Employment & Labor Insider

Federal protection for trade secrets, "suitable seating," inadvertent labor trafficking, Uber's status as an employer -- whew!

Be sure to check these out if you haven't already:

*Billy Hammel of our Austin Office and Bill McMahon of our Winston-Salem Office (and my next-door neighbor), with Anna Rothschild of our Washington D.C. Metro Office, are digging into the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, which passed the House Wednesday and should be signed into law imminently by President Obama. A thorough client bulletin is on the way, but in the meantime, here is an eblast that Bill McMahon sent to our clients and friends yesterday morning:

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 410-2 yesterday in favor of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, which would allow companies to bring civil actions for trade secret theft under the federal Economic Espionage Act. The Senate version passed unanimously on April 11, 2016, and President Obama favors the legislation and is expected to sign it into law.

As the House and Senate votes indicate, the legislation had bipartisan support, as well as the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Microsoft Corp., and General Electric. The law would not preempt state trade secret laws but would provide new, additional, federal remedies.

We will have a comprehensive client bulletin on this legislation and its implications in the near future. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact any member of our Trade Secrets and Noncompetition Practice Group. 

*Our newest publication, California Corner, will provide employers with updates on what is going on in the Golden State. Expanding on an earlier blog post, the inaugural edition features an in-depth analysis of the state Supreme Court's "suitable seating" decision. By Jade Brewster and Executive Editor Steve Katz of our Los Angeles-Century City Office.

But, wait! There's more!

*The March-April edition of the Executive Labor Summary is out. David Phippen of our Washington D.C. Metro Office has the latest on the Persuader Rule, the Supreme Court's 4-4 tie decision in Friedrichs v. California, Volkswagen and its troubles with the UAW down in Chattanooga, and Uber's settlement and its status as a "contractor." AND a rare labor union endorsement for The Donald. It's yuge!

*Our Spring 2016 Retailer includes "Hiring 101 for Retail Employers" by Susan Bassford Wilson of our St. Louis Office, charge-filing statistical trends from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and blurbs of interest for retail employers.

*Are you a labor trafficker without meaning to be? You'll know after you read the excellent "Help Wanted: Avoiding Inadvertent Participation in Labor Trafficking" by Elizabeth Joiner of our Jacksonville Office.

Oh, and one more thing -- if you haven't already subscribed to FOCUS, our new blog, please go over there and do it right this minute.