Laborsphere

Non-Competes Will Continue to Be Under Attack in 2023

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would dramatically change the playing field for employers who have post-employment non-compete agreements with employees or have a practice of requiring such agreements as a condition of employment. The FTC’s proposed rule is open for public comment until March 20, 2023. Whether the FTC’s proposed rule (once finalized) will survive legal challenges is a hotly debated topic among members of the legal community, many of whom believe that Congress did not clearly empower the FTC with the authority to enact such a broad rule, and therefore the rule will not survive given the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in West Virginia v. EPA.

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Illinois Department of Labor Publishes Final Rules Regarding Illinois Equal Pay Registration Certificates

The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) recently published its final rules regarding Illinois Equal Pay Registration Certificates (EPRC). The final rules largely adopt the proposed rules issued last June, which was discussed here in a prior post. However, the rules include a few notable changes.

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FTC Seeks Feedback on Proposed Rule on Use of Non-Competition Agreements

The Federal Trade Commission announced that it will hold a virtual public forum on Thursday, February 16, 2023, to address its proposed rule on the use of non-competition agreements, as well as certain non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements. The purpose of this forum is to examine the proposed rule and provide an avenue for individuals, including both employees and employers, to voice their opinions and discuss their experiences with non-compete agreements.

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Gov. Phil Murphy Signs the New Jersey Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights

Despite strong opposition from New Jersey business groups, on February 6, 2023, Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights into law (A1474/S511). This new law places significant burdens upon “temporary help service firms” and their clients. The law requires that temporary workers be paid “not less than the same average rate of pay and equivalent benefits as a permanent employee of a third-party client performing the same or substantially similar work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort or responsibility, which are performed under the same working conditions.” This “equal-pay-equal-benefit” provision, besides potentially increasing costs, will prove challenging for employers to calculate the cost of equivalent benefits.

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Visiting the EU from November 2023? You May Need to Apply for ETIAS Authorisation

By the end of 2023, it is anticipated that visitors to the European Union (EU) who do not require a visa will have to apply for authorisation through the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). This new pre-travel screening system will apply to visitors to countries that are in the Schengen Area of the EU. Countries within the Schengen Area include all EU member states (except for Ireland), as well as the four members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Although Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania are not currently within the Schengen Area, as EU member states that are expected to join Schengen, they will be part of ETIAS.

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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Developments in Irish Employment Law

For Irish lawmakers, commitment to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) continues to be a top priority in 2023. Following the introduction of Ireland’s Gender Pay Gap Information Act (the Act) in 2021, employers continue to be required to report their gender pay gap metrics as a tangible commitment to DEI.

On May 31, 2022, regulations went into effect requiring organizations with more than 250 employees to report their gender pay gap information in December 2022, based on a June 2022 snapshot of the organizations’ employees.

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