Periodic review and maintenance of noncompetition and other restrictive covenants agreements is crucial to ensure employers get the maximum available legal protection from theft of their customer base and business opportunity, employee talent and confidential information, advises Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in a website post.

The article summarizes some of the recent and noteworthy state statutes concerning such agreements.

The article adds: “Even in states where there has been no statutory activity, changes in an employee’s job or the underlying competitive landscape can affect the scope of enforceability of noncompete agreements. Post-employment restrictions on working for a competitor or soliciting former co-workers or customers are contracts that must satisfy the usual elements of an enforceable agreement, including a valid offer, acceptance of the offer and consideration to support the parties’ agreement.”

Read the article.

When drafting a China employment contract, one of the critical issues is always going to be the term of employment, points out Grace Yang, writing for Harris Bricken McVay Sliwoski’s China Law Blog.

She said the length of the employment term, especially the initial employment term, depends on the situation. But for new employees, her firm’s China employment lawyers usually recommend a three-year initial term, which usually works best when the employer wants that new employee to have a probation period.

“Because Chinese law requires that the probation period be proportional to the initial employment term, a three-year initial term means you can set the probation period for the maximum six months permitted by law,” she explains

Read the article.

An on-demand podcast episode of The Proskauer Brief discusses potential pitfalls that lurk in employment agreements and other employee compensation arrangements.

Speakers are Kate Napalkova, special employee benefits and executive compensation counsel, and associate Oleg Zakatov.

The podcast focuses on key contractual provisions that employers should incorporate into any document that includes a confidentiality covenant.

“Employers should be sure to tune in to see why involving your in-house team and outside executive compensation and employment counsel to regularly audit employment agreements, employee handbooks, independent confidentiality and IP assignment agreements, and other company policies is always a good idea,” according to an introduction to the podcast.

Listen to the podcast
or read a transcript.

JPMorgan Chase said on Thursday that it agreed to pay $5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of male employees who contend they were denied access to the same paid parental leave as mothers between 2011 and 2017.

The Washington Post‘s Samantha Schmidt reports the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented named plaintiff Derek Rotondo, said “this marks the first settlement of its kind stemming from a class-action lawsuit on behalf of male employees claiming they were denied the same equal paid parental leave as women. The settlement comes amid growing pressure on employers to adopt gender-neutral paid-leave policies that encourage more equitable caregiving roles in the home.”

While not admitting liability, the company pledged to train those administering the policy and pay $5 million to male employees who claim they were denied additional paid parental leave as primary caregivers.

Read the Post article.

Employers requiring lower-wage employees to sign and abide by non-competition and non-solicitation of clients provisions may want to find another mechanism to protect business goodwill and confidential information, advises Rachel Powitzky Steely in Foley & Lardner’s Labor & Employment Law Perspectives.

Courts across the country are refusing to enforce non-competes against lower-wage employees and now states are taking action to preclude these agreements, she explains.

Steely offers some advice on how companies can achieve their non-compete goals through alternative methods.

Read the article.

General counsels and chief legal officers at more than 170 companies have signed an open letter telling law firms they expect their lawyers to “reflect the diversity of the legal community and the companies and the customers we serve,” reports the ABA Journal.

“The letter was drafted after an online photo of 12 new partners at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison drew attention because it appeared to show 11 white men and just one woman,” writes the Journal‘s Debra Cassens Weiss. “The firm later said the partnership class also includes one Latino and one LGBTQ partner.”

A New York Times article on the subject said that more than 20 women and people of color described obstacles to achieving diversity at Paul, Weiss, with many saying that opportunities to be groomed for partner are harder to come by for women and minorities.

Read the Journal article.

Dale Kleber was 58 years old when he applied for a senior staff attorney position with CareFusion Corporation. On paper, his 25 years of legal experience, including serving as general counsel for a large corporation, showed he was qualified for the job.

But the position sought someone with three to seven years of legal experience. Kleber didn’t receive an invitation for an interview, but a 29-year-old lawyer was hired instead. Kleber sued under the ADEA, arguing that the seven-year experience cap on the position discriminates against older workers by automatically disqualifying them for the job.

Courthouse News Service reports that Kleber’s age discrimination suit failed when the en banc Seventh Circuit ruled Wednesday that the protections of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act apply only to current employees, not to job applicants.

Read the Courthouse News article.

