NH Business: Overtime pay and non-compete rules may change this summer
work. I'm Fred Kocher. If you work overtime, you'll want to be paid for that time. However, this is not always the case. There may be good news for employees in that regard. Also, however, if you are leaving your current job to take a job in another business, especially in your chosen specialty, you may have a non-compete clause in your employment contract. There is some news for employees in this regard, but there is opposition from some corporate groups on the grounds of protecting business interests, which may delay implementation. So Jim Reidy, co-chair of the labor and employment group at Shane Finney LLP in Portsmouth, Concord and Manchester, asks us to tell you what happened on both fronts. Upper Valley and Boston. Jim Reidy, welcome. thanks so much. I'm glad to be here. Well, what do you think about this? Well, we've been working on this change to overtime hours for a while. In fact, the last time it changed was in 2004. So some might say it was long overdue. Therefore, the Ministry of Labor proposed a two-level increase in July and again in January. Yeah. And now there's a new New Hampshire law here that fits this bill. Additionally, overtime laws require employers to pay employees 1.5 times their regular wage for any hours in excess of 40 hours per week. Overtime pay is not required for weekend and holiday work. Are these mesh? They do, and New Hampshire has long followed federal overtime laws. Yes, overtime laws do not apply, including some of the exceptions to federal overtime laws, such as seasonal and seasonal workers. Now let's talk about non-competition. And this is a suggestion. Federal Trade Commission rule changes take effect this summer. It's not new. This is a non-compete for all employees, including 151,001 64 executives. In that case, existing non-competes for senior executives will remain in effect and existing non-competes for all other employees will not be enforced. After August. Jim, this would be a big deal for most workers, but some business groups are pushing back, saying they have legitimate business interests and the FTC lacks jurisdiction. Yes, there are many legal issues regarding this. Going back to what I said earlier, as you know, some workplaces were anticipating changes to overtime rules. They never expected such a change in non-compete standards. That means this is far-reaching from the FTC and could be subject to potential legal challenges, including a lawsuit from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. So this may not happen this summer. right. But in the meantime, I think it's best for employers to prepare for both overtime and non-compete rules, assuming they go into effect now. New Hampshire has a law regarding this, which states that non-compete agreements must be entered into. Provided to employees at the time. Job offers are extended and non-compete agreements are entered into based on the employee's income. Any amount below $14.50 is void and unenforceable. Under that rule. Yes, New Hampshire could continue to narrow the scope and enforceability of noncompete agreements, following what many other states have done. Non-Solicitation Agreement and Confidentiality Agreement. These must be communicated to applicants at the time of job offer. New Hampshire is certainly following the national trend. Does it match what has been proposed? And there are real questions about this nationwide ban and what it means. This is because it is a broader definition of non-compete than the standard. What should companies do now if they have non-compete clauses for their employees? Agreements? What should they do? They should look at them and whether they look at the governing law or not, regardless of what state it's in, if it's private. Whether it really makes sense to protect the goodwill of our business or other options like non-contractual or legal representation should be considered. Nondisclosure agreements, what do you think beyond these lawsuits that have already been filed?The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has already filed a lawsuit, and there are other lawsuits in the works. Well, how long do you think this is until we have clear rules? Now, overtime rules that go into effect in July and January, this was last proposed in 2016. It was stopped at the 11th hour. The FTC rule goes into effect in late August. Perhaps there will be changes in that too. You will see that it may be blocked or postponed. Germ Rudy, co-chair of the Labor and Employment Group at Shane Finney Law Firm in Manchester and elsewhere. And thank you for explaining about overtime and non-competes. you're welcome. If you missed any part of this briefing,
James Redy is co-chair of Sheehan Phinney's Labor and Employment Group. He joins Fred Kocher to discuss overtime pay, non-compete rules, and potential changes coming soon.
James Redy is co-chair of Sheehan Phinney's Labor and Employment Group. He joins Fred Kocher to discuss overtime pay, non-compete rules, and potential changes coming soon.