Employment & Labor
Hiring/termination, discrimination, FLSA/wage-hour, non-competes, NLRA, immigration, remote work, DEI legal issues
CLO Primer
Employment law is among the highest-volume legal work for an in-house team. Unlike securities or governance, employment matters arrive constantly — severances, accommodation requests, leave issues, harassment complaints, WARN Act questions, classification disputes, and visa renewals. The CLO sets the framework and oversight structure; you typically have an employment law specialist on your team (or strong outside counsel relationships).
The non-compete landscape is in turmoil. The FTC's broad non-compete ban has been challenged in federal courts, creating a complex patchwork of enforceability by state. California, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Oklahoma have broad bans; Texas enforces them with reasonable limitations; New York has tightened restrictions significantly. Your employment agreements must be jurisdictionally calibrated, and you should audit your entire agreement population annually.
At a tech or healthcare company, wage-hour compliance under FLSA and state equivalents is a constant audit function — particularly employee vs. contractor classification, exempt vs. non-exempt determinations, and off-the-clock time tracking. Class and collective action risk in this area is significant.
DEI legal risk has become a major boardroom topic following the Supreme Court's Harvard/UNC affirmative action decisions and subsequent challenges to corporate DEI programs. The CLO must provide guidance on what programs are legally defensible and restructure those that may not be.
Key Concepts
Reference topics — deep-dive primers coming soon
- At-will employment doctrine — exceptions: implied contract, public policy, anti-retaliation
- Title VII, ADA, ADEA, GINA, PWFA — federal discrimination framework
- FLSA classification: exempt (executive/administrative/professional) vs. non-exempt; salary thresholds
- Worker classification: employee vs. independent contractor (ABC test vs. economic realities test)
- Non-compete enforceability: state-by-state analysis; FTC rulemaking status
- Non-solicit and non-disclosure agreements — narrowed scope post-FTC guidance
- WARN Act (federal) and mini-WARN acts — 60-day notice for mass layoffs/plant closings
- NLRA applicability to non-union employers — protected concerted activity, handbook restrictions
- I-9 compliance; H-1B, L-1, O-1 visa management; PERM labor certification
- EEO-1 reporting, pay data collection, affirmative action plan requirements
- Paid leave laws — patchwork of federal (FMLA), state, and local requirements
- Remote work: multistate compliance, nexus/tax exposure, expense reimbursement laws
- Separation agreements — OWBPA (21/45-day review, 7-day revocation for 40+)
- DEI program structure after SFFA — permissible practices, audit framework
- Workplace investigation protocols — independence, documentation, privilege