Rod M. Fliegel and Alice H. Wang discuss the Civil Rights Council of the California Civil Rights Department’s latest revisions to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) regulations that govern employers' use and consideration of criminal history in employment decisions.

SHRM Online

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Alice Wang and Rod M. Fliegel say the Fair Chance Act of 2023, a California bill under consideration in the state senate, “would more or less upend the ordinary hiring process for just about every employer in California,” if passed.

HR Dive

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UPDATE: Governor Hochul signed this bill on November 16, 2023, which will take effect one year from signing.

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Michael Paglialonga and Stephen Fuchs discuss New York’s new Clean Slate Act, which will prohibit employers from inquiring about sealed records or discriminating against applicants or employees based on sealed records.

SHRM Online

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Philip M. Berkowitz talks about background checks and “Ban-the-Box” laws that financial services organizations must comply with when hiring.

Global Banking & Finance Review

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Companies that hire employees and engage independent contractors in California should brace themselves for an even greater slowdown in background checks that include criminal record searches in Los Angeles County.¹ This will result from the drastic impact of the court of appeal’s 2021 opinion in All of Us or None v.

The Prince George’s, Maryland County Council recently enacted Bill CB-019-2024, amending the county's Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards. Effective September 16, 2024, the ordinance—renamed “Access to Employment for Returning Citizens”—significantly restricts employers' ability to conduct criminal background checks on job applicants. Changes to the law include a smaller threshold for employer coverage, expanded limitations on employer inquiries into applicant criminal histories, and expanded protections for employees.

Employer Coverage Threshold

Effective October 1, 2021, the New Jersey Division of Taxation (the “NJDT”) ended the temporary relief period with regard to employers’ obligation to withhold income taxes for teleworking employees who work in New Jersey.¹  Employers must therefore stop basing their obligation to withhold and remit income taxes on the employer’s jurisdiction, and instead should do so based on where the employee’s service or employment is performed. If that location is New Jersey, employers should withhold New Jersey taxes from such wages.

Three new rules will take effect this year that alter the overtime wages subject to Alabama withholding tax and employers’ requirements in reporting those newly exempt wages. On October 31, 2023, the Alabama Department of Revenue’s Income Tax Administration issued three final rules that take effect December 3, 2023, and will cover all tax years beginning after December 31, 2023, and ending prior to June 30, 2025.  Notably, the entirety of overtime wages paid to full-time hourly employees will be excluded from Alabama withholding tax.

Janell Ahnert and Tucker Crain discuss new rules in Alabama that change the overtime pay exemption calculation and impart new reporting requirements on Alabama employers through at least June 30, 2025.

SHRM Online

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In Escano v. Innovative Financial Partners, LLC,¹ a magistrate judge held that the defendants’ decision to withhold funds from a payment required under a settlement agreement when the plaintiff refused to provide a Form W-9 did not violate the agreement.

James A. Paretti Jr. and Melissa McDonagh offer insights into the implications of the court’s rejection of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) proposed nationwide ban on noncompete agreements.

Thomson Reuters

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Rhonda B. Levy and Douglas Sanderson examine Northern Regional Health Authority v. Horrocks, in which the Supreme Court of Canada decided that in Manitoba, human rights disputes arising from the interpretation, application or alleged violation of a collective agreement fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of a labour arbitrator.

Human Resources Director Canada

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On May 12, 2022, the “Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act” was introduced in the House of Representatives by Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA).  Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced a companion bill in the Senate. The bill seeks to ban arbitration and discretionary clauses in employer-sponsored benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Alexander MacDonald explains when California employers’ employment agreements are subject to state law and AB 51 may apply. 

XpertHR

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On February 5, 2024, the NLRB’s Regional Director for Region 1, Laura Sacks, issued a written decision finding that Dartmouth’s men’s basketball players are employees under the National Labor Relations Act. Based on their status as employees, Regional Director Sacks found, Dartmouth’s men’s basketball players are eligible to vote in a union election petitioned for by Local 560 of the Service Employees International Union, a labor union that already represents several other more traditional employee groups at Dartmouth.

Tyler A. Sims disagrees with a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional director’s ruling that men’s college basketball players at Dartmouth College are employees for National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) purposes.

SHRM Online

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Tyler Sims discusses the potential wage-and-hour implications of Dartmouth College’s men’s basketball team voting to form what may become the NCAA’s first-ever athlete labor union.

HR Dive

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Devjani Mishra discusses the pandemic’s ongoing impact on the workplace revealed by key findings from Littler’s 2024 Annual Employer Survey Report.

Bloomberg Law

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New York is postponing its AI bias law’s effective date, and Eli Freedberg says there really was no way that companies could have gotten compliant in time because of all the uncertainty still surrounding the law.

Law360 Employment Authority

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A New York state judge has denied motions to dismiss actor Julia Ormond's claims against a film company, its parent company, and a talent agency based on conduct by film producer Harvey Weinstein, who Ormond alleges assaulted her in December 1995 in her Manhattan apartment. In her lawsuit, Ormond alleges that these entities knew about Harvey Weinstein's predatory behavior before he sexually assaulted her in 1995 and failed to protect her. The ruling allows the case to proceed, highlighting the potential scope of liability of these companies.

(January 10, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has released its Inclusion, Equity and Diversity (IE&D) C-Suite Survey Report, completed by more than 320 C-suite executives across the United States.

HOUSTON (April 2, 2024) – N. Brenda Adimora, an associate in the Houston office of Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has been selected as a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. Fellows of the Foundation are selected based on outstanding contributions to the legal profession as well as a commitment to their Texas communities.

PITTSBURGH (April 15, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added Shannon Huygens as special counsel in its Pittsburgh office. Huygens, who was an associate at Littler from 2004 to 2013, rejoins the firm after serving as associate general counsel at the University of Pittsburgh for more than a decade.

Zoe Argento, Kwabena Appenteng, Alyssa Daniels, Philip Gordon, Rajko Herrmann, Soowon Hong, Renata Neeser, Naomi Seddon, Christina Stogov and Grace Yang share a comprehensive guide for how employers can ensure data protection as they implement artificial intelligence.

Corporate Compliance Insights

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David Goldstein discusses how long employers should keep rejected job candidates’ records and says their ATS system for storing those records should be configured to comply with applicable laws.

HR Dive

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Michael Lotito comments on states banning captive audience meetings.

Law360

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Shannon Meade says Democrats and Republicans both want to make progress on paid leave, but no one is sure whether a national paid leave program will be among their priorities.

Corporate Counsel

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