The 2024 California legislative session saw the passage of a number of new and important labor and employment laws...more
1/23/2025
/ California ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Pay ,
Freelance Workers ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
Recent amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) establishing a new "whole-of-relationship test" increase the likelihood that Australian businesses will face claims of "sham contracting" by misclassifying employees as...more
12/19/2024
/ Australia ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Work Act ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
New Amendments ,
Wage and Hour
A government contractor challenged a U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs ("OFCCP") enforcement scheme in federal court as violating the United States Constitution. The contractor...more
12/6/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Article II ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Removal For-Cause ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Wage and Hour
New legislation in Illinois introduces several changes, effective January 1, 2025, that will affect businesses with Illinois employees....more
12/4/2024
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Human Rights ,
Illinois ,
Job Ads ,
Labor Reform ,
Reproductive Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
The Australian Human Rights Commission Amendment (Costs Protection) Bill 2023 (Cth), which was enacted to address perceived disincentives to pursuing claims for discrimination, took effect on 2 October 2024....more
California recently imposed new mandatory disclosure requirements related to social compliance audits....more
On August 9, 2024, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law H.B. 3773 (the "Act"), making Illinois the second state to pass broad legislation on the use of artificial intelligence ("AI") in employment decisions....more
10/30/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automated Decision Systems (ADS) ,
Bias ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Illinois ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
Machine Learning ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws
In the first known case to challenge California's legislative attempt to void noncompete agreements even for employees who do not live or work in California, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the application of...more
The Development: On September 16, 2024, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois ("NDIL") announced its six-month Individual Self-Disclosure Pilot Program for Organizational Misconduct ("Pilot...more
Minnesota employers should be aware of several new employment laws that were included in the Omnibus Labor and Industry Policy bill and Omnibus Tax bill that were signed into law at the end of May, just before the close of...more
7/15/2024
/ Earned Sick and Safe Time Act ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Pay Transparency ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Federal courts will no longer give controlling weight to agency interpretations of ambiguous laws....more
California's Private Attorneys' General Act ("PAGA") was the target of a November 2024 ballot initiative that, if passed, would have repealed the Act in response to perceived abuses and frivolous lawsuits....more
The Situation: While U.S. states continue to legislate pay equity and transparency obligations, significant changes are on the horizon in the European Union that will impact U.S. companies with sizeable operations there. The...more
6/6/2024
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
New Rules ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Pay Transparency ,
Reporting Requirements
This week, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 along party lines to finalize a rule that bans noncompete clauses in employment agreements as a per se illegal “unfair method of competition” (“UMC”) under Section 5...more
The Court's decision in Muldrow v. St. Louis requires plaintiffs to prove "some injury" respecting employment terms or conditions in discrimination cases....more
4/25/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Lateral Transfers ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
On January 1, 2024, several new employment laws took effect in Minnesota, based on bills passed during the 2023 legislative session. All employers with employees in Minnesota are subject to the following changes, discussed in...more
The Background: It is estimated that over 84 percent of companies in the S&P 1500 use some form of "social" metric when determining their executives' incentive compensation. Many of these social metrics set forth diversity,...more
The 2023 California legislative session saw the passage of a number of new and important labor and employment laws....more
On November 17, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law—which is effective immediately—banning clauses in agreements settling discrimination, retaliation, or harassment claims from requiring a complainant to pay...more
11/27/2023
/ Breach of Contract ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Employees ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Settlement Agreements ,
State and Local Government
A Washington federal judge dismissed challenges to Starbucks's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ("DEI") policies in a strongly worded opinion, making clear that politics don't belong in his courtroom....more
In a 6–3 decision likely to have immediate impacts beyond the world of higher education, on June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Harvard's and the University of North Carolina's admissions programs violate the...more
6/30/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Title VII
The New York State Department of Labor has published amended WARN regulations that provide guidance on a number of topics, including treatment of remote workers, applicability of exemptions, pay in lieu of notice, calculating...more
While there are a number of ways in which organizations may become aware of potential wrongdoing internally, perhaps the most significant for its legal and compliance teams is internal reporting, or “whistleblowing,” by...more
5/15/2023
/ Cross-Border ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Employment Rights Act ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
In Short -
The Situation: On January 10, 2023, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed A-4768, which started a 90-day countdown to the effective date of amendments (S-3170) to New Jersey's WARN Act, the Millville Dallas...more
In Short -
The Situation: On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ("PWFA") and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act ("PUMP Act") into law....more