85 Swanson Road • Suite 320A • Boxborough, MA 01719
111 Rice Street • Cambridge, MA 02140
Tel: 617-863-0508

FTC Rule Banning Non-Competes Vacated By Texas Court

by

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Rule banning nearly all post-employment non-compete agreements has been vacated, so will not be going into effect on September 4, 2024. On August 20, 2024, the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Ryan, LLC v. FTC issued an Order on a Motion for Summary Judgment in which the Court vacated the FTC Rule. Specifically, the Court states: “The Court sets aside the Non-Compete Rule. Consequently, the Rule shall not be enforced or otherwise take effect on its effective date of September 4, 2024 or thereafter.” This decision provides welcome clarity in …

Learn more

Uncertainty Continues Regarding Enforceability Of FTC’s Non-Compete “Ban”

by

Following the April 23, 2024 vote by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue a rule largely banning non-compete agreements in employment agreements, there has been continuing uncertainty as to whether that rule will actually go into effect. Almost immediately after the rule was issued, several companies and industry groups filed lawsuits seeking to block the rule’s application. The central argument articulated by these litigants is that the FTC lacks the statutory rulemaking authority to issue the non-compete “ban.” As of now, the rule remains scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024. These cases have started to progress …

Learn more

DOL Issues Guidance On Artificial Intelligence In Workplace

by

On April 29, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2024-1 on “Artificial Intelligence and Automated Systems in the Workplace Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Other Federal Labor Standards.”  The bulletin provides helpful guidance to employers who are presently using or considering using “artificial intelligence” or “AI” in the workplace to assist with managing employees. Likewise, employees should be aware of how the use of AI or other technologies may affect their rights in the workplace.    This guidance highlights the fact that employers’ legal obligations and responsibilities with respect to their …

Learn more

The FTC’s “Ban” on Non-Competes

by

On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to issue a new rule largely prohibiting non-compete restrictions in the workplace. This groundbreaking rule was published in the Federal Register on May 7, 2024, and is presently scheduled to become effective on September 4, 2024. However, the FTC’s final rule has already been subjected to court challenges, so it bears watching whether it will, in fact, go into effect at that time. Notwithstanding the present uncertainty, employers and employees alike should understand the wide-ranging implications of the FTC’s new rule as it could largely reshape the dynamics of employer-employee …

Learn more

DOL Issues Final Rule Increasing Salary Thresholds for FLSA Exemptions

by

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its anticipated final rule impacting annual salary-level thresholds for exemptions to overtime requirements pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In addition to increasing applicable earnings thresholds, the final rule also introduces a mechanism for automatically updating those thresholds on a going forward basis every three years. Presently, the salary threshold under the FLSA for executive, administrative, and professional employees is $684 per week, which annualizes to $35,568 per year. The threshold for highly compensated employees under the FLSA is currently $107,432 per year. Effective July 1, 2024, …

Learn more

MCAD Draft Guidelines on Harassment in the Workplace

by

The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) recently issued draft Guidelines on Harassment in the Workplace.  These draft Guidelines are intended to replace the more narrowly focused Sexual Harassment guidelines that are currently in place. As an initial matter, the draft Guidelines state that workplace harassment is “a form of employment discrimination that deprives employees of their rights and basic well-being in the workplace and is prohibited by Massachusetts law …” It can include various forms, such as inappropriate jokes, derogatory comments, and discriminatory actions directed at an individual’s protected characteristics. In the draft Guidelines, the MCAD expands beyond sexual harassment …

Learn more

U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Rule on Independent Contractor Classification under the FLSA

by

In January 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a new final rule, effective March 11, 2024, revising the criteria for determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule rescinds the DOL’s rule issued in 2021, which emphasized two “core factors” as being potentially determinative of the proper classification. Those two “core factors” include (1) the nature and degree of the worker’s control over the work, and (2) the worker’s opportunity for profit. The new rule returns to a totality-of-the-circumstances analysis that was applied prior to the …

Learn more

Emerging Issues We Are Watching in 2024

by

As we step into 2024, there are several emerging developments from various federal and state agencies that we are monitoring.  Some of the more significant issues we are watching are set forth below: Potential Bans on Non-Compete Restrictions: Both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have taken steps that could lead to a broad ban or other significant limitation on the use of non-compete clauses in employment contracts. Movement by one or both of these agencies on this issue could come as early as April 2024. Such a ban or even a more watered-down …

Learn more

Changes to Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave Benefits

by

PFML Weekly Benefit Increase For 2024, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) has increased the maximum weekly Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) benefit amount to $1,149.90 per week. Previously, the maximum benefit was $1,129.82. This benefit rate change became effective January 1, 2024. PFML Contribution Rate Increase Required contribution rates to the PFML trust fund have also increased in 2024. For employers with 25 or more covered employees, the total contribution rate rises to 0.88% (from 0.63%). In particular, the family leave contribution rate is now 0.18%, and the medical leave contribution rate is now 0.70%. …

Learn more

Labor Board Expands NLRA Protections to Include Support for Non-Employees

by

The National Labor Relations Board (Board) recently issued an important decision (American Federation for Children, Inc. 372 NLRB No. 137), which arguably expands the protections afforded to employees by the NLRA. Significantly, this decision overturned a prior Board decision (Amnesty International, 368 NLRB No. 112 (2019)) on the issue of conduct that constitutes “protected concerted activity” under the National Labor Relation Act (NLRA). The NLRA expressly protects employees’ rights to engage in “protected concerted activity,” which are also known as Section 7 rights under the NLRA. In Amnesty International, the Board had ruled that “[a]ctivity advocating only for non-employees is …

Learn more