Rick Bergstrom

Jul 2, 2024 | mondaq.com | Matthew W. Lampe |Elizabeth B. McRee |Rick Bergstrom |Mark Earnest

The Situation: California's Private Attorneys' General Act ("PAGA") was the target of a November 2024 ballot initiative that, if passed, would have repealed the Act in response to perceived abuses and frivolous lawsuits. In a negotiated compromise brokered by California Governor Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders, business and labor groups announced on June 18, 2024, that a deal had been reached to pass legislation reforming PAGA and to withdraw the proposed initiative from the ballot.

Apr 30, 2024 | jdsupra.com | Rick Bergstrom |Terri Chase |Aimee DeFilippo

This week, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 along party lines to finalize a rule that bans noncompete clauses in employment agreements as a per se illegal “unfair method of competition” (“UMC”) under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The Chamber of Commerce and others already have filed lawsuits seeking to invalidate the rule, and those lawsuits could result in a stay of the rule as the cases proceed.

Jan 29, 2024 | jdsupra.com | Jennifer Bennett |Rick Bergstrom |Terri Chase

On January 5, 2023, President Biden signed the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act of 2022 (“PAIPA”) into law. PAIPA requires that the President submit an annual report identifying and describing any “significant trade secret theft” by a foreign person or entity against a U.S. person or entity. PAIPA also requires that the President impose sanctions on certain offenders, but allows the President to choose from an enumerated list of specific sanctions.

Jan 3, 2024 | mondaq.com | Matthew W. Lampe |Elizabeth B. McRee |Aaron L. Agenboard |Rick Bergstrom

The 2023 California legislative session saw the passage of a number of new and important labor and employment laws. As in prior years, the California Legislature continued to expand employee leave rights this session. They increased the amount of paid sick leave employers are required to provide under California's existing paid sick leave law and established a new reproductive loss leave for employees. Noncompete agreements also remained at the forefront of California law.

Feb 20, 2023 | jdsupra.com | Aaron Agenbroad |Rick Bergstrom |Wendy Butler

In response to pressure from Congress, OFCCP has extended the deadline for contractors to object to disclosure of EEO-1 reports and opened the door for new objections. On February 14, 2023, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs ("OFCCP")again extended the deadline for contractors to object to disclosure of Type 2 Consolidated Employer Information Reports ("EEO-1 Reports") in connection with a Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") request.