Employment Law

Rooney Rule Revisited: Race and Diversity in Sports and Corporate America

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On September 21, Temple University hosted the panel “Rooney Rule Revisited: Race and Diversity in Sports and Corporate America” to discuss the history of the NFL’s Rooney Rule (requiring interviews for minorities for head coaching, GM and other top operations vacancies) and DEI in business more generally. American University professor N. Jeremi Duru and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Jim Rooney detailed the implementation of the Rooney Rule, historic barriers to progress and the principles necessary to improve diversity in NFL coaching—or in any industry.

Recent DOJ Action in the No-Poach Arena

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2016 published Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals warning of criminal remedies for those participating in illegal no-poach agreements. Recently, the DOJ and FTC made good on that promise by filing the first public criminal indictment alleging a conspiracy between companies in which they agreed not to poach each other’s employees. The DOJ and FTC warned they could take such actions when “naked” wage-fixing and no-poach agreements were per se illegal violations under the antitrust laws.

Pennsylvania Raises Salary Threshold, Updates Duties Tests with New Overtime Rule

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Effective October 3, 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) has updated Pennsylvania’s overtime rules to increase the salary threshold for qualifying under the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act (PMWA) as an exempt executive, administrative, and professional employee. The rule also brings the duties tests for executive, administrative, and professional workers into closer alignment with tests under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).