
Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home
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What You Need To Know Before You Scream "I Quit, "Get Fired, Or Decide to Sue the Bastards. Author Donna Ballman is an employee-side employment lawyer. She has built a reputation as a skilled and knowledgeable attorney in all of the aspects of labor and employment law. Follow to read her regular articles on employee-side employment law issues.
Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home
6M ago
Just a brief post to note that, as I predicted, a red state judge, at the urging of Republicans, has blocked the FTC from implementing its ban on noncompete agreements.
Here is the ruling.
The Supreme Court, as currently constituted, will almost certainly uphold this ruling. So I would urge you, if you think noncompetes should be eliminated, to vote for Democrats in every single election this cycle. Republicans have blocked every single attempt to ban or reduce noncompete agreements since I started practicing in 1986. They will keep doing so.
Noncompetes are abused to force workers ..read more
Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home
8M ago
You may not have been paying attention to the Supreme Court's recent decision about fishing, but it's yuuuge. They overturned a ruling from 1984 saying that courts must defer to federal agencies' reasonable interpretations of federal statutes. This is commonly referred to as "Chevron deference" or the "Chevron defense," in case you hear those terms. And on first blush, you're probably asking yourself what the heck a case about fishing regulations has to do with employment law.
The answer is: a lot.
This year, federal agencies under the Biden administration have actively taken actions tha ..read more
Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home
8M ago
President Biden issued an executive order that all federal agencies look into noncompete agreements, and they have been doing so. The FTC recently banned most of them (don't get too excited though as Republicans challenge this), and now NLRB is stepping in.
In a recent decision, the NLRB determined that an employer's 12 month noncompete and 24 month nonsolicitation agreements violated the National Labor Relations Act. Some key takeaways:
a. These agreements can have a chilling effect on employees who want to discuss possible unionization or working conditions.
b. E ..read more
Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home
8M ago
Up until recently, if your employer transferred you due to race, age, sex, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or other legally protected status, but you kept the same pay and job title, you might have been out of luck bringing legal claims against them. Most courts, including here in Florida, were saying you had to prove that the transfer caused you significant, serious, or substantial harm.
The Supreme Court fixed that in a recent decision. A female police officer was discriminatorily transferred so her boss could replace her with a male, but the appeals court sa ..read more
Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home
8M ago
I can't tell you how many times per week I have to tell people that harassment is not generally illegal. Bullying, general harassment because you're you, just being mean, are not illegal. If they were, I'd be a billionaire.
But some kinds of harassment are illegal. EEOC has posted guidelinesposted guidelines on what kinds of discriminatory harassment are illegal. Here are some key provisions:
Types of harassment: "All laws enforced by the EEOC prohibit workplace harassment that is based on a protected characteristic. The protected characteristics covered by the laws the EEOC enforces are ..read more
Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home
10M ago
The long-awaited rule from the Federal Trade Commission regarding noncompetes was released yesterday, and it's a doozy. The FTC "has determined that it is an unfair method of competition, and therefore a violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, for employers to enter into noncompetes with workers and to enforce certain noncompetes."
You can safely assume there will be lots of litigation over this new rule. And I wouldn't hold my breath that the Supreme Court in its current makeup will uphold it. Meanwhile, until a court says otherwise, the rule is in place. What does it mean?
Effective date:&nbs ..read more
Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home
1y ago
I know. I know. I keep saying there's no such thing as free speech at work. But while you workers don't have First Amendment protection in private workplaces, private employers do. Because corporations are "people" too. The distinction: the First Amendment prohibits restrictions on speech by government, not by individuals or corporations.
Confused yet? Well, I'm here specifically to discuss Florida's "Stop Woke" law* that said employers couldn't have trainings about not engaging in racism and discrimination in the workplace. The 11th Circuit just held that "Stop Woke" is a clearly illegal rest ..read more
Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home
1y ago
Amazon has now joined SpaceX and Trader Joe's in asking that the National Labor Relations Board be deemed unconstitutional. With the Supreme Court in its current configuration, there's a real possibility that they could decide NLRB should no longer exist or be substantially gutted.
That would be a terrible thing for employees, and for Americans in general. Here's why.
NLRB is the agency that handles unfair labor practices complaints against both employers and unions. That's what they're mostly known for. But they do so much more. Here are some lesser-known rights NLRB enforces:
The righ ..read more
Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home
1y ago
EEOC has issued a guidance to assist workers with visual disabilities regarding their workplace rights. This guidance discusses:
when an employer may ask an applicant or employee questions about a vision impairment and how an employer should treat voluntary disclosures;
what types of reasonable accommodations applicants or employees with visual disabilities may need;
how an employer should handle safety concerns about applicants and employees with visual disabilities; and
how an employer can ensure that no employee is harassed because of a visual disability.
Who is covered: EEOC says ..read more
Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home
1y ago
The NLRB General Counsel is taking the position that noncompete agreements in employment and severance agreements violates the National Labor Relations Act.
Non-compete provisions are overbroad, that is, they reasonably tend to chill employees in the exercise of Section 7 rights, when the provisions could reasonably be construed by employees to deny them the ability to quit or change jobs by cutting off their access to other employment opportunities that they are qualified for based on their experience, aptitudes, and preferences as to type and location of work. Generally speaking, this ..read more