#legal administrative

[eternityparalegalservices]

Managing legal admin tasks in-house diverts valuable time from core responsibilities. This hidden cost impacts overall productivity, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities to focus on high-priority tasks.

[reasonsforhope]

Federal regulators on Tuesday [April 23, 2024] enacted a nationwide ban on new noncompete agreements, which keep millions of Americans — from minimum-wage earners to CEOs — from switching jobs within their industries.

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday afternoon voted 3-to-2 to approve the new rule, which will ban noncompetes for all workers when the regulations take effect in 120 days [So, the ban starts in early September, 2024!]. For senior executives, existing noncompetes can remain in force. For all other employees, existing noncompetes are not enforceable.

[That's right: if you're currently under a noncompete agreement, it's completely invalid as of September 2024! You're free!!]

The antitrust and consumer protection agency heard from thousands of people who said they had been harmed by noncompetes, illustrating how the agreements are "robbing people of their economic liberty," FTC Chair Lina Khan said. 

The FTC commissioners voted along party lines, with its two Republicans arguing the agency lacked the jurisdiction to enact the rule and that such moves should be made in Congress...

Why it matters

The new rule could impact tens of millions of workers, said Heidi Shierholz, a labor economist and president of the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. 

"For nonunion workers, the only leverage they have is their ability to quit their job," Shierholz told CBS MoneyWatch. "Noncompetes don't just stop you from taking a job — they stop you from starting your own business."

Since proposing the new rule, the FTC has received more than 26,000 public comments on the regulations. The final rule adopted "would generally prevent most employers from using noncompete clauses," the FTC said in a statement.

The agency's action comes more than two years after President Biden directed the agency to "curtail the unfair use" of noncompetes, under which employees effectively sign away future work opportunities in their industry as a condition of keeping their current job. The president's executive order urged the FTC to target such labor restrictions and others that improperly constrain employees from seeking work.

"The freedom to change jobs is core to economic liberty and to a competitive, thriving economy," Khan said in a statement making the case for axing noncompetes. "Noncompetes block workers from freely switching jobs, depriving them of higher wages and better working conditions, and depriving businesses of a talent pool that they need to build and expand."

Real-life consequences

In laying out its rationale for banishing noncompetes from the labor landscape, the FTC offered real-life examples of how the agreements can hurt workers.

In one case, a single father earned about $11 an hour as a security guard for a Florida firm, but resigned a few weeks after taking the job when his child care fell through. Months later, he took a job as a security guard at a bank, making nearly $15 an hour. But the bank terminated his employment after receiving a letter from the man's prior employer stating he had signed a two-year noncompete.

In another example, a factory manager at a textile company saw his paycheck dry up after the 2008 financial crisis. A rival textile company offered him a better job and a big raise, but his noncompete blocked him from taking it, according to the FTC. A subsequent legal battle took three years, wiping out his savings. 

-via CBS Moneywatch, April 24, 2024

--

Note:

A lot of people think that noncompete agreements are only a white-collar issue, but they absolutely affect blue-collar workers too, as you can see from the security guard anecdote.

In fact, one in six food and service workers are bound by noncompete agreements. That's right - one in six food workers can't leave Burger King to work for Wendy's [hypothetical example], in the name of "trade secrets." (x, x, x)

Noncompete agreements also restrict workers in industries from tech and video games to neighborhood yoga studios. "The White House estimates that tens of millions of workers are subject to noncompete agreements, even in states like California where they're banned." (x, x, x)

The FTC estimates that the ban will lead to "the creation of 8,500 new businesses annually, an average annual pay increase of $524 for workers, lower health care costs, and as many as 29,000 more patents each year for the next decade." (x)

Clearer explanation of noncompete agreements below the cut.

Noncompete agreements can restrict workers from leaving for a better job or starting their own business.

Noncompetes often effectively coerce workers into staying in jobs they want to leave, and even force them to leave a profession or relocate.

Noncompetes can prevent workers from accepting higher-paying jobs, and even curtail the pay of workers not subject to them directly.

Of the more than 26,000 comments received by the FTC, more than 25,000 supported banning noncompetes. 

[alwaysbewoke]

[apollos-olives]

it's actually so sad seeing how islamophobia is still so rampant in america. i'm the president of the muslim student association on campus and today a hijabi girl came in and told me about a situation where she was religiously and racially targeted by a PROFESSOR. and the worst part wasn't just the targeting, but it was the fact that she said she was so scared to speak up and tell anyone about it because she was afraid that no one would believe her or do anything about it for her.

we as muslims in america are always told to just put our heads down and take it. it hurts to see how we're told to handle abuse and islamophobia by ourselves and not reach out for help. we're tired of tolerating abuse and hatred for no reason other than pure ignorance. white americans please educate yourselves for the love of god.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

John Knefel at MMFA:

Organizations on the advisory board of Project 2025, a sprawling plan to provide the incoming Republican presidential administration with policy and staffing recommendations, have responded to President-elect Donald Trump’s victory by promoting extreme approaches to carrying out his promise to deport upward of 10 million undocumented immigrants.  Right-wing think tanks the Center for Immigration Studies, The Claremont Institute, and the Center for Renewing America have all advanced anti-immigrant policies since Trump’s win. Some of their proposals include offering bounties for information on suspected undocumented people, conscripting far-right so-called “constitutional sheriffs” to serve as immigration enforcers, and attempting to make life so miserable for out-of-status immigrants that they flee the country — referred to euphemistically as “self-deportation.”  

