Labor & Employment

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Earlier this summer, Winstead’s Labor & Employment team reported that Judge Ada Brown in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction as applied only to the plaintiffs in Ryan LLC V. Federal Trade Commission. At the time, the memorandum opinion Judge Brown issued alongside the injunction suggested that she leaned in favor of vacating the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) Noncompete Rule (“FTC Rule”) entirely. Judge Brown set a briefing schedule on Ryan LLC’s motion for summary judgment, which signaled a decision on the merits of Ryan LLC’s claims would be made by August 30, 2024. Yesterday, ten days prior to her stated timeline—and just four days after briefing closed—Judge Brown issued her memorandum opinion and order setting aside the FTC Rule and holding that the FTC Rule “shall not be enforced or otherwise take effect on its effective date of September 4, 2024 or thereafter.”Continue Reading Pencils Down on Those Notices, Employers: A Federal Judge Just Set Aside FTC Noncompete Rule

Winstead’s Labor & Employment team previously reported that the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued its final rule largely banning noncompetes nationwide (“Rule”), spurring races to the courthouse in the federal district courts. In that regard, we reported that Judge Ada Brown in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a ruling on July 3, 2024, in Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission, enjoining the FTC from enforcing the Rule against the specific plaintiffs in that case until Judge Brown makes a decision on the ultimate merits of the action. Judge Brown is slated to rule on the merits of the case on or before August 30, 2024.Continue Reading Lawsuits Lead to Inconsistent Judicial Rulings Regarding the FTC’s Noncompete Ban

Winstead’s Labor & Employment team previously reported that the FTC issued its final rule on the proposed noncompete ban and that a Dallas-based tax services company filed suit in Texas seeking a stay of the FTC’s rule. Back in May, Judge Ada Brown in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas set out a briefing schedule for Ryan LLC’s motion to stay the FTC’s final rule, wherein Judge Brown promised to render a decision on whether to stay the rule by July 3, 2024.Continue Reading Texas Federal Court Enjoins the FTC from Implementing and Enforcing the Noncompete Ban

On April 24, 2024, Winstead’s Labor & Employment team reported that—after much anticipation— the FTC issued its final rule banning noncompete agreements nationwide. In our initial post, we noted that the final rule had yet to be published in the Federal Register but that its publication triggers the 120-day period before the rule becomes effective. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on May 8, 2024, and the FTC notes that its expected effective date is therefore September 4, 2024.Continue Reading The FTC’s Noncompete Ban is Published…What Now?

Over a year ago, in January 2023, we reported on Winstead’s Employer Law Resource Blog that the Federal Trade Commission issued a proposed rule banning noncompetes. The FTC later extended the original 90-day notice-and-comment period and thereafter apparently took its time considering the multitude of comments it received. Finally, on April 23, 2024, the FTC issued a press release announcing the issuance of its final rule officially banning noncompetes nationwide.Continue Reading The FTC Did What?! It Banned Noncompetes

As employers march through the beginning of the new year, they should ensure they are in compliance with the various mandatory workplace notice and posting requirements under applicable state and federal laws.

To that end, the U.S. Department of Labor provides a poster advisory tool for employers to reference. Similarly, most state department of labor websites will, at the very least, provide a list of required state employment posters. Many of these websites also provide links for employers to download mandatory posters for free.Continue Reading Reminder to Employers Regarding Mandatory Workplace Posters

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recently announced that it is delivering employers a one-two punch to “make its penalties more effective in stopping employers from repeatedly exposing workers to life-threatening hazards or failing to comply with certain workplace safety and health requirements.” Specifically, on January 26, 2023, OSHA issued two new pieces of enforcement guidance that could increase employers’ OSHA liability. Employers are therefore well-advised to spend some time addressing workplace safety hazards and mitigating their OSHA risks now—before OSHA comes knocking.Continue Reading New OSHA Enforcement Standards Likely to Increase Penalties for Employers Receiving Citations for Workplace Safety Violations

On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule that bans noncompetition agreements between private employers and their employees nationwide. In its press release, the FTC sharply criticized noncompetes, saying that they suppress wages, limit innovation, and deter new businesses. Accordingly, the FTC believes noncompetes “constitute an unfair method of competition…

On January 13, 2021, the United States Supreme Court blocked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (the ETS) regarding COVID-19 vaccination and testing in the workplace. The ETS generally required covered employers to have either a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy or a policy where unvaccinated employees undergo weekly testing and wear…

The Biden administration on Nov. 4 released a Fact Sheet announcing the details of its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) COVID-19 vaccination mandates.

OSHA is issuing a Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that requires employers with 100 or more employees to get their employees vaccinated by Jan. 4. Unvaccinated employees will have to produce a negative test on at least a weekly basis.

CMS is requiring workers at healthcare facilities that participate in Medicare or Medicaid to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4. The rule covers approximately 76,000 healthcare facilities and more than 17 million healthcare workers.

The Fact Sheet also announced that the Dec. 8 deadline for compliance with Executive Order 14042’s vaccination mandate for federal contractors would be extended to Jan. 4. The guidelines released Sept. 24 by the Biden administration paints federal contractors with a broad brush, stating that employees who work in human resources, billing, legal review and perform work “in connection with a Federal Government contract” must be vaccinated.Continue Reading The Federal Government Vaccine Mandate’s Impact on Colleges and Universities