New 2025 laws hit hot topics from AI in movies to rapid-fire guns
Artificial intelligence. Abortion. Guns. Marijuana. Minimum wages. Name a hot topic, and chances are good there’s a new law about it taking effect in 2025 in one state or another.
Employment Law
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Bill aims to protect data privacy: Law looks for balance between rights of consumers, businesses
A new state law passed earlier this year, Senate Enrolled Act 5, has set up a framework for Hoosier consumers to find what personal information of theirs is being collected and what companies are doing with that data.
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Advocates push for more pay transparency in Indiana: New salary range disclosure, history ban laws becoming more popular in U.S.
When people are searching for new jobs, there’s plenty of ways they can research a company and find out about the job they’re applying for and what skills it requires. But what can be more difficult is finding out about the pay range.
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Finding freedom? Noncompete agreements facing stiff challenges on state, federal level
Noncompete agreements are taking center stage in the Indiana Statehouse and on the federal level this year.
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Web Exclusive: COVID-19 vaccine mandate concerns nearly ‘moot’ for Indiana employers
After more than two years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Indianapolis employment attorney Melissa Macchia predicts that if the issue of vaccine mandates is not moot at this point for employers, it’s close.
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Articles
Starbucks workers plan strikes that could spread to hundreds of US stores by Christmas Eve
Workers at Starbucks stores plan to go on a five-day strike starting Friday to protest lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company.
Judge blocks new Labor Department rule to expand overtime pay for millions
A federal judge in Texas has blocked a new rule from the Biden administration that would have expanded access to overtime pay to millions more salaried workers across the U.S.
Dockworkers’ union to suspend strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract
The union representing 45,000 striking U.S. dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports reached a deal Thursday to suspend a three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract.
More than 10,000 hotel workers strike during Labor Day weekend
More than 10,000 workers at 25 U.S. hotels were on strike Monday after choosing Labor Day weekend to amplify their demands for higher pay, fairer workloads and the reversal of COVID-era cuts.
New rules add clarity to Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s final rules, published on April 15, are considered by many to be a win over discrimination against pregnant workers. But some oppose provisions that offer time off and other job accommodations for abortions.
Mappes, Hurley and Burkhart: FTC rule banning most noncompetes leaves lots of questions
It remains unclear whether and when the rule will go into effect, as lawsuits have already been filed challenging the FTC’s authority to issue the rule and the rule itself.
FTC noncompete agreement rule ripples out into Indiana
A ruling from the Federal Trade Commission could ban the use of noncompetes for all but the highest earners if it survives legal scrutiny.
FTC bans contracts that keep workers from jumping to rival employers
The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday banned noncompete agreements for most U.S. workers, a move that will affect an estimated 30 million employees bound by contracts that restrict workers from switching employers within their industry.
DTCI: 2024 eclipse may eclipse ‘business as usual’ for employers
At 3:06 p.m. on April 8, the city of Indianapolis will experience its first total solar eclipse in 819 years. As an attorney who advises employers, the impact of this rare celestial event on Indiana’s employers has been on my mind.
Hollis, Nickels and Roth: New DOL rule for determining independent contractors
On Jan. 9, the U.S. Department of Labor released its highly anticipated Final Rule, which revises the criteria for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Prisoners in the US are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands
Intricate, invisible webs link some of the world’s largest food companies and most popular brands to jobs performed by U.S. prisoners nationwide, according to a sweeping two-year AP investigation into prison labor that tied hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of agricultural products to goods sold on the open market.
USDA judge wants exit from union, alleges labor law violations in federal lawsuit
An Indianapolis-based administrative law judge doesn’t want to be in his union and has filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
Brown: Successfully leveraging a limited (broken) immigration system
How do employers navigate and successfully leverage such a limited system when their needs are not being met through the U.S. workforce?
Kersey: DHS allows virtual document review, introduces new Form I-9
For decades, employers have been confused and frustrated by the “physical review” requirement for Form I-9 documentation. This confusion may now (mostly) be over.
Why the United Auto Workers union is poised to strike major US car makers this week
About 146,000 U.S. auto workers are set to go on strike this week if General Motors, Ford and Stellantis fail to meet their demands for big pay raises and the restoration of concessions the workers made years ago when the companies were in financial trouble.
Millions more workers would receive overtime pay under proposed Biden administration rule
Salaried workers who have been ineligible for overtime pay would benefit from a proposed Biden administration regulation.
Funk and Preller: Confidentiality, non-disparagement, noncompete restrictions
Can an employer ask an employee to sign a confidentiality, non-disparagement or noncompete agreement?
Roberson, Townsend and Talley: SCOTUS raises the bar for denying religious accommodations
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the “undue hardship” standard that allows employers to reject some employees’ requests for a religious accommodation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Pettygrove: Avoiding (or winning) evidence preservation arguments
All federal litigants have a legal duty to preserve evidence that might be relevant, whether to their own or another party’s claims or defenses. Though it’s a seemingly straightforward obligation, parties frequently accuse one another of breaching this duty.