On July 3, 2024, Judge Ada E. Brown of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction in Ryan et al. v. Federal Trade Commission, preventing the FTC’s rule banning most noncompetes from going into effect, but only for the party who brought the litigation challenging the rule, Ryan, Inc. The Court promised that it would enter a final ruling on the merits of the action by August 30, 2024—just days before the FTC rule is set to go into effect. That final ruling likely will have implications for the rule’s enforceability throughout the nation.Continue Reading Judge Preliminarily Pauses FTC Noncompete Ban as Applied to the Texas Challengers; Ruling on the Merits Expected in August
Federal Trade Commission Approves Final Rule Banning Nearly All Worker Non-Competes
In an open commission meeting on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-to-2 to ban nearly all non-compete agreements between employers and workers (broadly defined to include employees, independent contractors, and others, whether paid or unpaid). The effective date of the final rule could be on or about August 23, 2024, depending on the success of legal challenges, which have already commenced. Continue Reading Federal Trade Commission Approves Final Rule Banning Nearly All Worker Non-Competes
Legal Updates for Texas Employers in 2024
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
To Vax or Not to Vax: No Longer a Question for Larger Private Employers Under Biden’s Vaccine Mandate
The Solicitor of Labor has commented that the ETS is expected to be published in the coming weeks. The ETS will go into effect immediately upon publication except for those states with their own OSHA-type laws. Those states will have up to 30 days to conform their laws to the federal edict, and once they do so, the edict will apply to the same employers subject to the federal order, plus other employers the states choose to extend the rule to, such as public employers.
Continue Reading To Vax or Not to Vax: No Longer a Question for Larger Private Employers Under Biden’s Vaccine Mandate
What Does Governor Abbott’s “Reopening Texas” Executive Order Mean For Texas Employers?
On March 2, 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order GA-34, ending Texas’ statewide mask mandate and allowing all businesses to operate at 100% capacity. The Executive Order will take effect on March 10, 2021, giving employers approximately a week to decide how their operations and policies will change, or if they will change, as a result of the Reopening Order.Continue Reading What Does Governor Abbott’s “Reopening Texas” Executive Order Mean For Texas Employers?