FTC Non-Competition Final Rule Update
On July 3, 2024, a Texas federal Northern District Court granted a preliminary injunction to the Plaintiff and the four Intervening Plaintiffs in the matter of Ryan v. Federal Trade Commission. The preliminary injunction enjoins the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) Final Rule prohibiting non-competition agreements from being implemented and enforced as to the Plaintiff and Intervening Plaintiffs only. In addition, the Court enjoined the effective date of the Final Rule, again limiting the injunction to the Plaintiff and Intervening Plaintiffs only. Employment attorney Shannon Hamilton takes a look at the update in this Stites & Harbison Client
Department of Labor Overtime Rule Becomes Effective!
The Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Final Rule increasing the salary level for exempt positions and increasing the number of employees eligible for overtime goes into effect today, July 1, 2024, for all 50 states, with the exception of the state of Texas as an employer. The Overtime Rule does apply to private employers in Texas. Employment attorney Shannon Hamilton takes a look at what that means to employers in this Stites & Harbison Client
News of the Death of Workers’ Jobs at the Virtual Hands of AI is Greatly Exaggerated
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being touted as having the potential to save humanity or destroy it. On the saving side there is the possibility for drug discoveries, disease (e.g. cancer) diagnosis for early detection and cure, and energy discovery and efficiency. Stephen Weyer takes a look at the world AI in this Stites & Harbison Client
Protecting Employer Proprietary Information Following the FTC's Ban on Non-Compete Agreements
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on April 23, 2024 issued a rule banning future non-compete agreements with limited exceptions. The FTC rule bans virtually all non-compete agreements for employees and independent contractors. Pre-existing non-compete agreements with senior executives remain enforceable, but new non-competes with senior executives are not. Likewise, non-competes entered into pursuant to a sale of a business or person’s ownership stake in a business are exempt from the FTC rule. Pat Torre takes a look at the rule in this Stites & Harbison Client
You Have a Voice: The Supreme Court Rules Everyone Except for “Truly Peripheral Parties” May Participate in Chapter 11 Proceedings
Learning that a bankruptcy which may impact you has been filed can be disconcerting. Bankruptcy navigates a complicated statutory framework that strikes a delicate balance between a debtor’s interest in financial rehabilitation and the creditors’ interest in maximizing their recoveries. Compounding this complexity is §1109(b) of the Bankruptcy Code, which governs the rights of “parties in interest” to participate in Chapter 11 restructurings. But are you a party with a voice in the case? In Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Co., Inc. et al., the Supreme Court has brought some clarity to this issue.
Checking in on the Status of the Fair Labor Standards Act Exempt Salary Threshold Increase
It is a little under two weeks until the July 1, 2024, effective date for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Final Rule (the “Final Rule”) raising the minimum salary level requirement for exempt white-collar employees to $43,888 annually. Now is the time to check in on the status of any legal challenges which might effect that deadline and employment attorney Shannon Hamilton takes a look at those challenges in this Stites & Harbison Client
Providers and Laboratories Beware of EKRA: A Not-So-New Tool for Health Care Fraud and Abuse Enforcement
In an effort to combat the ongoing opioid crisis, Congress passed in 2018 the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (“EKRA”) imposing significant monetary penalties on anyone paying or receiving payment for referrals to a recovery home, clinical treatment facility, or laboratory. However, given its broad language, EKRA may reach organizations not involved with substance abuse treatment. Health care providers and laboratories, therefore, should be aware of EKRA and its implications on their practice. Health care attorney Shea Luna takes a look at EKRA in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
USPTO Updates Guidance Due to Federal Circuit’s Adoption of Same Obviousness Test for Utility and Design Patents
On May 21, 2024, the Federal Circuit issued an en banc decision in LKQ Corp. v. GM Global Technology Operations LLC, No. 2021-2348, eliminating the long-established test for proving design patents invalid for being obvious as "improperly rigid" in favor of a more flexible approach. In doing so, it decided the same test for utility patent obviousness applies to design patents. IP attorney Trevor Graves takes a look at the case in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.