A series of employment-related bills have become law and will go into effect in the coming months and years. These new bills contain some significant changes that will likely affect most Washington employers. Understanding...more
6/24/2025
/ Ban the Box ,
Discrimination ,
Drivers ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Personnel Records ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
WARN Act ,
Washington
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently published guidance to clarify what it regards as “discriminatory” DEI programs. The EEOC’s guide for employees is titled “What To Do If You Experience...more
On February 21, Judge Adam B. Abelson of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily bars the Trump administration from implementing major portions of two...more
3/4/2025
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Free Speech ,
Maryland ,
Popular ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration
Though much is still unclear about the precise impact of recent executive orders, statements from the EEOC and guidance issued by sixteen state attorneys general provide a sense of how states and federal agencies are...more
2/18/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Compliance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
State Attorneys General ,
Trump Administration
On November 15, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas invalidated the Department of Labor’s final rule that increased the minimum salary for executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) exemption...more
12/2/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
State and Local Government ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
On August 20, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Ryan, LLC et al. v. Federal Trade Commission, granted the plaintiffs’ motions for summary judgment and found the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on...more
8/22/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Lack of Authority ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Set-Asides ,
Statutory Authority ,
Texas ,
Unfair Competition
The Federal Trade Commission has issued a final rule that largely bans all post-employment non-compete agreements, with limited exceptions. Two decisions in July addressed the FTC’s ban. One found the ban on post-employment...more
7/30/2024
/ Appeals ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Injunctions ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Authority ,
Texas
Employers in Oregon and across the U.S. are struggling to understand how to respond to recent conflicting decisions around noncompete clauses, which restrict workers from changing jobs in the same industry.
Originally...more
On June 28, the Supreme Court handed down Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overturned the prior Supreme Court precedent, articulated in Chevron v. Natural Resource Defense Council, Inc. and known as “the Chevron...more
7/10/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Chevron Deference ,
Corner Post Inc v Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Kansas ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Texas
The FTC recently found that non-compete agreements are an unfair method of competition, and issued a final ruling that bans non-compete agreements. The commission predicts the nationwide ban will encourage innovation,...more
5/8/2024
/ Confidential Information ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Startups ,
Unfair Competition
The United States Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups sued the Federal Trade Commission in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on April 24, in Chamber Of Commerce Of The United States Of...more
4/30/2024
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Class Action ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Motion to Vacate ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced it will be issuing a final rule that bans most post-employment non-competition agreements retroactively. Absent a court order to enjoin the rule, the ban will become...more
4/25/2024
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
On January 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced a final rule that revises the DOL’s interpretation of worker classification (employees versus independent contractors) under the Fair Labor...more
1/17/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Tax ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Freelance Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
Wage and Hour
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) was passed as part of the December 29, 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act, a new federal law that went into effect on June 27, 2023. This federal legislation requires covered...more
8/15/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Covered Employer ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Oregon ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State and Local Government ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Washington
The ink is not yet dry on Senate Bill 999, drafted to attempt coordination of the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) and the Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave Act also called “Paid Leave Oregon” (PLO). On June 7, Senate Bill...more
6/22/2023
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Leave ,
New Legislation ,
Oregon ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
On January 19, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published its proposed rule barring most non-compete agreements that would apply to employees...more
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the three-member Democratic majority of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a decision in McLauren Macomb, reverting back to pre-Trump era standards and ruling that...more
2/28/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Section 7 ,
Severance Agreements ,
Unions
On January 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published its proposed rule barring most non-compete agreements that would apply to employees. We previously summarized the proposed rule here....more
On July 9, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order requesting that agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), issue rules banning employers from entering non-compete agreements with employees. Following...more
1/9/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Contract Terms ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Wage and Hour
On February 10, 2022, a bipartisan group of U.S. legislators passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which amends the Federal Arbitration Act to add a new provision that makes...more
2/18/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
On Thursday, January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay pausing implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), finding that the challengers to the...more
1/20/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employer Mandates ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
In November 2021, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard that applied to employers with 100 or more employees (the “ETS”). The ETS required those employers to either adopt a policy requiring their employees to be...more
12/21/2021
/ Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
New Rules ,
OSHA ,
State and Local Government ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On Friday, November 12, 2021, in BST Holdings, L.L.C., et. al. vs. Occupational Health and Safety Administration, et. al., Case: 21-60845, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the plaintiffs’ motion to stay...more
11/18/2021
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Masks ,
Motion To Stay ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
OSHA ,
State and Local Government ,
Suspensions ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On September 9, 2021, President Biden issued his Executive Order on Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors (the “Executive Order”) that, when implemented, will require most federal contractors to...more
9/30/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Small Business ,
Social Distancing ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Virus Testing ,
Web Tracking ,
Workplace Safety
On September 9, 2021, President Biden issued orders that have the intent of requiring employers to mandate that their employees are vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo regular testing and other restrictions. ...more
9/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety