NLRB Acting General Counsel Rescinds Non-compete Labor Policy

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Quick Hits On February 14, 2025, NLRB Acting GC William B. Cowen rescinded memoranda that deemed as violations of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) two categories of restrictive covenant agreements with non-supervisory/non-management employees: (1) non-compete agreements in employment contracts and severance agreements and (2) stay-or-pay agreements whereby employees are…

New York Federal Court Ruling Highlights a Potential Pitfall in Settlement Agreement Enforcement

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits New York’s General Obligations Law (GOL) § 5-336 and Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”) § 5003-B both impose strict requirements on nondisclosure clauses in matters involving discrimination claims, including that the inclusion of such clauses in a settlement agreement be at the plaintiff’s preference. The U.S. District…

Ramadan Starts Soon: Considerations for Employers

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Quick Hits Employers may need to provide religious accommodations to Muslim workers during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan will begin on the evening of February 28, 2025, or March 1, 2025, depending on the moon. Ramadan will end on the evening of March 29, 2025, or March 30, 2025, with…

Keeping Cool: Understanding Nevada OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention Guidance

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Quick Hits Nevada OSHA has introduced a new regulation to protect employees from heat illness, with enforcement starting on April 29, 2025. The heat illness regulation requires Nevada employers with more than ten employees to create a written safety program and conduct a job hazard analysis (JHA). Employers are required…

Navigating Permanent Establishment Risks in Cross-Border Employment

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Quick Hits Tax connections: Establishing a PE can result in the obligation to file corporate taxes abroad. Local registration: Although PE is primarily a tax concept, it may coincide with requirements to register with local business authorities as a foreign entity conducting business in the country. Understanding ‘Permanent Establishment’ A…

DEI at Stake: Federal Groups Challenge Trump’s Efforts to Curb Inclusivity

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:10 mins read

Quick Hits A coalition of DEI advocates has initiated a legal challenge against President Trump’s executive orders to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, claiming they are unconstitutional and infringe on free speech rights. The lawsuit argues that the vague language of the executive orders creates uncertainty that could lead…

New York’s Paid Prenatal Leave: What NYC Employers Need to Know About the DCWP’s Proposed Amendments to the ESSTA Rules

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Quick Hits New York State’s paid prenatal leave law, which went into effect on January 1, 2025, requires that employers provide employees twenty hours of paid leave per year to receive prenatal care. The NYSDOL recently released new guidance in the form of answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) to…

California Civil Rights Department Releases 2025 Pay Data Reporting Guidance—Adding New Race/Ethnicity Category

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:7 mins read

Quick Hits California’s updated guidance adds a new racial/ethnicity category for the 2024 reports—”Middle Eastern or North African” (MENA). The deadline for filing the 2024 California pay reports is May 14, 2025, and the platform opened for new filings on February 3, 2025. California requires covered employers to file payroll…

FY 2026 H-1B Cap Lottery Alert: Registration Period and Important Changes to USCIS Online System

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits The fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap registration period will open at noon ET on Friday, March 7, 2025, and will remain open until noon ET on Monday, March 24, 2025. Prospective cap-subject H-1B petitioners and their representatives must use a USCIS organizational account online to register beneficiaries and…

DOJ Effectively Pauses Its Civil Rights Division’s Litigation, Which May Impact IER’s Pursuit of New Claims

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Quick Hits New and ongoing litigation at the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is essentially frozen indefinitely. The freeze could have implications for the Immigration and Employee Rights Section, which handles claims of citizenship discrimination. Hidden among a flurry of executive orders, within the first week of President Trump’s second term…

Big Game, Big Distractions: Navigating Employment Issues During the Super Bowl

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits Employers may want to proactively address the potential for increased absenteeism on the Monday following the Super Bowl, often called “Super Sick Monday.” With heightened excitement leading up to the game, employers may want to address the potential for distractions and loss of productivity. The National Football League’s…

More Shake-Up of NLRB: President Trump Appoints New NLRB Acting General Counsel

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Quick Hits President Trump appointed William B. Cowen as acting general counsel of the NLRB. The appointment comes after President Trump, in the past week, discharged former NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and her replacement, NLRB Acting General Counsel Jessica Rutter. President Trump also removed NLRB Member Gwynne Wilcox. The…

