Discussion:

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law SB 139, which amends the state’s noncompete statute to provide that noncompete covenants that “restrict the right of a physician to practice within the physician’s scope of practice” are void. The amended law is set to take effect 90 days after adjournment of the current legislative session, likely resulting in a mid-July 2025 effective date.

Under the state’s existing law, a noncompete agreement may be enforceable if it meets certain criteria. Notably, however, the existing statute explicitly states that it does not apply to “a person holding a professional license under Arkansas Code Title 17, Subtitle 3,” which includes physicians and several other health care professionals. Because of this, noncompete agreements for these employees have previously been analyzed under Arkansas common law.

Under the amended law, the state clarifies that a covenant not to compete is unenforceable for certain licensed medical professionals. Specifically, the amended law states, “[a] covenant not to compete agreement that restricts the right of a physician to practice within the physician’s scope of practice is void.” A “physician” is defined as a person authorized or licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy, as those are defined under Arkansas law.

Action Items

1. Review noncompete agreements with legal counsel.

Disclaimer: This document is designed to provide general information and guidance concerning employment-related issues. It is presented with the understanding that ManagEase is not engaged in rendering any legal opinions. If a legal opinion is needed, please contact the services of your own legal adviser. © 2025 ManagEase

Discussion:

Effective July 1, 2025, SF 418 amends the Iowa Civil Rights Act (Act) by removing gender identity protections. The Act prohibits discrimination in employment, wages, public accommodations, housing, education, and credit and loan services. The amendment makes several notable changes to Iowa’s existing protections:

Definitions and Statutory Construction. A new section is added to the Act defining terms related to sex. “Sex” is the state of being either male or female as observed or clinically verified at birth. A “female” is an individual who “will have through the course of normal development, or would have but for a developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly, or accident, a reproductive system that at some point produces ova.” A “male” is an individual who “will have through the course of normal development, or would have but for a developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly, or accident, a reproductive system that at some point produces sperm.” The terms “woman,” “girl,” “man,” “boy,” “mother,” and “father” are also given definitions to align with the definitions of “male” and “female.”

Removal of Gender Identity Discrimination Protections. References to “gender” have been replaced with “sex” throughout the Act. References to gender identity protections in employment, housing, education, places of public accommodation, and credit or loan services have been removed.

Separate Accommodations. “Equal” is also clarified to not mean same or identical. The amendment specifically states separate accommodations are not inherently unequal. Distinctions based on sex resulting in separate accommodations are substantially related to the important government objectives of protecting the health, safety, and privacy of the individuals for whom the separate accommodations are provided.

Birth Certificates. Birth certificates must state sex as either male or female as observed or clinically verified at birth. If the sex of the child cannot be determined at birth, the time period for filing a certificate of birth is extended for a period of no more than six months to allow the parents to obtain any diagnosis or testing from a health care provider. New birth certificates will no longer be issued for individuals who provide a notarized affidavit from a health care provider that a sex designation has been changed.

Schools. School job postings no longer have to include gender identity in their non-discrimination statement for hiring purposes. Schools are further prohibited from the instruction of gender theory which is the “concept that an individual may properly be described in terms of an internal sense of gender that is incongruent with the individual’s sex as either male or female. Gender theory – includes the concept that an individual who experiences distress or discomfort with the individual’s sex should identify as and live consistent with the individual’s internal sense of gender, and that an individual can delay natural puberty and develop sex characteristics of the opposite sex through the use of puberty blockers, cross -sex hormones, and surgical procedures.”

Employers should be aware federal protections for sexual orientation and gender identity are still in place pursuant to U.S. Supreme Court precedent. It remains to be seen if there will be challenges to existing federal precedent to align with the new administration’s interpretation of protections for gender identity. Employers should consult with their legal counsel prior to making any revisions to existing harassment and discrimination policies.

Action Items

1. Review the amendment here.
2. Review harassment and discrimination policies for compliance with federal protections.
3. Monitor anticipated legal challenges for updates.

Disclaimer: This document is designed to provide general information and guidance concerning employment-related issues. It is presented with the understanding that ManagEase is not engaged in rendering any legal opinions. If a legal opinion is needed, please contact the services of your own legal adviser. © 2025 ManagEase

Discussion:

Nebraska’s legislature passed LB 229 which classifies workers who use a marketplace network platform as independent contractors under the state’s unemployment statute, if certain conditions are met. The law is set to go into effect on September 9, 2025.

With limited exceptions, the law defines a “marketplace network contractor” as a person who: (1) enters into a written agreement with a marketplace network platform to use the platform to connect with individuals or entities seeking services; (2) performs services for individuals or entities in exchange for compensation or payment; and (3) does not perform services at a physical business location operated by the marketplace network platform in Nebraska. The law defines “marketplace network platform” as “a person that maintains a digital network to facilitate services by marketplace network contractors to individuals or entities seeking those services and accepts requests from the public only through the platform’s digital network or mobile application, and not by telephone, facsimile, or in-person at a retail location.”

To be classified as an independent contractor under Nebraska’s law, the following four conditions must be met:

• The marketplace network contractor and marketplace network platform agree in writing that the marketplace network contractor is an independent contractor and not an employee of the marketplace network platform;
• The marketplace network platform does not unilaterally prescribe specific hours during which the marketplace network contractor must be available to accept service requests submitted through the marketplace network platform’s digital network;
• The marketplace network platform does not prohibit the marketplace network contractor from engaging in outside employment or performing services through other marketplace network platforms except while the marketplace network contractor is performing services through the marketplace network platform’s digital network; and
• The marketplace network platform is not allowed to terminate the contract of the marketplace network contractor for not accepting a specific service request.

