Labor & Employment Blog

On June 5, 2025, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services that Title VII plaintiffs who belong to majority-groups—such as white or heterosexual employees—are not subject to heightened evidentiary requirements when bringing discrimination claims. For decades, several federal circuit courts applied a “background circumstances” test that required majority-group plaintiffs to present additional evidence beyond the standard McDonnell Douglas framework to survive summary judgment, creating a higher bar for ...

The new administration has quickly shaken up the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). President Trump fired the NLRB’s general counsel, deputy general counsel, and a Democratic NLRB member that President Biden designated as chair of the Board in December of 2024. The general counsel’s removal was expected, as President Biden swiftly replaced the NLRB’s general counsel upon his inauguration. President Trump’s firing of the board member will be tested in court, as the former board member already has filed a lawsuit alleging she only could be removed for neglect or ...

The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) final rule banning most non-compete agreements is set to go into effect on September 4, 2024. If the final rule goes into effect, it will invalidate most employee non-compete agreements and will require employers to provide notice to most workers (current and former) that existing non-compete agreements will not be enforced. Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s prior alert regarding the Final Rule can be found here.

On July 3, 2024, in the case of Ryan, LLC v. The Federal Trade Commission, a Texas federal court issued a preliminary injunction that blocks ...

The EEOC recently issued its final regulation to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The PWFA went into effect on June 27, 2023, and the final regulation goes into effect on June 18, 2024. Chamberlain’s previous alert on this topic can be found here.

The PWFA requires businesses that employ fifteen (15) or more employees to make reasonable accommodations for an employee’s or job applicant’s known limitations related to “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions” unless doing so would impose an “undue hardship” on the employer. “Undue ...

Effective July 1, 2024, the United States Department of Labor’s Final Rule will sharply increase the minimum salary amount that employers must pay in order to classify an employee as exempt from overtime pay under the common “white collar” exemptions (executive, administrative, and professional) and the highly compensated employee (HCE) exemption to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Final Rule consists of two specific phases of increases and is expected to impact over four million workers by 2025.

If the Final Rule goes into effect, the minimum salary ...

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission approved its issuance of a rule that outlaws nearly all non-compete clauses because, its majority believes, they are unfair methods of competition. The Non-Compete Clause Rule is a product of a 2021 Executive Order that instructed the FTC to exercise its rulemaking authority to curtail unfair use of non-compete clauses and a January 2023 proposed rule that drew more than 26,000 public comments. The FTC estimates its Rule will cause employers to increase its pay to workers by more than $400 Billion over ten years, foster the creation of more than ...

In January of 2023, the Federal Trade Commission issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that planned to ban non-compete clauses for workers, as the majority of the Commissioners contended that non-compete clauses are unfair methods of competition. The FTC received more than 26,000 public comments to the proposed rule.

Today, in a 3-2 vote by the FTC’s Commissioners, the FTC authorized publication of the Non-Compete Clause Rule. The FTC’s fact sheet pertaining to the rule and the rule itself can be found here.

The final rule bans new non-competes with all workers after the ...

Last week, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) released the final version of the Employee or Independent Contractor Classification (the “Final Rule”). The Final Rule is published in the Federal Register and will take effect on March 11, 2024.

The Final Rule rescinds the broader rule issued during former President Donald Trump’s presidency, which focused heavily on the worker’s control over the work and opportunity for profit or loss in determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under the Final ...

Last week, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a proposed rule that, if adopted, will raise the salary requirements for certain exempt employees. The DOL estimates its new rule could extend overtime protections to more than three million workers.

Most employers already know the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires covered employers to pay most employees an overtime premium for all hours worked over forty in a workweek. This general rule, however, does not apply to employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as long as the employee earns a ...

On August 18, 2023, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a much-awaited decision that broadens the scope of potential liability for employers under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. For about thirty years, the Fifth Circuit has applied a more restrictive standard for disparate-treatment liability under Title VII’s anti-discrimination provision—requiring an employee to prove alleged discrimination in connection with an “ultimate employment decision,” such as hiring, granting leave, discharging, promoting, or compensating. No more. The en banc Fifth ...