As we did last year about this time, I’d like to take some time to review our top 10 employment law blog posts for 2024. This was the first full year where I was far more consistent in writing and posting new blog posts at least once (and sometimes twice) per week, for a total of 73 new blog posts written over the last twelve months! So let’s see how well our new posts stacked up to the golden oldies from many years past.
Most Popular Employment Law Blog Posts Written in 2024
1. The WARN Act for South Carolina Employees, published February 6, 2024. By far the most viewed post I’ve written this year. I suspect this is because there’s not really any good information online about this specific law, written for an employee’s perspective. With the economy so up and down over the last few years, massive layoffs continue to be an issue, and how much notice companies of a certain size must provide to employees, including in South Carolina, remains a topic of serious interest for our readers.
2. PTO/Vacation Payouts for SC Employees, published May 13, 2024. Another popular post that I wrote mainly because I get this very question over and over again. Normally the amount of money owed to the employee is not enough for an attorney to get involved, so I included in the post the same standard advice I give to employees who reach out: you can contact SC LLR to file a complaint or you can file in small claims court, if you are owed the payout.
3. FTC’s Rule Banning Non-Competes May Be Issued in April 2024, published March 5, 2024. The Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to ban non-competes nationwide provided a great deal of blogging fodder for me this year, and I received a lot of questions from employees about whether it would impact their own non-competes (spoiler alert: it doesn’t, as it never went into effect).
4. Intermittent Leave and Continuous Leave under the FMLA, published February 20, 2024. I wrote this post to provide a basic explainer on two of the main types of leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, intermittent and continuous leave. (A reduced work schedule is the other option.) I see so many employees get retaliated against after they seek FMLA leave, and it’s always frustrating and sad. Bad enough you have to deal with the medical condition itself without having to deal with sudden unemployment as well.
5. U.S. DOL Raised Salary Threshold for Overtime Pay, published April 30, 2024. Another attempt by a federal agency (see all: the FTC and non-competes) to make some changes to existing regulations without the involvement of Congress. In this case, the DOL wanted to require companies to pay a higher salary to employees in order to avoid paying overtime (i.e., claiming an overtime exemption). The first increase actually went into effect on July 1, but a court later halted the entire rule in November, keeping the nation at the status quo.
Most Popular Employment Law Blog Posts in 2023 that Were Written in Prior Years
1. The Family and Medical Leave Act for SC Employees, published September 11, 2023. As noted from the other FMLA post above, these sorts of protected leave issues are important for South Carolina employees. I wrote this post in 2023 to provide some guidance and understanding to employees who are seeking to navigate the FMLA process.
2. Recovering Unpaid Commissions in South Carolina, published October 9, 2023. Wage theft remains a problem in South Carolina. We see it all the time in the small amounts, such as for unpaid PTO/vacation pay when an employee leaves and the company refuses to pay it out, even with a policy that says they get their money; all the way up to large amounts, typically commissions or bonuses on projects that the employee earned and the company tries to avoid paying on by firing the employee right before it’s supposed to be paid out.
3. FTC Proposes Rule that Would Ban Non-Compete Agreements, published October 31, 2023. Although the FTC’s rule is dead for now, we saw a ton of traffic on non-compete-related posts due to the constant up and down nature of Big Business’s battle against this proposed ban. Although the FTC vows to appeal the court’s decision, with a new Trump-let FTC in the coming year, I suspect that the ban will be dead for good.
4. The Contents of Non-Compete Agreements for SC Employees, published March 31, 2021. The oldest blog post on this list. But it makes sense, as I regularly review many non-compete agreements every week for South Carolina employees. I’m seeing less litigation erupt from these types of agreements, but of course lawsuits still do happen on a regular basis. Perhaps companies are realizing just how expensive and ultimately pointless non-compete litigation can be. Still, I always recommend that you have a South Carolina non-compete lawyer review the agreement with you to see how you can avoid litigation as best you can.
5. Is Santa Liable for ADA Discrimination Against Rudolph?, published December 18, 2023. The approaching holidays have sent this holiday-themed blog post from last year soaring in the rankings. Disability discrimination pops up in all sorts of scenarios, and even Old Saint Nick is not immune from liability. After all, as the old song goes, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer had a very good legal claim. And if you ever saw it, you would even say the same.”
Well, that’s all for 2024! I always enjoy researching and writing these employment law blogs, and I’ve had a number of clients mention that they found me through the blog posts, so it appears that they’re serving some value to the community. I look forward to all the various topics we will cover in the coming year!
