A recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision suggests that in certain circumstances overly broad language in a no-rehire provision may violate California law (namely, section 16600 of California’s Business and Professions Code) as a contract restraining the lawful practice of a profession, writes Daniel J. Kanter of Ogletree Deakins and published on Lexology.com.

“When resolving an employment dispute, employers often wish to include a ‘no-rehire’ provision in the settlement agreement,” he writes. “In a typical no-rehire clause, the parties agree that they wish to resolve their dispute and sever any relationship they may have now or in the future. The employee agrees that his employment has ended and promises not to seek reemployment with the company. Further, if the employee obtains reemployment with the company or any related entity, the employee agrees that his or her employment may be terminated immediately without any legal recourse.”

The article discusses the ruling and offers some key take-away conclusions.

Read the article.

A program planned by Farrell Fritz will cover trusts and estates, labor and employment, estate litigation and healthcare topics.

The seminar will be Nov. 4, 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., at the Long Island Marriott, 101 James Doolittle Blvd., Uniondale, NY 11553

Accountants will receive 4.0 CPE credits (1.0 Taxation; 2.0 Specialized Knowledge & Applications Related to Specialized Industries; 1.0 Advisory Services).

Speakers and topics:

Eric M. Kramer, CPA, Esq., Trusts & Estates Partner | Estate Planning for the Closely-Held Business

Learning Objectives:
– Discuss tax efficient methods of transferring a closely-held business
– Review the non-tax issues encountered among family members

Domenique Camacho Moran, Esq., Labor & Employment Partner | Wage & Hour Issues that Plague Employers

Learning Objectives:
– Summarize Department of Labor’s 2015 Proposed Rules
– Proper classifications of Interns
– Managing Wage & Hour Audits
– Review Recordkeeping Requirements

Eric W. Penzer, Esq., Estate Litigation Partner | Tips to Avoid Estate Litigation

Learning Objectives:
– Recognizing the signs of a will contest
– The effective use of “no contest” clauses
– Special considerations for testators with diminished capacity
– Choosing the right fiduciaries
– Post-death disputes over lifetime gifts
– Joint accounts, convenience accounts & Totten trusts
– Disputes over the “family business”

Jeffrey P. Rust, Esq., Farrell Fritz Healthcare Partner | The Medical Professional: Issues Regarding Ownership, Transition & Regulatory Compliance

Learning Objectives:
– Professional entities under New York Law
– Closure or sale of a medical practice
– Multiple owner professional practices
– The physician landlord and regulatory compliance

RSVP to Carmela Lamberta (clamberta@farrellfritz.com) by 10/21/15 with your complete contact information.

Registered NYS CPE Sponsor ID # 001975

Register for the seminar.

The Eight U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has concluded that the Arkansas Supreme Court would likely adopt the majority rule that a covenant not to compete can be assigned to the purchaser of a business, reports Jackson Lewis in its Non-Compete and Trade Secrets Report.

The case is Stuart C. Irby Company, Inc. v. Tipton, No. 14-1970 and 14-2682 (8th Cir. Aug. 6, 2015).

The appellate court reversed an across-the board win for defendants in this Arkansas non-compete dispute, disagreeing with the district court on almost every point, writes V. John Ella and James R. Mulroy of Jackson Lewis. They report that one of the take-aways of the ruling is that assignability of restrictive covenants is often a source of confusion, and best addressed explicitly at the drafting stage, even if no merger or acquisition is on the horizon.

Read the article.

Epstein Becker Green offers a complimentary on-demand webinar for employers who need to understand the rapidly evolving developments in federal and state laws and regulations. The webinar will help participants determine whether they require actions today to minimize a company’s legal exposure.

The event covers privacy and security questions when dealing with employees, fiduciary responsibilities in connection with plan participant data, and website accessibility.

Presenters are Epstein Becker Green lawyers Michelle Capezza, Nathaniel M. Glasser, Adam C. Solander and Joshua A. Stein.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Kane Russell Coleman & Logan has posted an article by Karin Zaner on its blog, The Doctor’s Advocate, discussing 10 tips for physician employment contracts.

The article discusses the importance of reading and understanding the agreement before signing, leverage in terms of employment negotiation, non-compete obligations, non-solicitation and non-ownership obligations, HIPAA, privacy and trade secret confidentiality, income guarantees, logistics, finding a good match, recognizing red flags, and resisting the urge to resign.

Read the article.

China-based employers are required to have written employment contracts with all full-time employees, and if those contracts are not in place, the employer could be on the hook for double wages, reports Dan Harris on Above the Law.