U.S. Department of Education Confirms That It Will Enforce 2020 Title IX Rule

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Quick Hits OCR will enforce Title IX protections under the 2020 Title IX Rule, not the 2024 Title IX Final Rule. The 2020 Title IX Rule provides procedural protections for complainants and respondents and requires supportive measures. The 2024 Title IX Final Rule, which was criticized for impermissibly expanding the…

The Stop Campus Hazing Act—The Bipartisan Effort to Prevent Hazing in Higher Education Settings

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:10 mins read

Quick Hits The SCHA requires that higher education institutions participating in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 programs collect, report, and publicly disclose hazing-related incidents and implement hazing prevention and awareness programs. The SCHA also mandates that institutions, as part of their Clery Reports, begin collecting hazing…

Pivotal Labor and Employment Law Issues in 2025: Healthcare

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Quick Hits Healthcare employers will have to navigate several labor and employment law issues in 2025, including a potential continued rise in union organizing, new restrictions on the use of noncompete agreements, emerging workplace safety risks, compliance concerns, additional pay transparency laws, and immigration regulatory and enforcement changes. The issues…

Resetting the EEOC: President Trump Removes Two EEOC Commissioners

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Quick Hits President Trump removed two of the three Democratic commissioners on the EEOC. The removals leave the EEOC with two remaining commissioners and likely will lead to a Republican majority that will push the president’s agenda, including recent executive orders. The unprecedented action is likely to lead to legal…

NLRB Shake-up: President Trump Removes Board Member, Discharges General Counsel

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits President Trump removed NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox and discharged NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, marking a significant shift in the Board’s leadership. Wilcox’s removal leaves the NLRB without a quorum (minimum of three members) to hear cases, raising questions about the legality of the dismissal and potential court…

California Pay Data Report Filing Platform Opens on February 3, 2025: A Preview of What Is to Come

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Quick Hits The deadline for filing the 2024 California pay reports is May 14, 2025, and the filing platform will open for new filings on February 3, 2025. California requires covered employers to file payroll employee reports for their own employees and requires covered employers to file labor contractor employee…

FTC and DOJ Jointly Issue ‘Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers’ on Eve of Trump Administration

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:7 mins read

Quick Hits On January 16, 2025, the FTC and DOJ issued their “Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers.” The guidelines identify five nonexhaustive types of agreements and policies that may constitute violations of antitrust laws by hindering commercial competition and restricting the free movement of employees. The dissenting statement…

Federal Judge Halts Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:3 mins read

The judge described the executive order as “blatantly unconstitutional.” The executive order limiting birthright citizenship asserts that children born in the United States on or after February 19, 2025, who do not have at least one lawful permanent resident or U.S. citizen parent, will not have a claim to birthright…

Mastering Middle Eastern Markets: 8 Essential Tips for Global Employers

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Quick Hits Expanding business into the Middle East may require global employers to navigate unique challenges such as establishing a physical office presence, adhering to distinct workweek structures, and understanding regional tax policies. Employers must comply with requirements around hiring local nationals, employing public relations officers (PROs) for government interactions,…

Key Developments in German Labor and Employment Law for 2025

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:12 mins read

Quick Hits The Fourth Bureaucracy Reduction Act, effective January 1, 2025, simplifies requirements for giving written evidence of employment contracts, allowing now digital agreements for open-ended contracts while maintaining written form for fixed-term contracts. The EU’s AI Act, effective from August 2024, introduces regulations on AI systems, with initial provisions…

New Jersey Division on Civil Rights Issues New Guidance on ‘Algorithmic Discrimination’

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:10 mins read

Quick Hits The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) issued guidance that explains how an employer’s use of automated decision-making tools can lead to algorithmic discrimination that violates the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD). The guidance does not impose any new obligations on employers but reinforces the importance…

NLRB GC Issues Memo on Harmonizing NLRA and EEO Laws

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:7 mins read

Quick Hits The NLRB GC issued a memorandum addressing potential employer concerns about complying with EEO laws prohibiting discrimination and harassment in the workplace and the NLRA’s protections for employees engaging in concerted activity. The memorandum emphasizes the GC’s view that the NLRA and EEO laws are complementary and “both…

Maryland’s FAMLI Program, Part I: An Overview of The Law

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Quick Hits Maryland’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program provides most Maryland employees with up to twelve weeks of paid leave, with some eligible for an additional twelve weeks, starting July 1, 2026, funded by contributions from both employers and employees beginning July 1, 2025. The Maryland Department of…

