Roundup: Noncompete agreements; Deferred compensation; Salary thresholds for OT; Tech liability for discrimination; EEOC harassment guidance; Discrimination and harassment free workplaces
Salary.com Compensation and Pay Equity Law Review
Our editor, employment lawyer Heather Bussing, is tracking legislation, cases, and analysis to give you the latest critical HR topics.
This week we're answering the questions (except for the last one, which we're asking):
- Why are noncompetes so sneaky and what are they doing in deferred compensation agreements?
- What are the new salary thresholds for exemption from overtime and how do we deal with them?
- Are noncompetes banned yet?
- Can HR Tech companies be liable when their clients get employment discrimination claims?
- Why is the secret compliance hack to comply?
- Have you read the EEOC's latest guidance on harassment yet?
Deferred Compensation and Noncompetes
Noncompete plot twist. They're all sorts of places and lots of different rules apply. No matter what happens with the FTC's new rule abolishing noncompete agreements, they may still be illegal where you or your employees are.
New Salary Thresholds for Overtime
Trying to figure out whether an employee gets overtime or not is a quagmire. Under both state and federal law, the default is that employees get paid overtime unless they meet all the practical requirements for an exemption and get paid enough that it's fair to ask them to work longer hours without additional compensation.
Goodbye Noncompetes, Maybe
Noncompete agreements have been against public policy and void in CA since the 1800's. And somehow California employers and its economy have survived. I expect the rest of the country will too, assuming the courts don't decide the FTC did not have authority to make the rule.
Are HR Tech Companies Liable for Discrimination Caused By Their Software?
Proving that software is the cause of a problem where people are in charge is going to be difficult. And that's before you get to the sales contract which almost certainly absolves the tech companies of responsibility for user's decisions.
It's About Creating a Discrimination and Harassment Free Workplace
Every time I give a talk about discrimination, harassment, or pay equity, someone (almost always with a Y chromosome) comes up to me afterwards and says some version of, "Hey, you're a lawyer. How do you get around all this?"
And every time, I say some version of, "Hey, try compliance. It works!"
