Guy Brenner
Partner
Guy Brenner is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and leads the Firm’s Washington, D.C. Labor & Employment practice. He is head of the Government Contractor Compliance Group and is co-head of the Non-Compete & Trade Secrets Group. He has extensive experience representing employers in both single-plaintiff and class action matters, as well as in arbitration proceedings. He also regularly assists federal government contractors with the many special employment-related compliance challenges they face.
Guy represents employers in all aspects of employment and labor litigation and counseling, with an emphasis on non-compete and trade secrets issues, medical and disability leave matters, employee/independent contractor classification issues, and the investigation and litigation of whistleblower claims. He assists employers in negotiating and drafting executive agreements and employee mobility agreements, including non-competition, non-solicit and non-disclosure agreements, and also conducts and supervises internal investigations. He also regularly advises clients on pay equity matters, including privileged pay equity analyses.
Guy advises federal government contractors and subcontractors all aspects of Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) regulations and requirements, including preparing affirmative action plans, responding to desk audits, and managing on-site audits.
Guy is a former clerk to Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the US District Court of the District of Columbia.
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Almost 2 years after the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act (“the Act”) was passed, the Act – with significant amendments – will become effective and applicable to all employers with D.C. employees on October 1, 2022. The law generally prohibits employers from entering into or imposing non-compete agreements and policies on D.C. employees that … Continue Reading
Effective October 1, 2022, an amendment to the District of Columbia’s Human Rights Act (“the Act”) will expand the universe of workers protected under the Act, as well as codify workplace harassment as an unlawful discriminatory practice. First, the amendment expands the Act’s definition of a protected “employee” to now also include individuals “working or … Continue Reading
This past July, the Council of the District of Columbia amended its statutory requirements for Universal Paid Leave through the Universal Paid Leave Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 (the “Act”). The amendments made to the D.C. paid leave program by the Act, among other things, increase the maximum duration of paid leave benefits, decrease the … Continue Reading
On August 26, the Eleventh Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in State of Georgia, et al v. President of the United States, et al, Case No. 21-14269. The Eleventh Circuit upheld, but narrowed, an existing nationwide preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of President Biden’s contractor and subcontractor vaccine mandate. Specifically, the Court upheld the injunction as … Continue Reading
Mayor Bowser signed the Amendment on July 27, 2022. The Amendment will go into effect on October 1, 2022 (absent action by Congress, which is not expected). On July 12, 2022, the District of Columbia Council voted to modify key aspects of the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act (“the Act”), passing the Non-Compete Clarification … Continue Reading
On July 12, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) – the agency which investigates and enforces federal antidiscrimination laws in the workplace – updated its guidance across several different areas relating to COVID-19 and the workplace, including when employees can be required to undergo COVID-19 testing, reasonable accommodations, and parameters around mandatory vaccination programs. … Continue Reading
On June 7, 2022, the Council of the District of Columbia passed the Cannabis Employment Protections Act of 2022 (the “Bill”). If signed into law by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, the Bill would prohibit employers, with certain exceptions, from “refus[ing] to hire, terminat[ing] from employment, suspend[ing], fail[ing] to promote, demot[ing], or penalize[ing] an individual” due … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, the deadline for most employers with 100 or more employees (and most federal contractors with 50 or more employees) to file their 2021 EEO-1 reports is May 17, 2022. The portal for filing the reports opened on April 12, 2022. The EEOC has indicated it will not be extending the May … Continue Reading
On April 9, 2022, the Maryland state legislature overrode Governor Hogan’s veto of Senate Bill 275, also known as the Time to Care Act of 2022 (the “Act”). With the enactment of the law, Maryland becomes the latest state to establish paid family and medical leave for employees. The Act creates a family and medical … Continue Reading
On March 24, 2022, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1795 also known as the “Silenced No More Act” (“the Act”). The Act prohibits agreements containing nondisclosure and nondisparagement provisions that prevent an employee or independent contractor from discussing certain violations of law. Washington becomes the second state (after California) … Continue Reading
Update – Mayor Bowser signed the amendment on March 28, 2022, officially pushing back the Act’s applicable date to October 1, 2022. The District of Columbia’s ban on non-compete agreements is delayed again. As we previously reported, the DC Government enacted The Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act (the “Act”) in January 2021, which creates … Continue Reading
***UPDATE: President Biden signed the bill into law on March 3, 2022. The law takes effect immediately.*** Today, the Senate passed H. 4445, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (the “Act”), by a voice vote. The bill had previously passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 335-97. The … Continue Reading
On January 25, 2022, OSHA filed a notice withdrawing its Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”). The ETS had mandated that employers with 100 or more employees require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or to wear face coverings and undergo weekly testing. As we previously reported here, on January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme … Continue Reading
***UPDATE: beginning February 15, 2022, indoor venues will no longer be required to verify that patrons are vaccinated (though businesses may choose to keep vaccination requirements in place). Additional information is available here.*** Starting January 15, 2022, DC will require the following establishments to verify that their guests, visitors and consumers ages 12 and older … Continue Reading
On January 6, 2022, the EEOC announced that the data collection portal for 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 reports is “tentatively scheduled” to open on April 12, 2022, and that the “tentative deadline” for employers to file their EEO-1 reports is May 17, 2022. The EEOC also announced it “is discontinuing the EEO-1 Component 1 Type … Continue Reading