Trump has already named the two top officials who will be tasked with carrying out his mass deportation plan, and they both have direct connections to Project 2025. Tom Homan, Trump’s pick for “border czar,” is a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation, Project 2025’s lead organizer. He is also credited as a contributor in Project 2025’s policy book, Mandate for Leadership, which proposes drastic cuts to legal immigration in addition to harsh crackdowns on undocumented people. Homan has promised to “to run the biggest deportation operation this country has ever seen.”  Alongside Homan will be Stephen Miller — a top architect of Trump’s Muslim ban and family separation policies — who will serve as deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser in the new Trump administration. Miller and his conservative advocacy organization, America First Legal, attempted to distance themselves from Project 2025 amid growing backlash to the effort, but their fingerprints are all over it. Miller appeared in a Project 2025 promotional video, a top AFL executive authored a chapter in Mandate, and AFL was on the advisory board until it removed itself following public outcry. 

Project 2025 partner organizations such as the Center For Immigration Studies, Claremont Institute, and the Center For Renewing America are helping form plans to get Donald Trump’s morally and economically repugnant mass deportation scheme that is set to target the removal of at least 10 million undocumented immigrants.

[esmeraldaka]

Hum...

I am not american. Nor am a highly political person, and not a political blog (and never will be.)

But this? I'm livid. This is terrifying.

Wtf USA? That's how you end up with a dictator at the wheel soon.

Edit: this is objectively a really bad law, no matter who's the president. No one should be above the law. Also, I'm removing comments as I see them

[youjustgotlawyered]

Winning a hearing for a foster youth right before Christmas:

[elminster-big-naturals]

"what kind of law did astarion pass to piss off the gur so much 😂"

aside from the fact magisters don't pass laws, the implication that cazador was just kind of casually waiting around for his moment bc knew astarion was Such a dickhead that someone was going to beat his ass to death eventually is extremely funny

[not-poignant]

Protective Gary is something else. Cannot wait to see him being all protective of Ef!!!

Gosh I LOVE a protective character, and we're definitely going to see the more intense sides of Gary's protectiveness come out in the last quarter of the fic.

And honestly, Efnisien could do with someone super protective in his corner, even if that protectiveness comes with, er.... consequences.

[hey-hey-j]

feels good to figure out the trajectory of my life

[uldren-sov]

By the way s/o to W40k: Rogue Trader for having the FUNNIEST quest I've ever done:

Where all it is, is trying to follow administrative procedures in order to get one of your followers certified into a new official position.

and despite all your immeasurable powers which grant you express and unique independent authority to rule over swathes of the galaxy.....

you still gotta wait in line for your number to be called to speak to a clerk

and it still takes hours

and you nearly fail because you found ONE required seal of approval but can't get the SECOND seal

and not to mention the signatures....

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Julie Tsirkin and Monica Alba at NBC News:

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will take a historic step toward easing federal restrictions on cannabis, with plans to announce an interim rule soon reclassifying the drug for the first time since the Controlled Substances Act was enacted more than 50 years ago, four sources with knowledge of the decision tell NBC News. The Drug Enforcement Administration is expected to approve an opinion by the Department of Health and Human Services that marijuana should be reclassified from the most strict Schedule I to the less stringent Schedule III, marking the first time that the U.S. government would acknowledge its potential medical benefits and begin studying them in earnest. Attorney General Merrick Garland will submit the rescheduling proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget as early as Tuesday afternoon, a source familiar with the timeline told NBC News. The Justice Department "continues to work on this rule," a Biden administration official said. "We have no further comment at this time."

What rescheduling means

Since 1971, marijuana has been in the same category as heroin, methamphetamines and LSD. Each substance under the Schedule I classification is defined as a drug with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule III substances include Tylenol with codeine, steroids and testosterone. By rescheduling cannabis, the drug would now be studied and researched to identify concrete medical benefits, opening the door for pharmaceutical companies to get involved with the sale and distribution of medical marijuana in states where it is legal.  For the $34 billion cannabis industry, the move would also eliminate significant tax burdens for businesses in states where the drug is legal, notably getting rid of the Internal Revenue Services code Section 280E which currently prohibits legal cannabis companies from deducting what would otherwise be ordinary business expenses. The Department of Justice’s rescheduling decision could also help shrink the black market which has thrived despite legalization in states like New York and California and has undercut legal markets that are fiercely regulated and highly taxed.

The Biden Administration announces its plans to reclassify marijuana from the stringent Schedule I to the much more lenient Schedule III, following recommendations from the HHS and the DEA.

[supercantaloupe]

also gd okay i know this is a minor detail but . our online class discussion board site thing has my real/legal name listed as my display name. and i can't actually change it because my account was set up by the university tech services and is linked to my university account which naturally is under my real legal name. (nevermind the fact that i Do have "sasha" listed as my preferred name In my university account but whatever . ) but no matter how many times i introduce myself as sasha and sign things as sasha and turn things in as sasha fucking EVERYBODY in my class responds to my discussion board posts by calling me my real legal name. and it's starting to really get on my nerves. i would literally prefer you not use any name for me than do that

[drawnecromancy]

(transparent/white background)

Elyzen of Neseah

39 years old and one of the few Nesean siblings who actually is married. He does not currently live in Neseah and has moved to his wife's country, although they do visit from time to time. He was visiting with her when Neseah fell.

His wife died as well.

Notes.

Received the same very thorough education as Laevna and Renia, expected to become the heir if anything happened to them or they decided not to take the throne.

Was the resident diplomat and strategist until his wedding. Incredibly serious about that.

He realized fairly early he was a guy.

The first of a series of 3 serial flirters in his family, and probably the one who has gotten the most action out of them. He was very good at this.

His marriage was political. He's very happy with the outcome and loves his wife very much :)