Employment Law and Labour Law

Stanford University challenges the NLRB's application of the Columbia standard to undergraduate residential assistants, potentially setting up a landmark case that could overturn precedent allowing student workers to unionize. The university argues that undergraduate peer leaders differ fundamentally from graduate teaching assistants and that the Board should decline jurisdiction over student employment relationships.

A federal appeals court ruling demonstrates how an employer's well-intentioned transition plan for a departing employee became evidence of unlawful retaliation after the employee raised discrimination concerns. The case reveals critical missteps that transformed a seemingly amicable separation into costly litigation, offering essential lessons about what not to do when an employee makes protected complaints.

Noncompete agreements face a fractured legal landscape as states diverge sharply on enforcement rules following the collapse of the FTC's federal ban. From mobility-first prohibitions to pro-enforcement regimes with four-year terms, employers must now navigate compensation thresholds, industry-specific carve-outs, and functional definitions that treat forfeiture clauses as de facto noncompetes. What does this patchwork mean for multistate workforce strategies?