“It is important to note that the above rules apply to foreign employees working in China and that some Chinese labor arbitration commissions and courts do not recognize anything other than Chinese language agreements as a valid written employment contract.” he writes.

He wrote that any business employing anyone in China without an up-to-date written contract in Chinese is at risk for a substantial penalty.

Read the article.

Hatmaker Law Group will present a complimentary webinar designed to help participants avoid claims arising from allegations that a business facility is not compliant under the American with Disabilities Act.

In a release, the firm writes, “Did you know that 40 percent of the ADA accessibility lawsuits filed in the U.S. are filed in the state of California? Have you taken the necessary steps to ensure compliance at your facility for your employees and patrons? Join us for this free one-hour webinar and learn the most common allegations charged against businesses, how to comply with the regulations and the possible extent of financial damages you can experience if found to be non-compliant, and what actions to take to avoid a claim.”

The webinar will be Wednesday, July 15, from noon until 1 p.m. Pacific time.

The guest speaker for the event will be Daniel Zoldak, Professional Engineer, Certified Access Specialist, of Lars Andersen & Associates.

Register for the webinar.

Mintz Levin has published an article on the proper approach to hiring and negotiation of an employment contract.

The article, written by Jennifer Rubin, points out the similarities between divorce law and employment practice. “Two parties meet (the interview), they realize how many things they have in common (the job requirements and qualifications), and then they fall in love and get married (the job offer and acceptance).”

“There is no doubt that the best time to negotiate the employment terms that are key to a termination is before you ‘walk down the aisle’,” she writes. “While it might seem both counterintuitive, counterproductive and even unromantic to focus on the end of the relationship at the beginning, it is just good business to be practical about a relationship’s end.”

Read the article.

A black teacher and coach has won a major victory in his racial discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the Frisco, Texas, Independent School District following a ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In a ruling issued June 15, the 5th Circuit found that the former history teacher’s claims were valid under both federal and state law, and should be heard by a jury. The ruling overturned a 2014 summary judgment issued by the U.S. District Court in Sherman that dismissed the case in the school district’s favor.

“Alvin Jackson, who taught world history along with being a basketball and track coach, filed a suit against the Frisco school district in 2012, saying his contract was not renewed because he complained about discrimination and racial hostility at the high school,” reported The Dallas Morning New. “He was the only black coach and core subject teacher at the campus then.”

The Kendall Law Group represented Jackson.

Read the law firm’s release.

Parties to a contract may agree in advance to an amount of money to be paid as damages in the event of a breach – a remedy known as “liquidated damages.”

A paper prepared by Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick and posted on Lexology, discusses the subject in light of some recent litigation involving college coaches and the schools that contracted with them.

“Some coaches succeed in negotiating exclusions to a liquidated damages provision that allow an upward career move (e.g., a coordinator to head coach) or to accept a ‘dream job.’ But even such carve-outs do not necessarily come without controversy,” the Shumaker, Loop authors write.

Read the article.

Equifax will present a webinar featuring a leading labor attorney talking about the fast-growing number of new hire reporting and notification requirements states are imposing on employers, and how HR professionals can better manage the process of monitoring, interpreting and enforcing them.

The webinar will be Tuesday, June 23, at noon Central time.

Topics will include:
• Key legislative trends in state and municipal regulations
• Overview of recently passed and upcoming state new hire requirements
• Best practices in managing the requirements

Chad Richter, a Partner with Jackson Lewis, will provide detail about selected individual requirements at the state and local level, such as the Massachusetts requirement earned sick time requirement taking effect July 1 and others. He will be joined by Julia Bailey, Sr. Director of Product Management at Equifax Workforce Solutions, and the two will clarify how such laws should be interpreted and how to meet their requirements. They’ll also discuss how employers can best manage the compliance challenges that the numerous requirements create.

Register for the webinar.

The long awaited decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., seems to have left employers in greater darkness than Abercrombie’s customers, writes Primary Opinion in a new paper.

The Supreme Court has simultaneously clarified and muddied employers’ obligations when faced with having to make religious accommodation for job applicants and potential employees. While the Court addressed the issue at hand, it failed to answer some of the more crucial questions as to when failure to accommodate religious expression in the workplace would be unlawful on the basis of disparate-treatment.

The paper offers discussion from some experts on how the ruling can affect religious accommodation in the workplace.

Read the paper.

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued proposed guidance and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council has issued proposed regulations requiring government contractors and subcontractors to report regularly on workplace law violations found by administrative agencies, the courts, and arbitrators, reports Jackson Walker in a new paper.

