On March 14, 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“ECJ”) issued a significant ruling clarifying when an employer may prohibit employees from wearing visible signs of their religious beliefs in the workplace. The...more
In February 2017, legislatures in the Netherlands and France took significant steps to implement mandatory due diligence and reporting rules regarding the impact of an employer's operations and supply chains on human rights. ...more
3/14/2017
/ Child Labor ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Due Diligence ,
Forced Labor ,
France ,
Human Rights ,
Netherlands ,
New Legislation ,
Risk Assessment ,
Supply Chain
Courts in California and Canada have emerged as testing grounds for advancing claims of forced labor in global supply chains. The plaintiffs’ approach is to make companies more accountable to “soft law” norms like the UN...more
2/15/2017
/ Canada ,
Child Labor ,
Class Action ,
CLRA ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Costco ,
False Advertising ,
Forced Labor ,
Human Rights ,
Multinationals ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Supply Chain ,
Thailand ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
UN Guiding Principles ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL)
On December 16, 2016, the United States launched a National Action Plan (the “U.S. NAP”) on Responsible Business Conduct. The U.S. NAP seeks to operationalize the government’s role in encouraging responsible business conduct...more
1/18/2017
/ Business Conduct Standards ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Human Rights ,
OECD ,
Responsible Business Conduct ,
Supply Chain ,
Transparency Directive ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
United Nations ,
Working Groups
On November 29, 2016, France’s National Assembly adopted the text of a bill (the “Bill”) that, if enacted, would create new due diligence obligations for large French companies regarding their subsidiaries’ and supply chain...more
In 2011, the United Nations adopted the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“UN Guiding Principles”), which provide non-binding guidelines on how employers should conduct their business activities to provide...more
A new Illinois state law requires certain employers to post notices informing employees and other members of the public of a helpline to assist any person who is subject to human trafficking. This law, effective January 1,...more
Recent class actions have claimed that companies have violated California consumer fraud and unfair competition laws resulting from alleged forced labor in their global supply chains. These state law claims argue that...more
10/15/2015
/ Alien Tort Statute ,
Child Labor ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Fraud ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Forced Labor ,
Human Rights ,
Human Trafficking ,
Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Slavery ,
Supply Chain ,
Transparency in Supply Chains Act ,
UN Guiding Principles ,
Unfair Competition
In response to the increasing global awareness that companies need to evaluate the effects their operations have on human rights, private entities and organizations have developed arguably competing guidance to achieve that...more
On July 27, 2015, U.S. Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Chris Smith (R-NJ) introduced the Business Supply Chain Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act of 2015 (H.R. 3226) (the "Bill"). The Bill would require...more
8/4/2015
/ Child Labor ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Forced Labor ,
Human Trafficking ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Slavery ,
Supply Chain ,
Transparency in Supply Chains Act ,
UK
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum upholding the dismissal of an Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) suit, left a great deal unanswered. The Kiobel decision did, however, limit the potential...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently ruled on two important intermittent Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave issues in Hansen v. Fincantieri Marine Group. First, the court determined that the FMLA...more
Illinois employers had been able to rely upon Illinois' prohibition against all non-consensual recording of conversations, whether private or not. As of March 20, 2014, that prohibition no longer exists. ...more
The Illinois Supreme Court recently rejected a constitutional challenge by a roofing contractor who alleged the Illinois Employee Classification Act (ECA) violates procedural due process rights and is impermissibly vague. The...more
United States employers operating in France often face a dilemma. While they may be bound by the whistleblowing requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act ("SOX") and its Dodd-Frank amendments,1 they also are bound by the data...more
The Seventh Circuit recently decided that a former employee's travel with her terminally ill mother to Las Vegas could be considered protected "family care" leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In Ballard v....more
On April 17, 2013, the Supreme Court decided Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum. For all intents and purposes, the decision eliminates use of the federal Alien Tort Statute ("ATS") as an employment law weapon to be used against...more
Laws Providing Leaves of Absence -
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) -
The FMLA, as relevant here, requires covered employers to provide eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave due to a serious...more
11/26/2012
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
COBRA ,
EAP ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
EPCRS ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
HRA ,
HSA ,
Section 409A ,
USERRA