Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Seyfarth Synopsis: Companies have been following with interest the Harvard and UNC cases that address affirmative action in the context of higher education.  Both cases were argued before the Supreme Court on October 31, 2022 and rulings are expected very soon. In anticipation of the Court’s decisions, Seyfarth is highlighting key areas of interest for employers. Overview of the UNC and Harvard Cases The two cases are Students for Fair…

  On June 1, 2023, in a resounding 8-1 decision, the United States Supreme Court granted employers an important victory by holding that the National Labor Relations Act and prior precedent did not preempt a state court tort action against a labor organization that sanctioned a work stoppage that was timed deliberately to destroy the employer’s property. By allowing the state court action to proceed, the Supreme Court in Glacier…

The FTC is not alone in taking aim at non-competes. Yesterday, the NLRB’s General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memo to all regional directors, officers-in-charge, and resident officers at the NLRB stating that non-competes in employment agreements and severance agreements violate the National Labor Relations Act except in rare circumstances. Specifically, Ms. Abruzzo claims that such covenants interfere with workers’ rights under Section 7 of the Act, which protects employees’…

Many in our readership will have embarked (or are embarking) upon a compliance audit of workplace entitlements. Anyone who has done so will appreciate the difficulties associated with what becomes a massive and complex task. The future will see monthly pay reviews as a matter of course rather than large and costly remediation processes. Indeed, a whole industry has been built crunching the numbers on wage/time and attendance compliance. With…

Seyfarth Synopsis: Like the New York City Council, the New York State legislature is considering a bill to effectively abolish at-will employment. If passed, the State bill would prohibit employers from discharging employees absent good cause if the termination occurs after a mandatory probationary period.  As we discussed previously, the New York City Council is considering a bill that would prohibit employers from discharging employees absent just cause or a…