Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

Analysis and Development in Employment & Labor Issues

Blog Authors

AB C D E F G HIJ K L M N O P Q R S T U V WXYZ

Jessica N. Agostinho

Mariana Aguilar

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Anh Shigekawa

Latest from Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

FTC Commissioners Advocate Restrictions on Non-Compete Agreements; Seek Comments on Potential Rulemaking

By Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

January 27, 2020

Restrictive covenants and non-compete agreements are increasingly under attack, this time by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Companies rely on these restrictions to protect investment in intellectual property, technology and employees. On January 9, the FTC suggested that employee freedom of mobility trumps all of these legitimate business reasons companies use restrictive covenants and non-compete agreements. The FTC has increased its attention to restrictive covenants, and non-compete agreements in particular, under the theory that these…

Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

Background Check Vendors Beware: the CFPB’s Authority to Enforce the FCRA Applies to You Too

By Cullan E. Jones & Robert T. Quackenboss

January 16, 2020

On November 22, 2019, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Sterling Infosystems, Inc. (“Sterling”) regarding allegations that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in providing criminal background checks to employers. Sterling is a “consumer reporting agency” as defined by the FCRA, which provides background check results to employers when requested. The CFPB is an independent federal…

Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

California Court Extends TRO Against Arbitration Law

By Emily Burkhardt Vicente

January 14, 2020

Labor and employment_California_Road Sign

California’s law against arbitration remains in doubt after Eastern District Judge Kimberly Mueller extended the TRO issued on December 31, prohibiting the state of California from enforcing the law against agreements covered by the Federal Arbitration Act. That law, known as AB 51, seeks to prohibit companies in California from requiring arbitration agreements as a condition of employment.…

Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

New Jersey Joins New York and California’s Bans on Hair Discrimination

By Gary Enis & Alan J. Marcuis

January 14, 2020

Labor and Employment_Discrimination letter

In the last days of 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a law that bans employers from discriminating against employees based on hairstyles that are associated with race. In doing so, New Jersey joined New York and California—both of which enacted similar legislation earlier in 2019—in prohibiting hair discrimination in the workplace.…

Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

DOL Addresses Training Pay and Per-Project Compensation in Two Opinion Letters

By Michael Reed & Alan J. Marcuis

January 9, 2020

The Department of Labor issued two opinion letters on Tuesday in response to specific inquiries that may nonetheless provide some clarity for employers in general. The first letter was in response to an inquiry from an employer that offers its employees a non-discretionary lump sum bonus of $3,000 (in addition to their regular hourly rate) for completing a 10-week training program. During the training program, the employees may work more than 40 hours in a…

Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

New York Federal Court Limits Accessibility Litigation By Strictly Construing the Standing Requirement

By Alyson Brown & M. Brett Burns

January 8, 2020

Could the onslaught of anticipated accessibility litigation surrounding Braille Gift Cards in 2020 be limited by a strict construction of the ADA Title III standing requirement? Maybe so. The cottage industry of accessibility litigation in New York was recently dealt a blow when the Eastern District of New York dismissed a serial plaintiff’s class action accessibility complaint by strictly construing the standing requirement and finding that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction.…

Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

California DFEH Updates FAQ on Sexual Harassment Prevention Training in Light of New Deadline to Comply

By Katherine P. Sandberg, Ryan M. Bates & M. Brett Burns

January 7, 2020

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) recently updated its Sexual Harassment Prevention Training FAQ guidance to address some of the questions surrounding SB 1343, which requires employers with five or more employees to provide classroom or “other interactive training” for all California employees (not just supervisors) every two years. SB 1343 was initially set to go into effect on January 1, 2020. But in 2019, Governor Newsom signed two amendments to SB…

Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

New York Statewide Ban on Salary History Inquiries for All Employers Effective January 6, 2020

By Robert T. Dumbacher

January 6, 2020

New York joins a handful of other states when its broad prohibition on employer inquiries into applicants’ prior wage or salary information takes place today, January 6, 2020. As detailed in our previous alert on this issue, New York previously had expansive pay equity laws in effect for public employers, but the new law expands the prohibition to private employers throughout the state.…

Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

A December to Remember at the NLRB

By Alyson Brown & Kurt G. Larkin

January 6, 2020

The last few weeks of a National Labor Relations Board Member’s term can be a busy time. This is especially true when a Member’s imminent departure will leave the Board without any Members from the minority political party. The Board historically has avoided major shifts in precedent without the participation of both parties. Last month was no different. As the clock wound down on Democrat Lauren McFerran’s term this December, the Board issued a flurry…

Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

Hunton Insurance Team Wins Summary Judgment on Firm’s Own Hurricane Harvey Business Income Loss

By Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

January 2, 2020

A Texas judge has ruled that Hunton Andrews Kurth is entitled to coverage from Great Northern Insurance Co., a unit of Chubb, Ltd. (“Chubb”), for losses its predecessor firm suffered when Hurricane Harvey closed its Houston office and disrupted business in 2017. The decision illustrates that law firms, like businesses in virtually every other economic sector, including the labor and employment industries, are susceptible to widespread damage caused by storms and other natural disasters. The…

Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

Analysis and Development in Employment & Labor Issues

Blog Authors

FTC Commissioners Advocate Restrictions on Non-Compete Agreements; Seek Comments on Potential Rulemaking

Background Check Vendors Beware: the CFPB’s Authority to Enforce the FCRA Applies to You Too

California Court Extends TRO Against Arbitration Law

New Jersey Joins New York and California’s Bans on Hair Discrimination

DOL Addresses Training Pay and Per-Project Compensation in Two Opinion Letters

New York Federal Court Limits Accessibility Litigation By Strictly Construing the Standing Requirement

California DFEH Updates FAQ on Sexual Harassment Prevention Training in Light of New Deadline to Comply

New York Statewide Ban on Salary History Inquiries for All Employers Effective January 6, 2020

A December to Remember at the NLRB

Hunton Insurance Team Wins Summary Judgment on Firm’s Own Hurricane Harvey Business Income Loss

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