Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”) recently issued new public health requirements in response to the increasing number of hospitalizations and ICU patients in California caused by the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant.

This year has seen an increase in state legislation addressing noncompetition agreements (“non-competes”). Following Washington, D.C.’s passage of a ban on non-competes in January 2021 (addressed in greater detail here), Oregon, Nevada, and Illinois undertook revisions to their respective non-compete statutes. These legislative updates are summarized below.

HuntonAK Labor and Employment partner Juan Enjamio has been recognized in the most recent publication of Florida Super Lawyers 2021.

HuntonAK Labor and Employment associates Drei Munar and Katherine Sandberg were both recognized by Northern California Super Lawyers 2021.

The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled this week that a controversial Title IX amendment by the Trump-era Department of Education was “arbitrary and capricious” under the Administrative Procedure Act and ordered that the rule be vacated and remanded to the Department for further consideration and explanation.

On July 29, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor filed a final rule rescinding the Trump-era “Joint Employer Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” rule (29 CFR part 791), which went into effect on March 16, 2020.

Scabby the Rat is a familiar sight in disputes between unions and employers. Scabby, a giant inflatable rat with red eyes, fangs, and claws, is often placed outside the places of business of employers with whom a union has a labor dispute (the “primary” employer).  Recently, the NLRB again addressed the issue of whether such union protests can be directed against a “secondary” neutral employer who does business with the primary employer but who is not party to the underlying labor dispute.

Use of employee biometric data – including fingerprints, eye scans, voiceprints, and facial scans – continues to be a popular, yet legally risky, proposition for employers. Several states and municipalities have laws that specifically govern the use of biometric data, the highest profile of which is the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

California employers will need to reconsider the way they calculate premium payments for meal and rest break violations following a recent decision of the California Supreme Court.

HuntonAK labor and employment partner, Amber Rogers was named to Bloomberg Law’s inaugural edition of the “They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40” list.

HuntonAK labor and employment partner Roland Juarez was listed among the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2021 Top Leaders of Influence: Top Litigators & Trial Lawyers. This is Roland’s third consecutive year to be included, he was selected from over 300 nominations.