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In April 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced a Final Rule that effectively bans all noncompete agreements, as well as provisions that function as noncompetes, between employers and workers as unfair methods of competition. Immediately following the issuance of the Final Rule, lawsuits were filed in Texas and Pennsylvania, challenging the validity of the Final Rule. The Texas court invalidated the Final Rule and issued a nationwide injunction prohibiting its implementation. This article analyzes the substance of the Final Rule and recommends how it can be navigated by employers, particularly in light of the nationwide injunction and the ongoing litigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of whether individuals should be classified as independent contractors has taken on increased significance as a result of the gig economy which began to grow following the Great Recession in 2009. It also has become something of a political football. Through the final regulations (Final Regs.), the Department of Labor (DOL) has promulgated guidance that for the first time provides a regulatory framework by which it can be determined if workers should be classified as independent contractors. The Final Regs. return to the DOL's longstanding position that the economic reality of the relationship between worker and alleged employer should be evaluated by considering all of the circumstances surrounding that relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restricted stock units (RSUs) are a type of equity compensation that many companies offer to attract top talent and to incentivize their executives to remain employed. RSUs generally have the potential of resulting in the transfer of substantial value to the executive, without a lot of complexity associated with that outcome. To make the most of an executive's RSUs, the financial service professional should make sure that the executive understands how much value they have and should devise a plan for addressing the taxation and cash flow needs following the vesting of the RSUs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundWhile studying the etiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) in children has several methodological advantages over studying etiology in adults, studies are limited by small sample sizes.ObjectiveUsing a rigorous methodological process, we developed the Pediatric MS Tool-Kit, a measurement framework that includes a minimal set of core variables to assess etiological risk factors.MethodsWe solicited input from the International Pediatric MS Study Group to select three risk factors: environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure, sun exposure, and vitamin D intake. To develop the Tool-Kit, we used a Delphi study involving a working group of epidemiologists, neurologists, and content experts from North America and Europe.ResultsThe Tool-Kit includes six core variables to measure ETS, six to measure sun exposure, and six to measure vitamin D intake. The Tool-Kit can be accessed online ( www.maelstrom-research.org/mica/network/tool-kit ).ConclusionThe goals of the Tool-Kit are to enhance exposure measurement in newly designed pediatric MS studies and comparability of results across studies, and in the longer term to facilitate harmonization of studies, a methodological approach that can be used to circumvent issues of small sample sizes. We believe the Tool-Kit will prove to be a valuable resource to guide pediatric MS researchers in developing study-specific questionnaire.

Many orthodontic bracket-bonding materials are available for clinical use. The current study aimed to assess the preferences and factors contributing to the clinical choice of bracket bonding material.

From a public policy standpoint, it is now generally agreed that gig workers and small businesses should have easy access to simple, low-cost ways to save for a satisfactory level of financial security in their retirement years. The harsh reality is that more than one-half of all private sector workers--approximately 55 million Americans--do not have access to retirement savings programs through their employer. However, workers are 15 times more likely to save for their retirement if they have a way to save through an employment-based plan. We look at pooled-employer plans (PEPs) as possible solutions to this need. A PEP may offer an attractive and cost-effective alternative to a single-employer retirement plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study a model for portfolio selection under uncertainty along with market equilibria that are associated with the optimal positions. Allowing for both ambiguity-seeking and ambiguity-averse market participants, model-implied demand functions resemble observed bid–ask spreads, and are consistent with extant limited-participation results based on more specialized ambiguity settings. A Pareto-efficient second-best equilibrium arises from constraining the portfolio allocations of ambiguity seekers. It implies that heterogeneity in ambiguity preferences is sufficient for mutually beneficial transactions even among all else homogeneous traders. Our results reconcile many observed phenomena in liquid high-information financial markets, such as portfolio inertia and negative risk premia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To create a preference-based value set scoring system for the MobQoL-7D outcome measure, and to examine differences in the health state preferences of the general population and individuals with impaired mobility. Methods and materials: A preference elicitation study was undertaken to ascribe utility weights to all health states (i.e., all unique combination of answers) described by the MobQoL-7D. The elicitation exercise was developed using the Online Elicitation of Personal Utility Functions (OPUF) tool. Two UK sample groups were recruited; firstly a representative general population sample (N = 504), secondly a balanced sample of individuals with impaired mobility (N = 368). Distinct preference-based value sets were developed for each sample. Differences in dimension ranking, weighting, and overall utility values were assessed. Results: The general population sample considered most health states, especially the more severe states, to be worse than the mobility impaired sample comparatively. Statistically significant differences between the samples were observed in four of the seven MobQoL-7D dimensions. Conclusions: This study is the first to provide preference-based value sets for the MobQoL-7D, ready for use in economic evaluations, QALY calculation, and other clinical or research applications. The study demonstrates how the general public and individuals with impaired mobility value health states differently. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: The MobQoL-7D offers a concise and valid tool for rehabilitation professionals to measure and monitor quality of life and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) in the context of mobility impairment. The MobQoL-7D value set calculator allows summary utility scores and QALYs to be calculated using MobQoL-7D outcome data; the first of its kind. The general public and individuals with impaired mobility value health states differently, which could impact cost-per QALY calculations and subsequent service commissioning and funding decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A controlled clinical trial was undertaken to compare the effectiveness of Vivera® and Duran® retainers with regard to the survival, stability and occlusal settling over the first 6 months of retention following the completion of clear aligner treatment.

BackgroundMedically hospitalized patients who lack decisional capacity may request, demand, or attempt to leave the hospital despite grave risk to themselves. The treating physician in this scenario must determine how to safeguard such patients, including whether to attempt to keep them in the hospital. However, in many jurisdictions, there are no laws that address this matter directly. In this absence, psychiatrists are often called upon to issue an involuntary psychiatric hold (civil commitment) to keep the patient from leaving. Yet, civil commitment statutes were not intended for, and generally do not address, the needs of the medically ill patient without psychiatric illness. Civil commitment is permitted for patients who pose a danger to themselves or others, or who are gravely disabled, specifically as the result of a mental illness, and allows the transport of such individuals to facilities for psychiatric evaluation. It does not permit detention for medical illnesses nor the involuntary administration of medical treatments. Therefore, the establishment of hospital policies and procedures may be the most appropriate means of detaining medically hospitalized patients who lack capacity to understand the risks of leaving the hospital, in addition to mitigating the potential tort risk faced by the physician for acting in a manner that protects the patient.ObjectiveThe purpose of this article is to identify the array of clinical and medical-legal concerns in these scenarios, and to describe the development of a "medical incapacity hold" policy as a means of addressing this unresolved issue.