Other employers who are not using a “marketplace network platform” will continue to be subject to the state’s ABC test for determining whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor for unemployment purposes.

Action Items

1. Review worker classifications with legal counsel to determine appropriate designation as employee or independent contractor.

Disclaimer: This document is designed to provide general information and guidance concerning employment-related issues. It is presented with the understanding that ManagEase is not engaged in rendering any legal opinions. If a legal opinion is needed, please contact the services of your own legal adviser. © 2025 ManagEase

Discussion:

Effective January 1, 2025, HB 4127 provides certain warehouse employees with protections regarding quotas. Employers with 100 employees at a single warehouse distribution center in Oregon or 1,000 employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers statewide who use quotas must provide employees with certain notice and record requirements. A “quota” is in effect if an employee may suffer an adverse employment action for failing to “perform at a specified productivity or speed, perform a quantified number of tasks or handle or produce a quantified number of materials, within a defined time period.” A “warehouse distribution center” is an establishment engaged in any services relating to warehousing and storage, merchant wholesale of durable or nondurable goods, or retailing using electronic shopping and mail-order houses, subject to some exceptions.

An employee is any non-exempt employee who works at a warehouse distribution center, excluding drivers or couriers. The law does not apply to a union employer if the collective bargaining agreement provides an employee performance evaluation metric that is subject to review and negotiation according to the terms of the agreement and rights to request records that are substantially equivalent to the law’s record requirements.

Notice Requirements. Effective January 31, 2025, employers are required to provide a written summary of any applicable quota to each employee subject to that quota and are prohibited from taking adverse action against an employee for failing to meet a quota unless the employee received the written summary for the relevant quota. The notice must include the quantified number of tasks to be performed, or materials to be produced or handled, within a defined period and a description of the potential consequences, including any adverse employment actions, that an employee may face as a result of the employee’s failure to meet the applicable quota. Notice must be provided at the time of hire, within two business days after making a change to a quota applicable to the employee, and when taking an adverse employment action against the employee for failing to meet the applicable quota.

Recordkeeping Requirements. Employers monitoring work speed data must provide certain types of records upon request to current and former employees who believe they have been disciplined for failing to meet a quota. Work speed data includes the following:

• the quantity of tasks performed;
• the quantity of items or materials handled or produced;
• the rate or speed at which the employee performs assigned tasks;
• measurements or metrics of employee performance in relation to an applicable quota; and
• time categorized as performing tasks or not performing tasks.

An employer has 21 calendar days from the request date. The free copy of the record must include:

• the information required to be included in the quota notice described above (or, in the case of a former employee, such information related to the applicable quota for the 90 days immediately preceding the employee’s separation from employment); and
• the employee’s work speed data for the 90 days immediately preceding the date of the employee’s request (or, in the case of a former employee’s timely request, their work speed data for the 90 days immediately preceding their most recent separation from employment).

Covered employers should review their obligations as soon as possible. The Bureau of Labor and Industries will be enforcing the law. Violations may result in filing of a complaint with civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation.

Action Items

1. Read the bill here.
2. Prepare and provide required notices.
3. Retain records of work speed data, if applicable.
4. Have appropriate personnel trained on the requirements.

Disclaimer: This document is designed to provide general information and guidance concerning employment-related issues. It is presented with the understanding that ManagEase is not engaged in rendering any legal opinions. If a legal opinion is needed, please contact the services of your own legal adviser. © 2025 ManagEase

Discussion:

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently cautioned against “illegal preferences against American workers.” The EEOC intends to protect against national origin discrimination, including against American workers, which will “reduce the abuse of legal immigration programs.” The announcement was targeted at employers violating anti-discrimination laws and staffing agencies who unlawfully comply with client companies’ illegal preferences against American workers.

Acting Chair Andrea Lucas has said that “[m]any employers have policies and practices preferring illegal aliens, migrant workers, and visa holders or other legal immigrants over American workers—in direct violation of federal employment law prohibiting national origin discrimination.” The EEOC acknowledges that, “[a]lthough Title VII’s national origin nondiscrimination requirement generally means that employers cannot prefer American workers, it equally means that employers cannot prefer non-American workers and disfavor Americans.” The EEOC also gave examples of impermissible reasons to violate Title VII:

• lower cost labor (whether due to payment under the table to illegal aliens, or exploiting rules around certain visa-holder wage requirements, etc.);
• a workforce that is perceived as more easily exploited, in terms of the group’s lack of knowledge, access, or use of wage and hour protections, antidiscrimination protections, and other legal protections;
• customer or client preference;
• biased perceptions that foreign workers are more productive or have a better work ethic than American workers.

“The EEOC works collaboratively with other federal agencies such as the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Labor on labor and employment issues that overlap with immigration-related law enforcement.” Employers who do not comply with existing anti-discrimination laws, like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, are at risk of civil penalties and potential criminal prosecution.

Action Items

1. Review the EEOC’s statement here.
2. Review job postings and recruiting strategies for compliance.
3. Coordinate recruiting strategies with staffing agencies, as applicable.

Disclaimer: This document is designed to provide general information and guidance concerning employment-related issues. It is presented with the understanding that ManagEase is not engaged in rendering any legal opinions. If a legal opinion is needed, please contact the services of your own legal adviser. © 2025 ManagEase