Last week brought a major development in litigation surrounding the FTC’s sweeping rule that would ban and render unenforceable most non-compete clauses in employment contracts. Specifically, on August 20, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Ryan LLC, et al. v. FTC issued an order setting aside the FTC’s rule nationwide,
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New Hampshire Adopts New Law Prohibiting Workplace Discrimination Based on Protective Hairstyles
New Hampshire has adopted a law that creates a private cause of action for discrimination based on hairstyles related to a person’s ethnicity.
On July 3, 2024, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed HB 1169-FN. The law adopts a version of the Model CROWN Act (“Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair”),…
Sununu Signs New Law Relating to Firearms in Employee Vehicles
Until now, private employers in New Hampshire have been able to prohibit employees from storing guns in personal vehicles parked in employer parking lots. Employers could prohibit all firearms on their premises, permit firearms, or place conditions on the right to possess firearms on the employer’s premises. On July 15, 2024, Governor Sununu signed into…
Federal Trade Commission’s Non-Compete Ban: A Battle of the Courts
In a significant and sweeping move, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) adopted a rule in April 2024, the “Non-Compete Rule,” effectively banning the use of all non-compete clauses for many workers starting on September 4, 2024. The rule is embroiled in a battle between two U.S. District Courts. The Northern District Court of…
Court Scrutiny Faced by The Department of Labor’s New Rule Increasing Exempt Employee Salary Thresholds
In April 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final rule raising the threshold salary requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for employees classified as exempt from overtime pay when working in excess of forty (40) hours in a seven (7) day workweek, (the “2024 rule”). The 2024 rule, scheduled to take…
FTC Bans Non-Competes
By Sean LaPorta
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) published a new rule banning most non-compete clauses in employment contracts. The new rule was issued by a narrow margin of 3:2, and comes as an effort by the FTC to promote competition, protect the freedom of workers to change jobs, and increase innovation.…
H-1B Registration Period Beginning March 6, 2024
By Shiva Karimi
Employers take note that the H-1B lottery for fiscal year (FY) 2025 will take place in just a few weeks. The H-1B is a work-based visa that allows foreign nationals to work for a U.S. employer in a position that requires a bachelor’s degree or above. There are only 65,000 available each year, so registrations…
Reminders for Massachusetts’ Employers Regarding Paid Family and Medical Leave
At the start of 2024, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) released a new version of its Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”) poster as well as a new employee notice form and updated rate sheet. …
Massachusetts Employees May Now Top Off Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits with Vacation, PTO, and Sick Time
The Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”) law now permits employees to “top off” benefits received through the state Department of Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) with employer-provided accrued paid time off (e.g., vacation, PTO, or sick time). This new change allows employees to elect whether to supplement their PFML benefits with paid time…
McLane Middleton to Host Two Employment Conferences This Fall 2023
McLane Middleton will be hosting two upcoming employment conferences this fall. Both conferences are designed for our employment attorneys to discuss the latest trends in employment law in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts and assist you in preparing to manage your workforce in the coming year.…