The Development: On August 1, 2024, the Department of Justice's ("DOJ") Criminal Division announced its Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program ("Pilot Program"), designed to reward whistleblowers who report information...more
8/20/2024
/ CFTC ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Money Laundering ,
Pilot Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
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
The Background: In August 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC., et al. ("Murray") that an employee suing his employer under the anti-retaliation provisions of...more
2/19/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Burden of Proof ,
Certiorari ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Murray v UBS Securities LLC ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The recently created SDNY Whistleblower Pilot Program encourages individuals to self-disclose certain criminal conduct and cooperate in resulting investigations and prosecutions.
...more
2/8/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
New York ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Pilot Programs ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On January 5, 2023, President Biden signed the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act of 2022 (“PAIPA”) into law. PAIPA requires that the President submit an annual report identifying and describing any “significant...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
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
Two recent developments involving the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division ("DOJ") highlight potential risks and opportunities for companies facing immigration-related employment matters....more
11/20/2023
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appointments Clause ,
Class Action ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Policies ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Status Discrimination ,
OCAHO ,
PERM ,
Visas
In light of the DOJ’s most recent guidance on the use of personal devices and third-party messaging applications by corporate personnel, this White Paper addresses issues and challenges that companies are facing in this area...more
10/18/2023
/ CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Guidance Update ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Workplace Communication
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
New York City regulators have finalized rules implementing the city's law requiring bias audits of automated employment decision tools, publication of audit results, notice to employees, and other requirements....more
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
In early January 2023, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") proposed an unprecedented rule banning most employer/employee non-compete clauses. As detailed below, the rule is not likely to take effect for at least eight...more
1/13/2023
/ Comment Period ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair Competition
As described in the first White Paper in this series on internal investigations, "Conducting an Effective Internal Investigation—An Overview," corporations are under increased scrutiny by regulators across the globe, and as a...more
Under legislation signed into law last week, New York employers cannot assess points, deduct time from a time bank, or otherwise penalize an employee for using a legally protected absence. The law takes effect February 20,...more
In Short -
The Situation: The national trend toward pay equity is gaining momentum, leading to transformative changes for employers. A growing list of states and local jurisdictions are enacting pay transparency laws,...more
On March 15, 2022, to coincide with this year's "Equal Pay Day," the OFCCP issued a new Directive on pay equity audits. Its stated purpose is to "provide guidance on how OFCCP will evaluate federal contractors' compliance...more
4/15/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Federal Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
New Guidance ,
OFCCP ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Transparency ,
Wage and Hour
On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed into law H.R. 4445, titled "Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021" ("Act"). The law amends the Federal Arbitration Act to prohibit employers...more
3/18/2022
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Biden Administration ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
SEC Whistleblower Awards to 40 individuals in 2021 surpass total awards in fiscal year 2020.
On March 29, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") announced an award of more than $500,000 to a whistleblower who...more
A new Florida law provides civil immunity from COVID-related lawsuits to defendants that complied in good faith with government health standards, and it imposes heightened pleading and proof requirements on plaintiffs.
On...more
The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Act ("KARRA") authorizes a U.S. Treasury Department ("Treasury") pilot program aimed at rewarding whistleblowers who provide information leading to the restraint, seizure, forfeiture, or...more