California employers have long been aware that California state law prohibits inclusion of non-compete clauses in standard employment agreements.  But, in a first of its kind case, a divided federal appeals court panel has interpreted California Business and Professions Code Section 16600 to also bar “no-employment” contract terms that prevent a former employee from working for the former employer or any entity in contract with the former employer.  The court held that this type of provision limits an employee’s ability to work in contravention of the terms of Section 16600.

Protecting alleged “whistleblowers” has become a greater and greater priority of government agencies in recent years.  When agencies believe employers are taking actions that stifle the “whistleblowing” of employees, they are quick to take strong action.  For the first time, an agency that gets plenty of attention from companies has joined in this effort.

Our very own HR Law Matters contributor Jim McCabe has written an insightful analysis on whether employers can prohibit employees from secretly recording conversations in the workplace.  The article was published yesterday on Law 360 and can be viewed here.

Online forums where anyone can post comments, reviews, or opinions about a company are growing in popularity.  As a result, employers are finding postings by former employees who may have left on “bad” terms and now share their unhappy feelings with the world.  Often such postings – while annoying and potentially embarrassing – are well within an employee’s rights.  Companies need to remember that the former employee will likely soon grow tired of the cyber smear campaign, and such posts do not often cause meaningful damages (particularly the type that can be proven in court).  Additionally, where such posts are on sites like Twitter or Facebook, the daily volume of postings means that any bothersome posts get moved down the feed pretty quickly.  Most of the time the employer’s best bet is to follow the advice of Disney’s “Frozen” and just “Let it Go.”

In 2014, the biggest headlines out of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) were the slew of regulatory and directive changes announced and finalized.  These included:

  • significant changes to the VEVRAA (veterans) and Section 503 (disabled) regulations;
  • an amendment to Executive Order 11246 (as well as new related regulations) to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the non-discrimination and affirmative action requirements;
  • a new Executive Order requiring contractors to provide  information regarding employment and labor law violations in connection with contract bids (and related other requirements);
  • release of proposed regulations that would require contractors to submit annually their compensation information by race and gender (that are expected to be finalized in early 2015);
  • an overhaul of the federal contractor compliance manual; and
  • a revised and significantly expanded compliance audit letter.

Determining what is or is not paid time under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is no easy undertaking for employers.  Whether the time involves preparatory tasks, or activities performed after the conclusion of a shift, employers face a difficult assignment in drawing the line between what activities should and should not be compensated.  Fortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision yesterday that provides the guidance employers need.

Georgia’s new statutory law of restrictive covenants became effective more than three years ago, on May 11, 2011.  The significance of the new law cannot be overstated.  Prior to the new law, Georgia Courts were required to follow sometimes arcane rules of construction that frequently resulted in covenants being invalidated in their entirety based on what seemed to be trivial defects.

I recently read a brief article regarding the former Captain of “The Best Damn Ship in the Navy.”  The article, an interview with Capt. D. Michael Abrashoff, formerly Captain of the USS Benfold (shown below), specifically focuses on his view that safety must be a top priority in any workplace.  As he says, even on a ship safety is something that you cannot just “order.” Rather, safety is something that has to be part of every individual’s daily thinking — from the Captain all the way down to the lowest ranking sailor.

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (“OSHA”) recently released an advisory addressing employer and employee obligations “in the event of possible worker exposure to the Ebola virus.” Employers who believe that there is possible worker exposure to Ebola virus must implement various OSHA standards as part of a comprehensive worker protection program. The question many employers now face is: when does our workforce meet the threshold of “possible worker exposure” that would trigger implementation of these standards?

Governor Jerry Brown recently signed legislation that compels California employers to provide sick leave for their employees. The law, AB 1522 – also known as the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (“HWHFA”) – provides that employees will be entitled to earn at least three paid days of sick leave per year and will go into effect on July 1, 2015.