On April 23, 2024 the Federal Trade Commission issued its long awaited final rule that purports to ban the majority of non-competes across the United States. The rule is likely to be published in the next week or so, and will take effect 120 days after being published, so likely late summer 2024. While it is already being subjected to legal challenge, employers still need to educate themselves on what the law does and prepare themselves in the event the legal challenges fail as the rule would do away with a business practice that has been in use for over a century and would represent a sea-change in terms of employee mobility and bargaining power.

To read the FULL article please click HERE.

On April 23, 2024 the Department of Labor issued its final rule that, amongst other things, substantially increases the salary that an executive, administrative or professional exempt employee must be paid to qualify for an exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The DOL estimates that approximately 4 million workers will lose their exempt status and would need to be paid overtime for all hours over 40 worked in a workweek.

To read the FULL article please click HERE.

On April 23, 2024 the Federal Trade Commission issued its long awaited final rule that purports to ban the majority of non-competes across the United States. The rule is likely to be published in the next week or so, and will take effect 120 days after being published, so likely late summer 2024. While it is already being subjected to legal challenge, employers still need to educate themselves on what the law does and prepare themselves in the event the legal challenges fail as the rule would do away with a business practice that has been in use for over a century and would represent a sea-change in terms of employee mobility and bargaining power.

To read the FULL article please click HERE.

Under 2023 Wisconsin Act 73 (“the Act”), Wisconsin brewers, vintners, and distillers will enjoy not only expanded authority to sell the alcohol beverages they produce but also unprecedented freedom to sell alcohol beverages produced by other firms. Most provisions of the Act take effect on May 1, 2024.

Producers of required minimum volumes of beer, wine, or spirits will be allowed to make sales of any producer’s beer, wine, or spirits on the premises of their production facility and, depending on production volume, at up to three off-premises full service retail outlets (“FSROs”). This is a significant change in state law as it allows producers’ tasting rooms and restaurants to offer a full selection of beer, wine, and spirits to guests visiting their local brewery, winery, or distillery.

To read the FULL article, please click HERE.

The Corporate Transparency Act “CTA” went into effect on January 1, 2024 and requires most businesses, whether organized and formed as a limited liability company “LLC”, corporation, partnership, or other company created by filing documents with a secretary of state or similar office, no matter the income tax treatment of the business, to report personal information about themselves and their owners to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network “FinCEN”.

To read the FULL article, Please click HERE.

One new significant employment law we saw come into play in 2023 at the federal level was the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”). The PWFA went into effect on June 27, 2023, but the EEOC did not send its final rules to implement the PWFA to the necessary agency until December 27, 2023. At this time, we are still waiting for the final rules to be published, which will better define the contours of this new law.

To read the FULL article, Please click HERE.

Last week, the United States Supreme Court clarified employers may enforce mandatory arbitration agreements that contain waivers preventing employees from pursuing legal claims as a group. In light of this decision, employers should (re)evaluate whether it is in their best interest to use arbitration agreements with their employees. If so, employers must confirm the arbitration agreement is drafted to comply with specific obligations in order to be enforceable.

To read the FULL article, please click HERE.

All United States employers, regardless of size, must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 (“I-9”) for each individual they hire. The I-9 is used to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals. Failing to complete an I-9, or completing a deficient I-9, can result in civil fines and/or criminal penalties.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) agency enforces U.S. immigration laws. ICE has set a goal to visit at least 5,000 U.S. workplaces in 2018 to conduct immigration inspections. The goal seems attainable because President Trump’s budget proposal included funding to allow ICE to hire over 2,000 additional officers, and earlier this year ICE raided over 120 businesses in just 5 days. ICE typically inspects a workplace in one of two ways: through an audit, or through a raid.

Please follow this link to read the full article April 2018 Employment Law Update

The National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) is a Federal law that provides all employees with the right to engage in certain protected activities related to the terms and conditions of their employment. The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), the administrative agency that enforces the Act, increasingly scrutinized employee handbooks during the past decade. Oftentimes, the NLRB found common and seemingly neutral policies were unlawful because those policies could be “reasonably construed” by employees to prohibit the exercise of the rights protected by the Act. Many employers responded by revising or removing such policies. The NLRB, however, recently adopted a new test that will likely allow employers more flexibility to maintain such policies.

Please follow this link to read the full article… Feb 2018 Employment Law Update

Under a newly enacted Wisconsin law, minors aged 16-17 are no longer required to obtain a work or street trade permit. In fact, the Department of Workforce Development (“DWD”) has stated it will no longer issue such permits to individuals who are 16 or 17 years old.

Read the full article HERE.