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Posting Outside the Office, but Not Outside the Scope of an Employer’s Potential Liability
Between hybrid work, flexible schedules, online meetings, and the ubiquity of social media, the lines between in and out of office conduct continue to get murkier and create potential tagalong liability that persists for employers who do not promptly respond to complaints brought forward by employees. The Ninth Circuit has made clear that even though an employee’s conduct is online—even outside of work time—the impact that it has on an employee can be sufficient to sustain a Title VII hostile work environment claim.
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So Much for Goodbye: FTC Ban on Noncompetes Just Overturned
On May 7, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a much-anticipated new rule that would have prohibited ALL new noncompetes with employees nationwide, and enforcement of almost all existing noncompetes beginning September 4, 2024. However, just yesterday, a federal district court in Texas held that the FTC lacked the authority to issue the rule and issued a nationwide injunction that now prevents the rule from going into effect. The agency has initially indicated it is weighing its options and may yet appeal the decision.
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EEOC Issues Final Rule Maintaining Agency’s Expansive Interpretation of Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) was enacted in 2023 to protect pregnant employees from workplace discrimination and ensure they receive reasonable accommodations in the workplace. On April 15, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissio...
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OSHA Amends Rule on Employee Representation During Safety Inspections
The Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is amending an existing rule to provide clarification on the right employees have to authorize a representative that accompanies an OSHA Compliance Safety and Health Officer (CSHO) during a workplace inspection.
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Two More Anti-Employer Actions that Employers are Going to Hate
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) under the Biden administration has developed a decidedly anti-employer, pro-union philosophy that spells significant trouble for all employers—union or non-union.
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(We Can’t Have No) Retaliation: Part Two—Important Lessons for Employers Resulting from the SCOTUS Whistleblower Decision
Outlined in part one of our series—SCOTUS Clarifies Whistleblower Claims Standard under Sarbanes-Oxley—the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a federal court of appeals decision, resolving a recent federal appeals court split regarding the standard for liab...
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