The regulations are part of the implementation of President Barack Obama’s “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order (E.O. 13673), often called the “Blacklisting” or “Bad Actors” executive order.

“The government would take an employer’s record of violations into account when deciding whether to award future contracts, cancel existing contracts, and potentially demand remedial action to address a pattern of violations,” the authors write in the article posted on Lexology.

Read the paper.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has found that employee agreements to arbitrate may be obtained through written acknowledgments referencing company manuals, reports Pepper Hamilton in a new paper. An employee’s agreement to abide by a company manual is sufficient to send Title VII claims to an arbitrator.

“Arbitration remains a preferred forum for many employers, yet courts are often wary of enforcing arbitration agreements against employee-plaintiffs,” the paper says. “This has often been the case where employees made claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which provides for a statutory jury right that potentially conflicts with the Federal Arbitration Act.”

Authors of the paper are partners Jeffrey M. Goldman, Sharon R. Klein, Matthew H. Adler and associate Kevin Crisp.

Read the paper.

Employers in the health care industry often subcontract labor through outside vendors to fill positions like travel nurses, security guards, and janitors. But outside contractors may not be in compliance with federal and state employment laws, including wage-and-hour laws, points out a white paper published by Fisher & Phillips.

Because of the “joint-employment” doctrine, the health care facility employer may be on the hook for the contractor’s violations, David Amaya wrote in the paper. “Failure to acknowledge and address this possibility could result in surprise and unforeseen financial responsibility. It’s important to understand the issues raised by this legal rule and to have strategies at the ready to proactively address them.”

Read the white paper.

This 2015 update of Pepper Hamilton’s white paper on independent contractor misclassification details three ways companies that use independent contractors can minimize or avoid future independent contractor misclassification exposure.

The white paper, an update from the firm’s original 2012 version, is available at the Pepper Hamilton site.

The three methods mentioned in the paper are:

• bona fide restructuring and re-documentation, using IC Diagnostics™
• reclassification, either under a government program or voluntarily
• redistribution of independent contractors, using a workforce management or staffing company.

“These alternatives work for virtually all companies that use independent contractors – whether to supplement their workforce or to refer or offer qualified service providers to customers or clients as part of their business model.” the paper says.

Read the white paper.

Hatmaker Law Group will present a complimentary one-hour webinar on the latest developments this year in labor and employment law, including updating your employee handbook and preparing for new legislation going into effect on July 1, 2015.

The webinar will be Wednesday, June 17, beginning at 2 p.m. Central time.

Hatmaker Law Group conducts a monthly webinar series on various employment and labor law topics to provide up-to-date information to California employers, business owners, managers, accountants, attorneys and human resource professionals. The webinars are provided free of charge. HRCI and State Bar of California continuing education credit is pending on all programs.

Register for the webinar.

Hatmaker Law Group will present a one-hour webinar designed to teach supervisors how to recognize the signs of drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace.

The event is hosted by Susan K. Hatmaker, Esq. with guest speaker Eric Andersen, CSM SH&E Professional, with L.L. Andersen Consulting.

The webinar will be Wednesday, May  20, at 2 p.m. Central time.

Hatmaker Law Group conducts a monthly webinar series on various employment and labor law topics to provide up-to-date information to California employers, owners, managers, accountants, attorneys, and human resource professionals. The webinars are provided free of charge. HRCI and State Bar of California continuing education credit available.

Register for the webinar.

Many employers think they understand employment laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §201, et seq. (FLSA), only to find out – after costly litigation – that they were just plain wrong.

Assouline & Berlowe has prepared a white paper that highlights 10 of the most common mistakes that private, non-governmental employers (with a non-unionized work force) make when attempting in good faith to comply with employment laws.

The 10 mistakes range from, number 1, “Paying an employee a salary and assuming the employee need not be paid overtime,” to number 10, “Classifying all staff as independent contractors means you do not have to worry about the employment laws.”

Ellen M. Leibovitch, Head of Labor and Employment Practice at Assouline & Berlowe, wrote the paper.

Assouline & Berlowe is a business litigation and transactional law firm serving the business needs of local, national, and international clients. The firm has offices in Florida.

Read the white paper.

The “on demand” economy appears to be the newest front of wage and hour lawsuits targeting non-traditional and independent employment arrangements, Seyfarth Shaw reports.

Rob Whitman and Adam Smiley wrote the article.

“So how is a business supposed to know if a worker may be designated an independent contractor? The Supreme Court has never created a bright-line test,” they wrote. “Rather, the Court supports a totality of the circumstances approach that evaluates the entirety of the economic relationship between the business and the worker.”

The article outlines some cases and factors to consider.

Read the article.