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It takes two to tango, but the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) reaffirmed that it might only take one to engage in protected concerted activity.

On August 29, 2023, the Department of Treasury (the “Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) issued proposed regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”) providing proposed rules governing the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements (together, the “Labor Requirements”) impacting a broad swath of clean energy tax credits included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”) (i.e., sections 30C, 45, 45L, 45U, 45Q, 45V, 45Y, 45Z, 48, 48C, 48E, and 179D¹ of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended).

An important federal appeals court has clarified a key principle of antitrust law in a way that potentially makes it more difficult for an employer to win a motion to dismiss, and thereby avoid expensive discovery, with respect to company agreements that contain commonly used hiring restrictions.

Addressing what it deemed an “interpretive incongruity,” on August 18, 2023, the Fifth Circuit shifted nearly 30 years of Title VII disparate treatment precedent in Hamilton et al. v. Dallas County.

As many employers are likely aware, Title VII makes it illegal for covered employers to discriminate against employees and applicants based on certain protected characteristics, including sincerely held religious beliefs.

Welcome to Vinson & Elkins’ Securities and ESG Updates.

In the aftermath of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the race-conscious admissions systems of two universities in a six-to-three decision (the “SFFA Decision”), commentators are asking about the impact of the ruling on corporate employment decisions; diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs; and environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts.

The drumbeat of opposition to non-compete agreements is getting even louder, as New York is now poised to enact a law that, if passed, would create sweeping prohibitions against non-competes in that state.

While employers wait to see whether, and to what extent, the Federal Trade Commission enacts its proposed rule banning non-competes, the Office of the General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”) has joined the fray, denouncing the legality of restrictive covenants.

On May 5, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an order (the “Order”)¹ providing that it would pay a $279 million award to a whistleblower who assisted with the enforcement of an action by the SEC and two other related actions brought by unnamed agencies.

Employers (hopefully) are aware that their employees are afforded certain rights under the National Labor Relations Act (the “NLRA” or “Act”), including the right to self-organization, to bargain collectively, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.

On April 28, 2023, U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden issued the latest blow toSteve Medlock, Craig Seebald, Rami Rashmawi, Becky Baker the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) efforts to criminally prosecute individuals who engage in “no-poach” agreements by granting the defendants’ motion for judgment of acquittal.