Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to coordinate investigations and enforcement actions between the two agencies.  The MOU is the latest step by OSHA to blur the lines between workplace safety law and labor law, and could result in more workplace citations from OSHA or unfair labor practice charges filed with the NLRB.

In September 2023, OSHA announced a proposed rule that would allow an outside third party selected by employees to accompany an OSHA compliance safety ...

California employers must revamp their sick leave policies ahead of the New Year.  On October 4, 2023, Governor Newsom signed SB 616 into law, thereby amending the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014.  The new law goes into effect January 1, 2024.

On September 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries Park St. LLC, a case from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals involving application of the Federal Arbitration Act’s (“FAA”) exemption for transportation workers.

Please join Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP for a complimentary webinar:

Up In Smoke – Cannabis and the Workplace

Thursday, October 19, 2023

12:00–1:00 pm ET

11:00 am–12:00 pm CT

9:00–10:00 am PT

HuntonAK’s Labor and Employment practice has been recognized as nationwide leaders by Benchmark Litigation’s 2024 Labor and Employment guide. The Labor and Employment Team was recognized as a Tier 1 law firm nationwide practice and listed 20 individual team lawyers who were also acknowledged.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published proposed enforcement guidance for workplace harassment for public comment on October 2, 2023. The proposed guidance can be found on the EEOC’s website. While the EEOC attempted to provide updated harassment guidance under the Trump administration in 2017, final guidance was never issued and if this new guidance is finalized it would represent the first time the EEOC has updated its workplace harassment guidance in nearly a quarter century.

In April 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14026, which increased the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15.00 per hour for contracts under the Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon Act. The U.S. Department of Labor subsequently issued a final rule implementing the Executive Order, and the new $15.00 minimum wage for federal contractors took effect in January 2022, with annual increases thereafter.

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) recently adopted a Final Rule regarding representation-case procedures (“2023 Rule”).  The 2023 Rule substantially rescinds the 2019 amendments to the representation-case procedures (“2019 Rule”), and returns to the 2014 procedures (“2014 Rule”).  The 2023 Rule is effective for all representation case petitions filed on or after December 26, 2023.

On August 29, 2023, the California Court of Appeal issued a new opinion that, once again, changes how parties litigate and settle claims brought under California’s Private Attorneys’ General Act (“PAGA”).  See Robert Lacour v. Marshalls of California, LLC, et al., 94 Cal.App.5th 1172, 313 Cal.Rptr.3d 77.

Courts have repeatedly upheld California’s “strong public policy” prohibiting agreements that restrain individuals from “engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind.”  Indeed, under Section 16600 of the California Business and Professions Code, these agreements—generally referred to as noncompete agreements—are generally void.  California now seeks to enshrine additional laws strengthening its prohibition on noncompete agreements.