A post on Foley & Lardner’s Labor & Employment Law Perspectives blog discusses negotiation styles for employers when the time comes for a new labor contract.

“There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer as to what works best,” writes Thomas C. Pence. “Some people yell a lot and are very effective with it. Others try yelling and come off sounding cartoonish (never a good thing in negotiations). The best advice is to be true to yourself.”

Pence advises contract negotiators to be self-assured and determined in arguing their positions.

Read the article.

As an in-house counsel — the individual tasked with mitigating risk for your employer — sometimes you have to make a decision much hastier than you might normally be comfortable with doing so, writes Stephen R. Williams in a column for Above the Law.

Williams, who works in-house with a multi-facility hospital network, tells about a crisis that dropped into his lap late on the Friday before the week of Christmas. It involved a report from an employee who said one of their coworkers made what was perceived to be a comment reflecting a suicidal thought.

His column tells how he dealt with the situation, even though the colleagues who usually handle such cases were unavailable because of the holiday season.

Read the article.

The end of the year brings an onslaught of China Employer Audits, and with those audits comes an onslaught of China employment law questions, writes Grace Yang in the Harris Bricken China Law Blog.

She discusses some of the most commonly asked questions on China employment contracts and provides short answers to each of them.

The issues include using an English version of contracts, contract templates provided by Chinese labor authorities, termination of signed China employment contracts, open-term contracts, offer letters, and the need to review contract templates.

Read the article.

In a new podcast, two shareholders in Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart discuss a number of important considerations for employers to keep in mind when drafting a severance agreement.

Milwaukee shareholders Bud Bobber and Brian Radloff offer some practical tips for drafting severance agreements, from how to go about deciding how much to offer an employee to the key terms of the agreement.

The [podcast can be accessed on the Ogletree Deakins website.

Listen to the podcast.

Federal district courts in New York and New Jersey recently turned aside employee attacks on arbitration agreements challenged on the grounds that the employer’s communication of its arbitration policy via email was inadequate, reports the Gibbons Employment Law Alert.

“The courts in both Lockette v. Morgan Stanley and Schmell v. Morgan Stanley held that the employees’ assertions that they never saw the email forwarding the terms of the arbitration agreement were insufficient to overcome the employer’s evidence that the email had been delivered to the employees’ email inboxes,” explains Richard S. Zackin.

But employers must keep in mind that they must comply with relevant state contract law, cautions Zackin.

Read the article.

Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP will present a webinar discussing new developments in California wage and hour laws that provoke class action litigation and will offer ways to avoid, manage and resolve these issues to help minimize the risk of a costly wage and hour class action lawsuit.

The complimentary event will be Sept. 26, 2018, at 10 a.m. PDT.

Employing people in California means dealing with California’s unique and complex wage and hour regulations, the firm points out on its website. California employers are increasingly finding themselves having to defend against costly wage and hour class actions and PAGA lawsuits. These lawsuits frequently cost large sums of money to resolve, either through litigation or settlement.

This webinar will review:

• New developments in California wage and hour laws that have been driving class action litigation
• What you should know about the class action process if you are facing a putative wage and hour class action and/or a PAGA claim
• How to avoid potential class action and PAGA claims and strategies to minimize potential damages
• Drafting arbitration agreements with class action waivers post Epic Systems, Inc.

Register for the webinar.

Holland & Hart will present a complimentary half-day seminar on the latest developments in labor and employment law.

The in-person event will be Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, beginning with registration and breakfast at 8 a.m. The address is 555 17th Street, Suite 3200, Denver, CO 80202.

Highlights of the program include:

Significant L&E Updates:
– Class action waivers
– Immigration
– NLRB reversals
– Colorado developments

Harassment and Discrimination: #MeToo and More
– Prevention: policies and training
– Investigations
– Working with/against the EEOC and CCRD
– Mediation, arbitration, or litigation?
– Should you settle?

