered apprentices in the construction, alteration, and/or repair of qualified clean energy facilities or projects as defined under the Code.…

Continue Reading Inflation Reduction Act: Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship Requirement FAQs and Key Takeaways from the Initial Guidance from the Treasury and IRS

On December 21, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed S.9427-A/A.10477 (the “New York Pay Transparency Law” or “NYPTL”), a pay transparency law that will affect most employers who do business in the state of New York. The New York Pay Transparency Law will take effect on September 18, 2023.…

Continue Reading Governor Hochul Signs New York Pay Transparency Bill Into Law

As the end of the year draws near, it is important for employers in California to remember there are multiple COVID-19 regulations and laws that will still apply to the workplace in 2023. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health of California’s (“Cal/OSHA”) constantly evolving COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) that has been in effect for the last two years is finally expiring. However, the ETS will be replaced by Cal/OSHA’s new COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulations (“Permanent Standard”), which will remain in effect through 2024. This article provides a comprehensive update on the Permanent Standard, AB 2693 (the new law modifying an employer’s notification and reporting requirements under Labor Code section 6409.6), and the current state of COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave.…

Continue Reading Ring in the New Year With a Refresher on California’s COVID-19 Regulations and Laws