Publications

After months of uncertainty over what aspect of employer DEI (or diversity, equity and inclusion) policies could be discriminatory, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued informal guidance outlining the agencies’ positions.

The new administration is making headlines with its intense focus on immigration-related matters. Recent Executive Orders have notably expanded the ability of the Department of Homeland Security and its affiliated agencies to investigate, apprehend and detain illegal aliens in the United States – including enhanced authorization for state and local law enforcement to perform the functions of federal immigration officers in the United States.

As the start of 2025 has already shown with the destructive Los Angeles wildfires, the impact of climate change on businesses and homes can be devastating.

Several new laws approved by the Illinois General Assembly and signed into law this year by Governor JB Pritzker are aimed at protecting and expanding the rights of employees in the state. The new measures’ effect will also be felt by employers, who will likely need to examine their policies and practices in the new year.

On November 15, 2024, a federal judge in Texas struck down the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) final rule (Rule) expanding overtime eligibility for millions of workers by raising the salary threshold to be considered “exempt” from overtime.

National Estate Planning Awareness week was adopted in 2008 by the House of Representatives to help the public understand the importance of estate planning.

In the first definitive ruling on the Federal Trade Commission’s Final Rule banning most noncompete agreements, the Texas federal judge that previously granted a preliminary injunction to temporarily block the Final Rule from taking effect (see our blog post on that ruling) has now entered judgment in the plaintiffs’ favor to “hold unlawful” and “set aside” the rule nationwide under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

The key to a successful construction project often lies in how much work you do long before the first shovel of dirt is turned. But where should an owner or developer focus their time and resources for the best possible result?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a much-debated “Final Rule” earlier this year that banned most noncompete agreement nationwide. On July 3, 2024, a federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary injunction that delays enforcement of the Final Rule against certain plaintiffs, who are seeking to block the rule permanently.

A federal judge in Texas granted a preliminary injunction on June 28, 2024, barring the July 1, 2024, effect of a new U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) overtime regulation that would have increased the salary threshold for automatic overtime eligibility under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).