Effective January 1, 2024, AB 1076 amended California law to codify existing California case law holding most noncompete agreements void and making it unlawful to include a noncompete clause in an employment contract or to require an employee to enter a noncompete contract that does not satisfy specified exceptions. That new law, in and of itself, does not change the state of the law in California with regard to the enforceability of such contracts.Continue Reading Immediate Action Required by California Employers to Avoid AB 1076 Fines

On January 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor issued final rules for employers to determine if a worker is an independent contractor or employee. Workers who do not meet the new criteria under the rule must be classified as employees and subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act  (“FLSA”) protections and requirements. If misclassified, these workers must be treated as employees and will be eligible for overtime pay, unless they otherwise satisfy the requirements to be considered exempt, and be subject to the minimum wage requirements under the FLSA. The employer would also need to comply with the recordkeeping requirements and maintain daily and weekly time records for the worker.Continue Reading To Be or Not to Be (An Independent Contractor): U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Rules for Employers

Workplace Violence Reporting Poster Required

Effective September 1, 2023, Texas employers of any size are required to “post a notice to employees of the contact information for reporting instances of workplace violence or suspicious activity to the Department of Public Safety.” On its website, the Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”) has posted a notice to employers that compliance is expected beginning on January 8, 2024, and provided a poster to be posted in English and Spanish in a conspicuous place convenient to all employees to comply with this new requirement.

This requirement followed the enactment of Senate Bill 240, which requires healthcare facilities to adopt a workplace violence prevention plan, as described below.Continue Reading Legal Updates for Texas Employers in 2024

Changes to Illinois and City of Chicago Labor and Employment Laws

I. Passing of the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLFAW).

The new Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act becomes effective on January 1, 2024. The Act applies to most employees in the state, with very limited exceptions (notably students and independent contractors are excluded). Employers may use two alternative methods to comply with the PLFAW.Continue Reading Illinois 2023 Year-End Reminders and Changes Coming to Employment Law in 2024 and Beyond

On October 13, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1076 into law. AB 1076 codifies Edwards v. Arthur Andersen LLP (2008) 44 Cal. 4th 937, which held that any noncompete in an employment context, no matter how narrowly tailored, is void.Continue Reading Assembly Bill 1076 Reinforces California’s Ban on Noncompete Agreements

On November 9, 2023, the Chicago City Council passed a new Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, which replaces the current Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, and grants up to 10 total days of paid time off per year to Chicago workers.Continue Reading Chicago Passes Expansive Paid Leave Ordinance

Over the past decade or so, there’s been much effort by the government to expand the scope of who may be deemed a joint employer. Those efforts have been to make contractors and their subcontractors, franchisors and their franchisees, and staffing agencies and their clients, joint employers. If they are joint employers, then one may be liable for the employment law wrongs of the other, and one may even have to engage in collective bargaining with respect to employees on the other joint employer’s payroll. Major efforts in this regard were made during the Obama Administration, all of which were rolled back during the Trump Administration.Continue Reading The Rules on Who’s a Joint Employer Have Dramatically Changed

On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor announced its proposed new regulations on who can be treated as exempt from overtime pay. These proposals have been in the pipeline for nearly two years, with many in the business community anxious about what to expect. Some of that anxiety was somewhat undeserved, but some fears have been realized.Continue Reading DOL Proposes New White Collar Exemption Regulations – Legal Issues Abound!

On August 11, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published proposed regulations in the Federal Register for implementing the PWFA. The EEOC has invited the public to comment on the proposed regulations during a comment period that will close on October 10, 2023. While the regulations are proposed, PWFA has been in full effect since June 27, 2023.Continue Reading EEOC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)

As observed in Dykema’s original alert on the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, Nos. 20-1199 & 21-707, corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion policies may be impacted by the Court’s broad language on race-based decision making. The ruling has already emboldened those currently in litigation over diversity efforts to push for the elimination of such programs entirely, as discussed in a recent article by the Wall Street Journal.Continue Reading Title VII & DEI Program Implications of the Supreme Court’s Recent Affirmative Action Decision