Jason P. Brown

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The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB or the “Board”) Office of General Counsel (“GC”) released an internal advice memorandum on February 27, 2023, which indicates that the NLRB will seek to enforce the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the “Act”) against employers that allegedly retaliate against employees for having workplace discussions about racism. The memorandum—which concerned employment actions the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Inc. (the “Tyson Medical School”) took with respect to a faculty member/physician following various discussions about race in the workplace—sets forth an expansive interpretation of conduct that constitutes protected concerted activity under Section 7 of the Act so as to include general discussions “working to end systemic racism, including its impact at the [e]mployer.”…
Continue Reading The National Labor Relations Board Seeks to Regulate Discussions of Race in the Workplace

On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) that would “provide that it is an unfair method of competition – and therefore a violation of Section 5 [of the FTC Act] – for an employer to enter into or attempt to enter into a non-compete clause with a worker; [or to] maintain with a worker a non-compete clause . . .”  If this rule becomes final, it would effectively prohibit employers from entering into non-compete agreements—as broadly defined by the proposed rule—with their workers.
Continue Reading The Federal Trade Commission Seeks to Ban Non-Compete Clauses

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced earlier this month that it will begin the rulemaking process related to “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability:  Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Governments.” …
Continue Reading The Department of Justice Announces that It Intends to Publish Regulations Related To Website Accessibility

On April 9, 2022, Maryland became just the tenth state (in addition to the District of Columbia) to enact a paid family and medical leave law that covers private-sector workers, after overriding Governor Larry Hogan’s (R) veto. …
Continue Reading Maryland Becomes the Tenth State to Pass a Paid Family Leave Law

President Joe Biden signed a new executive order on July 9, called the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, aimed at cracking down on monopolies in Big Tech, labor and other sectors.  According to a Fact Sheet released by the White House, the Executive Order includes 72 initiatives the President wants over a dozen federal agencies to undertake for the stated purpose of promoting competition throughout the U.S. economy.
Continue Reading President Biden Signs an Executive Order with Potentially Major Implications for Labor Markets

On April 7, 2021, a split panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued its highly-anticipated decision in Gil v. Winn-Dixie Stores, reversing a 2017 judgment against Winn-Dixie that found that the grocery chain’s website violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Continue Reading The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Issues Its Highly-Anticipated Decision on Website Accessibility

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in public accommodations, requiring that individuals with a disability be offered the “full and equal enjoyment . . . of any place of public accommodation.” The 30-year-old statute does not directly address whether “places of public accommodation” include websites, mobile applications, and other emerging web-based applications and technologies and, therefore, does not provide a standard for ensuring accessibility for web-based accommodations.  …
Continue Reading Looking Ahead to Potential Developments in Online Accessibility Law

Last month, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the Ban On Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020, which becomes effective next week.  This law is a statutory ban on non-compete agreements that has the strength of similar bans in California, North Dakota, and Oklahoma. …
Continue Reading Washington, D.C. Passes One of the Most Robust Prohibitions on Non-Competes in the Country

The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted on November 19 to implement a stringent new standard for employers to follow when implementing COVID-19 protections in the state.  The state’s rulemaking agency for workplace safety voted unanimously to pass the “Emergency COVID-19 Prevention Regulations,” which is expected to go into effect within 10 days (assuming the State’s Office of Administrative Law adopts Cal/OSHA’s regulation).
Continue Reading Cal/OSHA Votes to Implement Strict COVID-19 Workplace Protections for California Workers

Nationwide, 36 states and over 150 municipalities have adopted “ban the box” laws that prohibit employers from asking applicants about their conviction or arrest records on their initial applications.  This article provides updates on recent changes and updates in Hawaii, California, and St. Louis, Missouri.
Continue Reading More States and Localities Enact and Strengthen Ban the Box Laws