On Tuesday, August 20, 2024, a federal judge in Texas set aside the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Rule banning the use of noncompete agreements in employment, which was set to take effect on September 4, 2024. The judge held that the FTC exceeded its statutory authority in making the Rule, and that the Rule violated
Mark Hipple
Pennsylvania Imposes New Limitations on Health Care Noncompetes
By Mark Hipple & Robert McAvoy on
Posted in Workplace Compliance
On July 17, 2024, Pennsylvania passed a new law concerning noncompete agreements within the healthcare industry, which is known as the Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act (the “Act”). The Act will take effect on January 1, 2025, and brings significant changes impacting how noncompete agreements can be used and enforced within healthcare industry.…
FTC Bans Noncompete Agreements: What employers need to know about the FTC’s Noncompete Rule
By Mark Hipple & Robert McAvoy on
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a Final Rule (the “Rule”) prohibiting the use of non-compete restrictive covenants (with a limited exception) throughout the United States as an unfair method of competition under the FTC Act. The Rule is set to become effective 120 days after it is published in the…
Is it the Beginning of the End for Workplace Non-Compete Agreements?
By Mark Hipple on
Posted in Employer Liability
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making and additional information describing a new proposed rule that would prohibit employers across the country from entering into non-compete agreements with their workforce. The FTC’s press release and related information on the proposed rule can be found here.…
Department of Labor Issues New FMLA Forms, Questions and Answers, and a Request for Information
By Mark Hipple on
On July 16, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a series of new forms that can be used by employers and leave administrators related to the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). The DOL claims the new forms are simpler and easier to understand for employers, healthcare providers, and employees. Some of the…
CARES Act: Additional Tax Related Relief
By Mark Hipple on
Posted in Workplace Trends
This post is brought to you by Tim Finnerty, Nicole Kaylor, David Noll and Ben Ward of the McNees Corporate & Tax Practice Group .
With guidance from the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) still forthcoming, and the existing guidance changing, many businesses are struggling to understand…
Refundable Tax Credits Provide Relief for Employers
By Mark Hipple on
Posted in Workplace Trends
This post was contributed by Timothy Finnerty, Co-Chair of the McNees Corporate & Tax Group
As the coronavirus spread throughout the US and many businesses closed their doors, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”). President Trump signed the Act on Wednesday, March 18. The legislation provides benefits to employees that…
U.S. Department of Labor Looking for Input to Create Compliance Guidance For Families First Coronavirus Response Act
By Mark Hipple on
Posted in Workplace Trends
Since President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) on March 18th, we have been waiting for further guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”). Yesterday afternoon, the DOL announced that it will be hosting a national online dialogue to allow businesses and individuals to contribute to the development of…
Patchwork Approach to Addressing Sexual Harassment – One State at a Time (Part 2)
By Mark Hipple on
As explained in Part 1 of this four-part series, we are exploring some of the more recent state law developments addressing sexual harassment in the workplace. Since the #MeToo movement began over a year ago, there have been various reactions from employees, employers and state legislatures. Employees have reacted by filing more internal and external…
Patchwork Approach to Addressing Sexual Harassment – One State at a Time (Part 1)
By Mark Hipple on
There have been a variety of responses to the #MeToo movement since it began a little over a year ago. Employees have responded by filing more internal and external complaints. In fact, in early October the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released its fiscal year 2018 statistics regarding workplace harassment. Among other things, the data…