Roundup: Noncompete agreements; Health and safety measures after wildfires; Global pay equity laws; Parental leave; Pay transparency
Salary.com Compensation and Pay Equity Law Review
Welcome to Salary.com's Compensation and Pay Equity Law Review.
Our editor, employment lawyer Heather Bussing, is tracking legislation, cases, and analysis to give you the latest critical HR topics. She and Kent Plunkett, CEO of Salary.com, also have a new book out on Pay Equity, Get Pay Right: How to Achieve Pay Equity that Works!
This week we're asking these questions and even answering some of them:
- Is our noncompete agreement enforceable?
- What do we need to know about reopening the work site after a natural disaster?
- What major city in China just enacted pay equity laws?
- Is the US really the only large country that doesn't offer paid parental or maternity leave?
- Which states have shiny new pay transparency laws going into effect this year?
Noncompetes May Not Be Enforceable Anyway
The power differences between employers and employees often result in noncompete agreements that are fundamentally unfair and overly broad. In those cases, courts will often refuse to enforce the agreement.Here's a great example of a noncompete agreement that failed because it was so unfair.
After the Fires: Your Employees Are Not Okay
If you are an employer who has employees in Los Angeles, please be compassionate and understanding.Their worlds have been completely and permanently changed and while they will recover, they will never be the same.
Pay Equity Goes Global
Global employment law matters even when you are not a global company. Why? Because recruiting and hiring is global even if your company isn't (yet).And companies have to comply with the laws where their employees work.
Parents at Work
The US is one of only six countries in the whole world that does not provide paid leave to employees when they have a baby.And that is consistent with much of the research on why women are paid less in the US too.
New Pay Transparency in IL, MA, MN, NJ, VT
In 2025, 16 states and DC will have pay transparency laws that require that employers disclose the pay range to job candidates at some point in the hiring process.Many states are requiring pay ranges to be posted in the job ad and others require that the employer discuss pay for a role on request or by the first interview.