Managing Leaves, Accommodations, and Terminations
– Intersection of FMLA and ADA
– Handling indefinite leaves and work restrictions
– Pregnancy accommodations under the new Colorado law
– Discharging employees who’ve exercised their rights
– Documenting your actions to aid your defense

Agenda: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2018
Registration and Breakfast | 8:00 – 8:30 AM
Presentations | 8:30 – 12:00 PM

Speakers:
Steve Gutierrez
sgutierrez@hollandhart.com

Emily Hobbs-Wright
ehobbswright@hollandhart.com

John Husband
jhusband@hollandhart.com

Jeremy Merkelson
jbmerkelson@hollandhart.com

Roger Tsai
rytsai@hollandhart.com

Mark Wiletsky
mbwiletsky@hollandhart.com

Location: Holland & Hart
555 17th Street
Suite 3200
Denver, CO 80202

CLE and SHRM credit pending

Register for the seminar.

Meritas will present a webinar titled “When #MeToo Means #YouToo: What to do when you’re in the sexual harassment hot seat.”

The event will be Wednesday, May 2, 2018, at 1 p.m. CDT.

“The #MeToo movement has many employers uncertain about the best ways to protect themselves from sexual harassment complaints and the right way to respond after a complaint has been made,” the firm says on its website. “This seminar will explore how our definitions of sexual harassment have evolved in the age of #MeToo and the misconceptions that have formed around this issue.”

“Participants will come away with actionable advice they can put to use to avoid the damage that such claims can create, not just in terms of liability but also in workplace culture, employee attraction and retention.”

Register for the webinar.

Bloomberg Tax will present a live event designed to help business owners, tax, finance directors, in-house counsel, bankers and investment professionals including PE & hedge fund managers to learn how employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) can provide more than just an exit strategy. They may be an opportunity for a growing business and its employees, the company says.

The event will be Thursday, May 3, 2018, 2:30-6 p.m., at Bloomberg L.P., 120 Park Avenue, New York 10165.

“New Era of Material Wealth Creation With ESOPs” will look at all the benefits associated with ESOPs, including top performer retention, growing capital, and future planning.

Presenters will move past theory into the practical implementation of an ESOP. Through a case study, thought leaders will explore all of the stages of the process, including crafting the right design, securing employee buy-in, and more, Bloomberg says on its website.

Register for the event.

Companies are increasingly tapping into new technology designed to keep a close eye on employees. This monitoring goes beyond traditional security cameras to include portable devices worn by workers, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Reporter Robert Reed writes that some employers are getting really high-tech with following their workers, such as using time clocks that can an employee’s fingerprint, retina or iris.

“Some workers are ticked off about it and fighting back. Up to 30 class-action lawsuits were filed by late 2017 accusing companies of violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which governs how such sensitive information is collected and used,” according to Reed.

Reed also raises the possibility that employers could even provide Fitbits or another portable health monitor as part of a corporate wellness program. “Can the personal data gleaned be used to alter, or deny, access to employer-provided insurance plans?,” he asks.

Read the Tribune article.

Businesses are increasingly using biometric data (i.e., measurements of a person’s physical being) for a variety of identification purposes, such as to provide security for the financial transactions of their customers and for the tracking of work hours of their employees, points out the Fisher Phillips Employment Privacy Blog.

Partner Jeffrey Dretler discusses the privacy concerns for employees and the compliance issues for employers related to collection of biometric data.

He suggests that employers should establish safe practices and be on the lookout for new developments. And he concludes with five suggested steps employers should take to be in compliance.

Read the article.

NAVEX Global will conduct its first-ever online master class when it presents “Addressing & Preventing Sexual Harassment.”

The complimentary, 2.5-hour event, will be Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time | 11:30 a.m. Easter time.

“With the onslaught of high-profile sexual harassment allegations and an emerging “speak-up” movement around the globe, it’s evident that ignorance and a blind-eye has plagued our culture for too long,” NAVEX says on its website. “It is imperative—now more than ever—that your organization’s leadership fully understands what defines harassment and how to address it in the workplace.”

Register for the event.

Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. announced that registration is open for a relevant and timely webinar to provide employers with practical guidance on sexual harassment policies.

The 60-minute webinar, titled “Sexual Harassment Roundtable: Practical Guidance for Employers,” will be Thursday, March 1, 2018, beginning at 1 p.m. EST.

The event will feature experts from law firms in employment and labor law.

Topics will include:

• Why sexual harassment remains a persistent workplace problem
• The types of sexual harassment allegations that can be trickiest for employers
• Pros and cons of using nondisclosure clauses in settlement agreements
• How mandatory arbitration impacts sexual harassment claims
• Best practices for preventing sexual harassment and handling allegations when they do arise

Register for the webinar.