Compliance Stuff

On March 23, 2026, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed into law a bill banning nearly all noncompete agreements for employees and independent contractors, e ffective June 30, 2027. The law, Substitute House Bill (SHB) 1155, declares that all “noncompetition agreements” are “void and unenforceable” after that date, and prohibits employers from enforcing such restrictions. 00:00 24:53 Quick Hits On March 23, 2026, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed a bill into law that will ban noncompete agreements for employees and independent contractors. The law will declare all current employment-based and independent contractor-based “noncompetition agreements” to be void and unenforceable, and will prohibit employers from enforcing them. The law will prohibit entering into new employment-based and independent contractor-based noncompetition covenants. The ban will not apply to certain other restrictive covenants, including narrowly-drafted nonsolicitation agreements. The law takes effect ...

On April 15, 2025, the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota issued its decision granting partial summary judgment to the Catholic Benefits Association, on behalf of its members and the Bismarck Diocese (collectively the CBA).   The court found that the portions of the  PWFA Final Regulations  that require employers to reasonably accommodate limitations arising out of infertility, abortions, and in vitro fertilization violate the  CBA’s rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).  The court also found that the EEOC’s Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace violates the CBA’s rights under the RFRA to the extent the EEOC Guidance forces the CBA to “speak or communicate in favor of abortion, fertility treatments, or gender transition when such is contrary to the Catholic faith; refrain from speaking or communicating against the same when such is contrary to the Catholic faith, use pronouns inconsistent with a person’s biologi...