Effective December 21, 2021, through at least January 31, 2022, DC law requires that all individuals wear masks in indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccination status. As we previously reported, just last month DC Mayor Muriel Bowser significantly scaled back the District’s indoor mask mandate, which had required masks in all indoor public places since … Continue Reading
UPDATE: On January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court granted applications to stay OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard pending review on the merits by the Sixth Circuit, and if writs of certiorari are subsequently sought to the U.S. Supreme Court, pending the Court’s disposition of such writs. Click here to read more about the Court’s decision. On … Continue Reading
As we reported this past summer, President Biden signed an Executive Order titled “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” At the time, President Biden urged the chair of the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) to “curtail the unfair use of non-compete clauses and other clauses or agreements that may unfairly limit worker mobility.” Since the … Continue Reading
UPDATE (2/4/22): On February 2, the Eleventh Circuit scheduled oral argument for April 8. UPDATE (1/27/22): On January 21, 2022, Judge Baker issued an order in response to the federal government’s request for clarification of his order enjoining the federal contractor vaccine mandate nationwide. Judge Baker’s latest order addressed two inquiries. First, he declined to … Continue Reading
***UPDATE: the Emergency Act has been extended through at least May 4, 2022.*** DC Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law the COVID Vaccination Leave Emergency Amendment Act of 2021 (“Emergency Act”), which requires employers to provide paid leave to employees and their children for time spent obtaining and, if needed, recovering from side effects of … Continue Reading
On November 30, 2021, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the federal contractor and subcontractor vaccine mandate requirements issued by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force in response to President Biden’s Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors. The mandate requires covered contractor employees to be fully … Continue Reading
In this episode of The Proskauer Brief we are joined by partner Guy Brenner, who heads up Proskauer’s D.C. Employment Law practice and co-chairs our Non‑Compete and Trade Secrets Practice group and Daryl Leon, an associate in Proskauer’s New York office and senior member of the Firm’s Non‑Compete and Trade Secrets Practice Group. Employers should listen … Continue Reading
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that on November 22, 2021, the District’s indoor mask mandate – one of, if not the most restrictive mask mandate – will be significantly scaled back. The current mandate, which went into effect on July 31, 2021, requires masks in all indoor public places for all individuals over age two, … Continue Reading
UPDATE: On January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court granted applications to stay OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard pending review on the merits by the Sixth Circuit, and if writs of certiorari are subsequently sought to the U.S. Supreme Court, pending the Court’s disposition of such writs. Click here to read more about the Court’s decision. On … Continue Reading
D.C.’s New Restrictive Non-Compete Law Goes Into Effect October 1, 2022
Washington, D.C. to Expand Antidiscrimination Protections to Include Independent Contractors and Homeless Individuals
By Guy Brenner, Laura Fant and Theresa Madonna on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation
D.C. Paid Leave Law Changes Go Into Effect October 1, 2022
By Guy Brenner, Laura Fant and Caroline Libby on Posted in Leaves of Absences
Eleventh Circuit Narrows Nationwide Injunction On President Biden’s Contractor Vaccine Mandate
By Guy Brenner, Jacob P. Tucker and Claudia Khoury-Yacoub on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, Coronavirus
D.C. Council Passes Law Significantly Scaling Back Non-Compete Ban
EEOC Issues New Workplace Guidance Regarding COVID-19 Testing
Washington, D.C. Bill Would Limit Employers’ Ability to Discipline Based on Marijuana Testing
By Guy Brenner, Laura Fant and Alisha Bruce on Posted in Drugs in the Workplace
Reminder: EEO-1 Filing Deadline Is Fast Approaching With (Sort Of) No Extensions Coming
By Guy Brenner on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
Paid Family and Medical Leave Is Coming to Maryland
By Guy Brenner, Laura Fant and Raymond Arroyo on Posted in Leaves of Absences
Washington Passes “Silenced No More Act” Limiting Nondisclosure and Nondisparagement Provisions In Employment And Independent Contractor Agreements
By Guy Brenner and E. Sydney Cone on Posted in Non-Competes and Protection of Corporate Assets
D.C.’s Non-Compete Law Poised To Be Delayed Until October 1, 2022
By Guy Brenner, Daryl Leon and E. Sydney Cone on Posted in Non-Competes and Protection of Corporate Assets
UPDATED: President Biden Signs Bill Prohibiting Mandatory Arbitration and Class Action Waivers for Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Claims
By Guy Brenner, Tony Oncidi, Evandro Gigante, Laura Fant, Theresa Madonna and Ariel Brotman on Posted in Arbitration, Class/Collective Action
OSHA Withdraws Emergency Temporary Standard Mandating Vaccination or Testing/Masking Policies for Employers with 100 or More Employees
By Guy Brenner, Laura Fant and Raymond Arroyo on Posted in Coronavirus
DC Enacts Vaccine Mandate For Certain Indoor Establishments
By Guy Brenner and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Coronavirus
EEOC Announces deadline for 2021 EEO-1 Reports and EEO-1 Changes
By Guy Brenner on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
More Whiplash — DC Brings Back Mask Mandate and Encourages Vaccine Mandates
By Guy Brenner and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Coronavirus
Sixth Circuit Panel Dissolves Stay of OSHA Vaccine/Testing Mandate
FTC and DOJ Hold Workshop On Non-Compete Agreements
Federal Judge Blocks Contractor Vaccine Mandate Nationwide
By Guy Brenner and Jacob P. Tucker on Posted in Coronavirus, Workplace Policies and Procedures
DC Enacts (Another) COVID-19 Emergency Leave Law
By Guy Brenner and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Coronavirus
Contractor Vaccine Mandate Blocked In 3 States By Federal Judge
By Guy Brenner and Jacob P. Tucker on Posted in Coronavirus, Workplace Policies and Procedures
[Podcast]: Developments & Trends Across the Country in Non-Compete Law
DC Announces End to Indoor Mask Mandate
By Guy Brenner and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Coronavirus
