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Any change in the presidential administration that is accompanied by a change in political party is bound to result in a reshuffle within federal agencies. During a Wednesday webinar and post-election discussion, Cozen O’Connor attorneys discussed what they expect to happen with some of the biggest rules and regulations on employers’ radars. Here are two quick points to remember.

Prohibition of non-competition

The Federal Trade Commission is currently continue a call of a Texas district court’s decision to overturn its ban on non-compete agreements in employment contracts. This is the second such appeal for the FTC, which also appealed a Florida district court’s decision to uphold the ban in September.

Going forward, the rule is likely “dead in the water,” said Michele Ballard Miller, chair of Cozen O’Connor’s West Coast Labor and Employment Department, except at the state level. “California hasn’t recognized non-competes for years,” she noted.

Colleagues Michael Schmidt, vice chair of the law firm’s labor and employment department, and David Barron, a member of the firm, agree.

“They will withdraw this appeal, and that will be it,” Barron predicted. “He will die peacefully.”

Overtime rule

Perhaps surprisingly for a Republican administration, both Barron and Schmidt predicted that the U.S. Department of Labor would impose an overtime rule that would raise the annual minimum wage. salary threshold for overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act to $58,656 on January 1, and automatically every three years starting in July 2027 – not only will remain in effect, but will not be challenged at the federal level.

“Trump has done it in the past,” Barron said, referring to the the raising of the threshold by the first administration in 2019. “I don’t know why he would object to it.”

“I completely agree,” Schmidt said.