We continue our annual tradition of covering legal trends and outlook for this year, focusing this week on employment and labor. Following several years of pandemic-focused legislation, we are now seeing a significant uptick in new employment legislation and emerging work-related trends across the country. The following are a few of the issues and trends that might impact manufacturers in 2023:
Restrictions on Noncompete Agreements: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has become increasingly focused on noncompete agreements, having recently proposed a federal regulation that would broadly prohibit employers from requiring employees to execute such agreements. The FTC has also taken legal action recently against companies, including two manufacturers, for their use of “harmful” noncompete agreements. States are also continuing to pass laws curbing the right of employers to use such post-employment restrictions. In 2023, we expect this will be a hot topic and will prove to be a serious challenge to manufacturers seeking to protect their business interests.
Right-Sizing or Rebalancing: Following recent economic and business forecasts and a tumultuous several years, manufacturers may be focusing on right-sizing, restructuring, or rebalancing their operations. Among the critical levers in such discussions are labor allocation, workplace structure, and evaluation of skills and abilities; such discussions may result in layoffs, reductions-in-force, transfers, or redeployment...
The SP chief also dismissed the govt’s claims of mobile phone manufacturing in the state, saying only the assembly of devices was taking place with components imported from China, Taiwan and Korea ...