New York City Publishes Updated FAQs for Earned Safe and Sick Time Act

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Quick Hits On September 26, 2024, New York City released updated FAQs for the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) to address the October 2023 amended rules and the January 2024 law allowing private rights of action for ESSTA violations. The updated FAQs clarify and provide guidance regarding the…

Second Circuit Revives New York Reproductive Health Bias Law’s Notice Requirement for Employee Handbooks

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Quick Hits The Second Circuit has revived a requirement that New York employers include in employee handbooks a notice informing employees of their right to be free from discrimination or retaliation based on their [the employees’] or their dependents’ reproductive health decisions. The ruling also revived a First Amendment challenge…

Frequently Asked Questions About the New Jersey Data Protection Act, Effective January 15, 2025

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits The New Jersey Data Protection Act (NJDPA) takes effect on January 15, 2025, as New Jersey joins eighteen other states with comprehensive data privacy laws. The NJDPA defines a “consumer” as a New Jersey resident acting in an individual or household context, excluding those acting in commercial or…

FAQs Provide Details on Workforce Demographic Reporting for Massachusetts Employers

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits Massachusetts issued new FAQs containing details for employers on how they can meet their obligations when reporting wage data pursuant to the state’s new pay transparency law. Employers in Massachusetts will need to submit workforce demographic information to the state each year under a new law. Covered employers…

Wildfires in Los Angeles: Key Considerations for Employers Navigating Disaster Response and Compliance

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  • Reading time:7 mins read

Quick Hits Wildfires sweeping through the Los Angeles area have prompted evacuation orders affecting tens of thousands of residents and creating dangerous conditions for travel. Employers affected by the disaster may need to consider their emergency preparedness plans, immediate workplace safety risks, and employment and staffing concerns while maintaining critical…

U.S. Department of Education’s 2024 Title IX Final Rule Addressing Sex-Based Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Vacated

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Quick Hits The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky vacated the U.S. Department of Education’s 2024 Title IX Final Rule, which had expanded the definition of sex-based harassment to include sexual orientation, gender identity, sex stereotypes, and pregnancy. The court found that the 2024 Title IX Final…

Ontario Court Reaffirms Importance of Clear and Compliant Language in Employment Agreements

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Quick Hits The Court of Appeal for Ontario highlighted three key points in Dufault v. Ignance (Township): the ESA is intended to protect employee interests; courts should interpret termination of employment clauses such that employers comply with the ESA; and the wording of termination clauses will determine that interpretation. The…

Antitrust: College Athletes Continue to Prevail by Asserting Monopsony Labor Market Claims

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Quick Hits A recent federal court ruling in Tennessee found that NCAA eligibility rules regarding two-year college transfers likely violate federal antitrust law, granting a former junior college quarterback an additional year to play in Division I football. The court recognized that the NCAA holds monopsony power over college athletes,…

Working for Workers … From Home? Ontario’s Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 and Telework

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Quick Hits The Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 amended the Occupational Health and Safety Act’s (OHSA) definition of “industrial establishment” to exclude any office in a private residence. However, this does not mean the OHSA does not apply to private residences. The Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 also…

Still Waiting—Massachusetts Pay Reporting Guidance Not Yet Published

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits On July 31, 2024, Governor Maura Healey signed into law legislation requiring Massachusetts employers with one hundred or more employees and subject to EEO-1 reporting obligations to provide a pay report to Massachusetts by February 1 of each year. Covered employers are required to complete their EEO-1 pay…

Global Employment Law Update: A Quick Look Back at Key Legislative Changes in 2024

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Quick Hits Italy introduced new parental leave benefits, effective January 1, 2024. Singapore expanded paternity leave benefits and undertook comprehensive workplace fairness legislation. China (Shanghai) implemented penalties for unequal pay in labor dispatch. Brazil and the European Union (EU) focused on gender pay equity with new reporting obligations. Middle Eastern…

2025 ACA Compliance Updates: Essential Insights for Employers

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits Starting with ACA reporting for 2024, employers and health insurance providers are only required to send Forms 1095-B and1095-C to covered employees upon request. Employers can distribute Forms 1095-B and1095-C electronically. Employers now have ninety days to respond to 226-J letters. Paperwork Burden Reduction Act The Paperwork Burden…