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• Ohio paid family and medical leave bill would expand benefits beyond FMLA By Chance Conaway and Michalea Delaveris    Ohio lawmakers have introduced Senate Bill 396, a proposal that would create a statewide paid family and medical leave program for Ohio workers. The bipartisan bill would establish an insurance fund providing partial wage replacement benefits for employees, independent contractors, and business owners who take qualifying family or medical leave. If enacted, the proposal would significantly expand leave protections in Ohio beyond the unpaid leave currently available under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act... More
• FTC cracks down on employee non-compete agreements: What employers need to know By Kelsey Gee    Employers hoping the new administration would scale back scrutiny of employee non-compete agreements may need to reconsider. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continues to aggressively challenge non-compete agreements under Section 5 of the FTC Act, as shown by its recent consent order with Rollins, Inc., the parent company of Orkin, HomeTeam and Critter Control. The FTC alleges that broad non-compete agreements restrict employee mobility and suppress competition, particularly for non-executive workers. The Rollins case provides an important warning... More
• Ohio workers’ compensation update: How the Kurtz decision limits Dillon on TTD recoupment By Rebecca Kopp Levine and Chance Conaway    In 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court overruled decades of precedent when it held in State ex rel. Dillon v. Industrial Commission that temporary total disability (TTD) compensation is terminated on the date a claimant reaches maximum medical improvement (MMI) (or, in other words, a treatment plateau), regardless of the date when the industrial hearing solidifying that determination is held.Now, just two years after Dillon’s landmark impact on Ohio workers’ compensation law, the Tenth District... More
• FY 2027 H‑1B lottery selections have been announced: What happens next? By Ahran McCloskey    On March 31, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had completed its initial round of selections for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027. This marks the first cap season in which USCIS applied its new weighted selection process which favors the allocation of H-1B visas to higher-paid individuals. Whether a registration was selected or not, there are important steps for employers and prospective H-1B beneficiaries to consider in the weeks ahead.For those selected in the H‑1B... More
• Proposed rule signals shift in DOL’s approach to worker classification By Chance Conaway    Earlier today (Feb. 26, 2026), the Department of Labor (DOL)’s Wage and Hour Division unveiled a proposed rule outlining the framework for determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Notably, the proposed rule also encompasses the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act (MSPA), which share the same statutory definition of “employ.”The rule, entitled Employee or Independent Contractor Status Under... More
• USCIS pause on adjudications for nationals from high-risk countries By Hannah Harris    On Dec. 2, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a policy memorandum directing its officers to place an adjudicative hold on pending benefit requests for foreign nationals from 19 high-risk countries identified in the June 4, 2025 Presidential Proclamation, Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States. The purpose of the hold is to allow USCIS time to conduct a comprehensive review of the pending requests.The memorandum also... More
• New weighted selection process for Cap‑Subject H-1B Petitions By Ahran McCloskey    On Dec. 29, 2025, the Federal Register published a final rule titled “Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking to File Cap‑Subject H-1B Petitions,” announcing a major transformation of how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) allocates H‑1B visas under the annual cap when random selection is required. Random selection is only implemented when USCIS receives more registrations (or petitions) than it projects to meet the numerical allocations. This final rule becomes effective on Feb. 27, 2026... More
• Prudential visa revocations and what you should know By Laura Jurcevich    If you hold a U.S. visa, you might assume that once it is issued, you are in the clear. However, the Department of State can revoke a visa after issuance under a process called prudential visa revocation. This often surprises travelers, so here is what you need to know.What is prudential visa revocation?A prudential visa revocation is a cancellation of a U.S. visa by the Department of State when new information surfaces suggesting the visa holder might be... More
• U.S. expands travel restrictions: What you need to know By Laura Jurcevich    On Dec. 16, 2025, President Trump signed a Proclamation expanding the June 4, 2025 travel restrictions to the United States. The Proclamation continues to fully ban the entry of nationals from the original 12 countries under the June 4, 2025 Proclamation and add seven additional countries to that list as well as individuals holding Palestinian-Authority-issued travel documents. Partial restrictions and entry limitations on 15 additional countries were also added in the December 2025 Proclamation. Nationals of Laos and Sierra Leone... More
• Regulation by capitulation: The tension between the FTC abandoning its defense of the Non-Compete Rule and the administrative law requirements for rescinding rules By Sean Aasen    The Federal Trade Commission’s decision in September 2025 to abandon its defense of the Non-Compete Rule—while simultaneously pursuing targeted enforcement actions against specific employers—raises fundamental questions about the boundaries of executive constitutional judgment and administrative law. This analysis examines whether the FTC’s approach represents a legitimate exercise of the executive branch’s authority to decline defense of unconstitutional regulations, or an impermissible attempt to circumvent the procedural requirements that Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association v. State Farm imposes on agency... More