Compliance Stuff

The Federal Trade Commission just launched a new era of oversight when it comes to noncompete agreements between employers and employees, and the aggressive moves from the agency are turning some heads . On Thursday, it announced the first enforcement action by its newly created task force created to root out anticompetitive contracts that affect the labor market. The agency’s Chairman also released a statement explaining the factors and circumstances it would be keeping an eye out for with noncompetes as the “cop on the beat.” The FTC then called on employees – and even competitors – to turn over information to the agency about employers’ use of noncompete agreements in an effort to find new targets. Finally, on Friday, it essentially put the final nail in the coffin on the Biden-era attempted noncompete ban. What should employers do in the wake of this aggressive new stance from the federal government? Most Significant Takeaways For Employers We dive into each one in more detail...

  Question:  We have an employee who is undergoing fertility treatments out of town and misses days sporadically. Do these absences fall under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? Answer:  Great question; complicated answer. The answer is complicated b ecause a question about FMLA leave is always the start of a longer conversation about whether other federal, state, and local requirements are triggered. For example, even if the employee’s fertility treatments do not qualify for FMLA leave, the employee may be entitled to unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation or paid leave under state and/or local sick pay laws . Additionally, any adverse treatment against an employee undergoing fertility treatments could lead to a pregnancy discrimination claim. The answer is also complicated because FMLA leave always depends on the facts . Further, only a couple federal district courts have addressed this issue, and those district courts came to different conclusions. But let’s...