Labor and employment law in Germany will see a number of important developments in 2025. The Bureaucracy Relief Act IV took effect on January 1; the EU AI Act’s initial provisions on unauthorized AI take effect on February 2;...more
The coalition agreement of the recently dissolved “Traffic Light Coalition” government in Germany had provided for counteracting the trend of increasing bureaucratic burdens, especially for companies....more
The introduction of employee data protection legislation in Germany has been announced in many coalition agreements over the past decades—without ever being implemented. This makes it even more surprising that the issue of...more
In Germany, every new year brings with it changes and updates in employment law. We have summarized below which new regulations may want to prepare for in the course of 2024....more
1/22/2024
/ Amended Legislation ,
Data Protection ,
Disability ,
EU ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Germany ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Minimum Wage ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Sick Leave ,
Training ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
On July 2, 2023, the new German Whistleblower Protection Act (Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz – HinSchG) took effect. The law contains comprehensive provisions for the protection of whistleblowers....more
On September 13, 2022, the German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht) ruled (1 ABR 22/21) that employers are required to record the working hours of their employees. The reasoning for the decision was published on...more
As early as December 2019, the European Union’s Directive (EU) RL 2019/1937 (colloquially called the “Whistleblower Directive”) was adopted at the European level. This directive aims to strengthen the protection of persons...more
The statutory minimum wage in Germany will increase to €12 per hour, effective October 1, 2022. On June 3, 2022, the German Bundestag approved legislation introduced by a coalition of parliamentary groups that will raise the...more
International Women’s Day, which draws attention to women’s rights and gender equality worldwide, has been celebrated since 1911. In order to counteract any inequalities that women may face in the workforce, the German...more
On October 15, 2021, amendments to the Election Regulations for the Implementation of the Works Constitution Act (Wahlordnung or WO) went into effect. As a result, the changes in the Works Council Modernization Act...more
As usual, there are some important changes in German employment law that went into effect at the beginning of the new year. Below are eight of the most important new developments about which employers may want to be aware....more
Employees may have a claim against their employers for access to information about all personal data processed by the employers pursuant to Article 15 (3), Sentence 1, of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection...more
6/22/2021
/ Appeals ,
Data Subject Access Requests ,
Email ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employment Litigation ,
EU ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
German Federal Data Protection Act (FDPA) ,
Germany ,
Labor Courts ,
Personal Data ,
Right-To-Access
At the beginning of 2021, extensive changes in German employment law came into effect, including some of particular significance to employers. In addition, on January 19, 2021, the German Federal Government implemented...more
2/25/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
Germany ,
Health and Safety ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Code ,
New Legislation ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Remote Working ,
Sick Pay ,
Tax Relief ,
Time Extensions ,
UK Brexit ,
Wage and Hour
COVID-19 continues to cause significant restrictions in many areas around the world, including workplaces: Employees are working in remote settings, they no longer share tools and supplies, partitions separate workspaces,...more
On August 10, 2020, the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS)) published the SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Safety and Health Regulation (SARS-CoV-2...more
When the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced, one of the central topics in the media was the possibility of large fines for data protection violations. Art. 83 of GDPR set benchmarks with a maximum fine...more
On March 1, 2020, the Skilled Immigration Act came into force. The law is aimed at making it easier for qualified workers from countries that are not in the European Union (including skilled workers from occupations requiring...more
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all federal states in Germany have implemented containment measures, contact restrictions, and curfews. All shops, cultural institutions, and certain services (e.g., hairdressers and...more
4/8/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Curfews ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Germany ,
Government Shutdown ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Popular ,
Quarantine ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
State of Emergency