There has always been a tension between two important competing principles that underlie American law when it comes to noncompete agreements. First, is the freedom to contract, which gives individuals the right to bargain with others over nearly any topic and come to a good, bad, or indifferent deal. For example, employers argue that they should have the right to contractually protect their trade secrets and the time and investments they make in developing customer relationships and goodwill.
Federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act
On March 14, 2020, the House of Representatives passed House of Representatives Bill 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The day before, President Trump tweeted his support of the bill, saying he would sign it when received. The Senate will likely vote on its version of the bill sometime this week.
As passed by the House, the bill temporarily amends the Family and Leave Act, provides emergency paid sick leave,
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Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act
Senate Bill 485 and House Bill 1230, identical bills entitled “Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act,” are currently before Congress. The House majority leader has indicated that the House Bill may be considered within the next week.
These bills seek to overturn the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., 557 U.S. 167, 129 S.Ct. 2343 (2009), which held that for plaintiffs to prevail in age discrimination cases,
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United States House Passes Comp Time Bill 1180
This week, the United States House of Representatives passed House Bill 1180, which would allow private employers to offer employees compensatory time off (“comp time”) in lieu of paying them overtime for hours worked in excess of forty in any one workweek. Under this bill, comp time could be accrued at 1.5 hours for each hour of overtime worked in a workweek. Most public sector employees have had this benefit since 1985.
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H.R. 6030 “Pay Equity for All Act of 2016” Introduced in the House
On September 14, 2016, Eleanor Norton (D.C. Representative) introduced H.R. 6030 to the House of Representatives, and that bill was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce. The bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) by adding the following new Section 8:
Sec. 8. Requirements and prohibitions relating to wage, salary and benefit history
It shall be an unlawful practice for an employer to—
(1) screen prospective employees based on their previous wages or salary histories,
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