The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in April 2024 issued new enforcement guidance on harassment in the workplace, its first guidance on this subject in 25 years, superseding five earlier documents from the 1980s and 1990s. The new guidance accounts for the changing times, including the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, the Supreme
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DOL Issues Final Rule Expanding Overtime Eligibility
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule that increases the salary thresholds required to classify certain employees as exempt from overtime pay requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule, applicable to employees who otherwise satisfy the “white-collar” (bona fide executive, administrative, and professional) and…
Changes to WA’s Non-Compete Law Require Employers to Take Action
Since 2020, with the adoption of Washington state’s non-compete statute (Chapter 49.62 of the Revised Code of Washington (“RCW 49.62”)), Washington has imposed significant restrictions on employer use of non-compete agreements with employees and independent contractors, permitting such agreements only subject to certain statutory and common-law requirements, including without limitation, a minimum annual earnings threshold…
California’s New Workplace Violence Prevention Plan and Training Requirements Take Effect on July 1, 2024; How to Get Ready
By Carolyn Rashby & Nori Lu
As previewed in our prior post regarding new California employment laws from the 2023 legislative session, employers must implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan (WVPP) and provide employee training on the WVPP by this coming July 1, 2024. The WVPP requirement (under new California Labor Code Section 6401.9), augments the existing obligation for…
The Supreme Court Keeps Status Quo for SOX Whistleblower Retaliation Claims
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an argument that would have made it harder for whistleblowers to prevail on retaliation claims under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX”). The decision, Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC, No. 22-660, may be welcome news to whistleblowers, but as a practical matter, employers will likely not see…
2023 Legislative Session Wrap-Up: New California Workplace Laws for 2024 and Beyond
By Carolyn Rashby & Nori Lu
As we enter the final months of 2023, California employers should turn their attention to the employment-related bills that Governor Newsom recently signed into law, many of which take effect on January 1, 2024. Summaries of key developments are below.…
New York Employers Beware: New Employment Laws Are In Effect And On The Horizon
New York lawmakers have been busy enacting a number of laws and regulations in 2023 that impose new requirements on employers, several of which have recently taken effect. New York employers may need to update their policies, agreements, and practices to comply with the new laws, as summarized below.…
California Doubles Down with Yet Another Law on Employee Non-Competes
On the heels of approving SB 699, which heightened the protections and reach of California’s prohibition of employee non-competes under California Bus. & Prof. Code Section 16600 (“Section 16600”) (see our blog post here), Governor Gavin Newsom has now signed AB 1076. AB 1076 further increases the litigation risk for employers…
Will California’s SB 699 Shake Up Non-Compete Law Everywhere?
California non-compete law has just been shaken-up—and the ripples are likely to travel across the country. For decades and save for narrow exceptions, California Business and Professions Code § 16600 has made post-employment non-competes unenforceable due to their potential to unduly restrain an individual’s business or profession. Effective January 1, 2024, however, Senate Bill 699…
Considerations for Employers Following the EEOC’s Response to the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Race-Conscious College Admissions
In its decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina[1] issued on June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court held that the undergraduate admissions programs of Harvard College and the University of North Carolina violate the standards of the Equal Protection Clause of…