A prominent cybersecurity training company just fell victim to an increasingly common scam when it hired a remote worker who turned out to be a North Korean cybercriminal that used AI deepfake tools to fake his identity and...more
The executive order on artificial intelligence issued by the White House yesterday is the federal government’s most ambitious attempt to date to corral this burgeoning technology – and contains numerous items of interest for...more
10/31/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
Copyright ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Green Cards ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Reform ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Job Market ,
Manufacturers ,
OFCCP ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
US State Departments
It’s never easy to make accurate predictions about what we might expect to see in the workplace in the coming year. After all:
- At the start of 2020, no one could have predicted COVID-19.
- None of us had heard the phrase...more
11/1/2022
/ Affirmative Action ,
Background Checks ,
Blockchain ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Relations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Trade Secrets ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
We bet you’re curious about the legal battle that has erupted between a group of high-profile golfers and the PGA Tour, centering around their relationship with a controversial Saudi-owned golf league and involving...more
The Supreme Court just blocked OSHA’s vaccine ETS from being enforced for the foreseeable future, meaning your compliance to-do list has gotten significantly shorter – but it has by no means disappeared. While today’s 6 to 3...more
A sharp increase in pandemic-related workplace litigation this summer could spell trouble for employers, as we expect to see a steady increase in COVID-19 lawsuits filed by employees across the country. That’s just one of 10...more
9/8/2021
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Leave of Absence ,
Remote Working ,
Retaliation ,
Small Employers ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Safety
In an unexpected blow to gig economy companies in California, a state court judge just reversed the will of voters and overturned the law created by ballot measure that ensured that app-based rideshare and delivery drivers...more
8/24/2021
/ Ballot Measures ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Ridesharing ,
State Constitutions ,
State Labor Laws
A unique legislative proposal pending in Connecticut would upend the way that gig economy businesses interact with their workers – and has drawn both strong support and vocal dissent from the very group of individuals it is...more
Contending that he could not be forced to be a “human guinea pig,” a New Mexico detention center officer has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the right of his employer to require first responders to receive the COVID-19...more
The new administration’s efforts to reverse course on many of the gains that gig economy businesses achieved under previous White House leadership took another step friday as the Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew a guidance...more
Employers now have clarification that they will be able mandate the COVID-19 vaccine among their workers in certain circumstances without running afoul of key federal anti-discrimination laws, according to updated guidance...more
12/17/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interactive Process ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The dust is beginning to settle after California voters overwhelmingly approved a new test for determining whether app-based rideshare and delivery drivers are considered employees or independent contractors, essentially...more
Gig economy companies across the country had a whirlwind September, as legal developments impacting their business models continued to unfold. Here are the five most significant workplace law developments in the gig economy...more
10/7/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Ballot Measures ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Exceptions ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
New Rules ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Rules ,
Ridesharing ,
Wage and Hour
President Trump officially selected Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the empty seat on the Supreme Court bench, filling the vacancy caused by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death. Assuming she is confirmed by the Senate, Judge...more
9/28/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Class Action ,
Collective Actions ,
Confirmation Proceedings ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Court Litigation ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Immigrants ,
Judicial Appointments ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Trump Administration
Just a few hours before they were subject to a court order forcing them to transform all of their drivers from independent contractors to employees, a California appeals court spared the nation’s two largest rideshare...more
Gig economy companies received bad news yesterday when yet another federal appeals court ruled that delivery drivers – even independent contractors – can escape otherwise valid arbitration agreements. This is now the third...more
8/20/2020
/ Amazon ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification
A California state court judge just handed a potentially groundbreaking loss to gig economy companies across the state by granting an injunction forcing the two biggest ride-sharing companies in the nation to classify their...more
Supreme Court decisions are often the most challenging pieces of legal guidance to understand. They are rarely straightforward and usually contain so much analysis that it becomes hard to get to the bottom of what was...more
8/10/2020
/ ADEA ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Babb v Wilkie ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Comcast Corp. v National Association of African American-Owned Media ,
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Confidential Information ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Corporate Counsel ,
DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security v Regents of the University of California ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma ,
LGBTQ ,
Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v Pennsylvania ,
Ministerial Exception ,
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v Morrissey-Berru ,
Race Discrimination ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Institutions ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Trade Secrets ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
The Department of Labor issued several sets of new guidance materials to employers as return-to-work, remote work, and wage and hour issues remain hot – and sometimes confusing – topics. The agency recognizes that the...more
7/24/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Furloughs ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Guidance ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Remote Working ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
The Department of Labor just provided employers a sign that it might be open to altering the Family and Medical Leave Act regulations and guidance, perhaps resolving some of the more difficult aspects of the law that cause...more
7/22/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Information Requests ,
Intermittent Leave ,
Labor Regulations ,
Medical Certification Requests ,
Opinion Letter ,
Public Comment ,
Serious Health Conditions
Nearly half of all COVID-19-related workplace lawsuits that have been initiated between employees and employers were filed in the past month, according to data collected by the Fisher Phillips COVID-19 Employment Litigation...more
7/6/2020
/ Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Paid Leave ,
Remote Working ,
Retaliation ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
San Francisco ratcheted up the pressure on California gig economy companies by not only filing a misclassification lawsuit against DoorDash, but promising that more such litigation was to come against other companies. Upon...more
6/18/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Corporate Counsel ,
DoorDash ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
San Francisco ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unfair Labor Practices
Gig economy company Instacart lost the latest round of its misclassification battle in San Diego Monday, as a California state court judge granted a preliminary injunction forcing it to reclassify its independent contractor...more
The U.S. Department of Labor just finalized its rule that attempts to limit the scope of joint employment liability for wage and hour matters. Although much remains to be seen, this rule may usher in a new era, and could lead...more
1/14/2020
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Rules ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
When the news broke Friday afternoon that Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta would be resigning from his post, employers across the country began wondering what this transition would mean for them. You may have even heard...more
7/15/2019
/ Affirmative Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Joint Employers ,
OFCCP ,
OLMS ,
OSHA ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Resignation ,
Secretary of Labor ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety