On July 23, 2025, the North Carolina Business Court denied summary judgment in United Therapeutics Corp. v. Liquidia Technologies, Inc., allowing claims of trade secret misappropriation and unfair trade practices to proceed...more
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 27, 2025, that federal courts generally lack the authority to block government policies from being enforced against nonparties, not just the plaintiffs in a case....more
With summer nearing, employers across North Carolina and the country are swelling their ranks with seasonal employees. This article aims to update employers about the current state of federal law for paying workers who work...more
On March 15, 2025, the Fifth Circuit granted the FTC’s motion for a 120-day stay of the agency’s appeal of the district court decision to block its proposed ban on non-competes. The Eleventh Circuit followed suit on March 20,...more
In November, a Texas federal court struck down the Biden Department of Labor’s (DOL) rule that would have made millions of salaried workers eligible for overtime pay....more
12/4/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On September 10, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed the first-ever lawsuit under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The EEOC filed suit in the Western District of Kentucky claiming Wabash...more
A trio of cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit have challenged the core of US Department of Labor rulemaking. With varying levels of success. Restaurant Law Center v. DOL pertains to the DOL’s...more
The legal wrangling over Purdue Pharma, L.P.’s bankruptcy plan has been splashed over the news. In Purdue Pharma’s case, the reorganization plan called for Purdue Pharma to become a non-profit organization, while the Sackler...more
Defamation is the act of communicating false statements about a person that injures their reputation.
Legal protections for a person’s reputation go back to common law and were well developed over the past two centuries....more
On August 20, 2024, United States District Judge Ada Brown (Northern District of Texas) issued an order that the Federal Trade Commission’s controversial noncompete ban “shall not be enforced or otherwise take effect on...more
On July 23, 2024, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Hodge, J.) declined to enjoin the Federal Trade Commission’s noncompete ban (“Rule”) in a ruling in the matter of ATS Tree Services,...more
On July 3, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Brown, J.) granted motions to preliminarily enjoin the Federal Trade Commission from enforcing its noncompete ban against parties...more
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a rule banning virtually all employment noncompete agreements in the United States. At least two federal lawsuits are seeking to stay the rule’s current...more
On April 19, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) finalized its rule implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Congress passed the PWFA to require employers to reasonably accommodate employees...more
On May 8, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a monumental opinion in Billard v. Charlotte Catholic High School. Senior Judge Harris, joined by Judge Niemeyer, wrote the majority opinion....more
5/17/2024
/ Age Discrimination ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
First Amendment ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Ministerial Exception ,
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v Morrissey-Berru ,
Religious Schools ,
Religious Workers ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Teachers
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, Public Law No. 117-78 (“UFLPA”), is a federal law that became effective on June 21, 2022, and is aimed at preventing American entities from supporting or funding forced labor among...more
On April 17, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis (No. 22-193) and held that “some injury” is sufficient to establish a federal discrimination or...more
5/7/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Lateral Transfers ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
The legal wrangling over Purdue Pharma, L.P.’s bankruptcy plan has been splashed over the news. The plan would see Purdue Pharma become a non-profit organization, and the Sackler family that had owned the company would...more
On November 6, 2023, the United States Supreme Court declined to review the Fourth Circuit’s decision affirming summary judgment for the employer in an ADA accommodation case, Hannah v. UPS, No. 21-1647 (July 10, 2023). The...more
On August 11, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for enabling rules to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Congress passed the PWFA to address gaps...more
The Clean Water Act (“CWA”) regulates the discharge of certain “pollutants” into waters of the United States (“WOTUS”). Should shrimp trawlers be subject to the regulatory framework under the CWA when they return “bycatch”...more
The Supreme Court issued a major decision at the end of June when it outlawed affirmative action for colleges in Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College (“SFFA”). The Court based its decision...more
7/26/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Attorney General ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Minority-Owned Businesses ,
Quotas ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI
On January 7, 2022, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina notified the public of proposed amendments to the Local Civil, Criminal, and Admiralty Rules of Practice and Procedure. These...more
One of the most important decisions in employment discrimination law this year remains the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Balderson v. Lincare Inc., in which the Court reiterated that Title VII plaintiffs (and...more
On May 30, 2023, Jennifer Abruzzo, General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), issued a memorandum arguing that noncompete agreements, in most circumstances, violate Sections 7 and 8 of the National Labor...more