Following the Federal Trade Commission’s announcement late last year that the Agency would use Section 5 of the FTC Act to police aggressively conduct it deems unfair (see our Legal Alert), the Agency kicked off the New Year with two actions aimed at banning non-compete agreements between employers and workers. … Continue Reading
New Jersey Legislature Delays “Bill of Rights” for Temporary Workers
Earlier this week, New Jersey state senators tabled the vote on Bill S511, landmark legislation dubbed the NJ temporary worker “Bill of Rights.” Governor Phil Murphy conditionally vetoed the proposed legislation last month, and advocates expected the bill to pass following the state Assembly’s approval of Gov. Murphy’s revisions. But ultimately, state senators pulled the bill due to insufficient support to pass the revised version, leaving employers with the current state of flexibility to work with temporary agencies to fill gaps in their workforce.… Continue Reading
Seventh Circuit Upholds Walmart Pregnancy Accommodation Win Over EEOC
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has rejected the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s appeal seeking to overturn the trial court’s decision that Walmart did not violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act when it accommodated all workers injured on the job, but denied all pregnant women a similar accommodation.… Continue Reading
White House Issues Federal Contractor Vaccine Guidance
On September 24, 2021, the White House issued Guidance explaining that Federal contractors and subcontractors with a covered contract or contract-like instrument must comply with the following workplace safety protocols:
- COVID-19 vaccination of covered contractor employees, except where an employee is legally entitled to an accommodation;
- Compliance with masking and physical distancing while in covered contractor workplaces; and
- Designation of a person or persons to coordinate COVID-19 workplace safety efforts at covered contractor workplaces.
New Jersey Health Care Workers Must be Vaccinated or Undergo Regular COVID-19 Testing
Effective September 7, 2021, staff in New Jersey’s public and private health care facilities and congregate settings deemed “high risk” must receive the COVID-19 vaccine or, alternatively, be subject to COVID-19 testing one to two times per week. A list of the type of impacted facilities is available here.
By September 7, health care facilities with unvaccinated employees must have a plan for regular testing. … Continue Reading
Podcast – A Deep Dive into “No-Poach” Agreements
The latest episode of Business Better is a discussion of “no-poach” agreements – agreements between competitors that neither will hire the other’s employees. We’ll discuss the different types of such agreements, their enforceability under antitrust and other laws and the possibility of criminal prosecution arising from their use, and how to protect a business from poaching without running afoul of the law.… Continue Reading
NLRB Holds Solicitation of Mail-Ballots Constitutes Objectionable Conduct
On June 9, 2021, in Professional Transportation Inc., the National Labor Relations Board held that a party’s offer to collect an employee’s mail ballot constitutes misconduct that may serve as the basis to set aside the election. 370 NLRB No. 132.
The Board has previously held that a party engages in objectionable conduct when it handles or collects a mail-in ballot.… Continue Reading
Chamber of Commerce Questions the Criminality of Employee No-Poach Agreements
Whether employee no-poach agreements are illegal per se is being tested in a criminal case, U.S. v. Surgical Care Affiliates LLC et al., drawing the attention of many interested parties, including the United States Chamber of Commerce (Chamber).
In 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (DOJ or the Division) released joint guidance signaling that agreements between competing employers that “limit or fix the terms of employment” for prospective employees may violate antitrust laws. … Continue Reading
Philadelphia Public Health Emergency Leave
On Monday, the City of Philadelphia adopted a new version of Public Health Emergency Leave (PHEL), mandating up to 80 hours of paid leave benefits in 2021 for employers with 50 or more employees. The law went into effect on the date it was signed — March 29, 2021. PHEL is a new leave entitlement in 2021 that is not reduced based on any leave usage prior to its enactment. … Continue Reading
Podcast – An Overview of Employment Restrictive Covenants
Labor and Employment partner David Fryman leads a conversation on employment restrictive covenants. Joining David are Juliana van Hoeven and Elliot Griffin, associates in the group. Together, David, Juli, and Elliot, review a number of important points regarding restrictive covenants: including the circumstances that make the use of restrictive covenants advisable or not, what’s required to make them enforceable and how that can vary from state to state, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on enforcement.… Continue Reading