On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 to issue a proposed final rule (“Final Rule”), which, absent a successful legal challenge, will ban most noncompete agreements in the United States.  Despite more than 26,000 comments from the public, the Final Rule does not narrow the rule first proposed by the FTC in January 2023 (“Proposed Rule”), but in many ways, expands the scope of what is considered an impermissible noncompete. The Final Rule will take effect 120 days after its publication in the Federal Register, after which employers will be expected to comply wit ..read more

On April 20, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law New York State’s Budget for fiscal year 2025.  The enacted Budget includes appropriation bills and other legislation required to carry out the budget for the coming fiscal year.  Among hundreds of new initiatives, the Budget includes several bills that impact New York employers and employees alike. Paid Leave for Prenatal Appointments The enacted Budget expands the New York State Paid Sick Leave Law to include additional paid time off for prenatal appointments.  Under the enacted proposal, New York is now the firs ..read more

Today the Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 to approve a Final Rule that, absent a successful legal challenge, will ban most noncompete agreements in the United States beginning 120 days after publication in the Federal Register. Key provisions in the Final Rule are as follows: New noncompetes Banned for all workers, including “senior executives,” following the effective date. “Senior executive” is defined as a worker who was in a policy-making position and has annualized compensation exceeding $151,164. Sale of business exception. Existing noncompetes May remain in effect after effe ..read more

The DOL released its updated federal overtime rule on April 23, 2024. With limited exceptions, the rule increases the minimum salary for exemption as executive, administrative, or professional (“EAP”) employee from $684 per week ($35,568 annualized) to $844 per week ($43,888 annualized) effective July 1, 2024 and to $1,128 per week ($58,656 annualized) effective January 1, 2025. The rule increases the minimum total annual compensation level for exemption as a “highly compensated employee”—e.g., one who customarily and regularly performs any one or more of the exempt duties or responsibilities ..read more

On April 17, 2024, the United States Supreme Court ruled on the standard under which a plaintiff can proceed with a claim for a discriminatory job transfer under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), holding that a plaintiff need only show that the transfer brought about “some” harm with respect to an identifiable term or condition of employment, but that the harm need not be “significant.” The decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, 601 U.S. ___ (2024), now supersedes the heightened harm threshold tests that some Circuits, such as the Eighth and Third, have used to determ ..read more

In King v. Aramark Services, Inc., No. 22-1237 (March 20, 2024), a Second Circuit panel affirmed the dismissal of claims under the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”), concluding that under New York’s “impact test,” occasional remote work by an employee within the state is insufficient to render New York “the place where the impact of the alleged discriminatory conduct is felt” for purposes of coverage under the NYSHRL. However, the court permitted plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) to proceed, holding that a discrete ..read more

On April 8, 2024, National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel (“GC”) Jennifer Abruzzo released a Memorandum providing guidance to Regional Directors, Officers-in-Charge, and Resident Officers concerning the GC’s continued efforts to secure full remedies for all victims of unlawful conduct—pushing Regions to turn their focus towards employees harmed by violations under Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). The GC stated that an employee who has experienced unlawful employer discipline or the effects of an unlawful rule or contract term cannot be mad ..read more

The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) completed its review of the updated federal overtime rule on April 10, 2024. We can expect publication of the final rule in the Federal Register any day now, with an effective date likely 60 days after publication. If the final rule tracks the agency’s proposed rule from last fall, it will bump the minimum salary for exemption as executive, administrative, or professional (“EAP”) employee from $684 per week ($35,568 annualized) to $1,059 per week ($55,068 annualized) and the minimum total annual compensation level for exemptio ..read more

The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (“DCWP”) has published its “Workers’ Bill of Rights” website and associated “Know Your Rights at Work” poster, which NYC employers will be required to begin distributing to employees beginning in July 2024. As we previously reported, the NYC Council approved a bill (returned unsigned by Mayor Eric Adams, resulting in the bill automatically becoming law) that required the DCWP  to lead a coordinated effort with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, the NYC Commission on Human Rights, and certain community and labor ..read more

A federal court in New York has held that a Broadway musical’s casting decisions—specifically replacing one actor with another actor of a different race—are shielded by the First Amendment from employment discrimination claims, in a decision that could have implications across the entertainment industry. In Moore v. Hadestown Broadway LLC, the plaintiff, a Black woman, brought race discrimination and retaliation claims under federal and New York laws against her former employer, the producer of the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown. The court dismissed the plaintiff’s race discrim ..read more