Mikayla Almeida, Kimberly Doud and Anne Sanchez LaWer explain to employers about how implementing benefits related to women’s health and fertility could reduce turnover and retain talent.

ACC Central Florida

View

Anne C. Sanchez and Briana M. Swift explain what employers need to know about the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO), a local ordinance that requires employers to make certain healthcare expenditures on behalf of their San Francisco-based employees.

SHRM

View (Subscription required)

Ellen Donovan McCann says post-employment benefits are often the first to be amended when businesses experience budget challenges, but employers may have to take more care in changing them if SCOTUS decides that former employees can sue over those benefits.

SHRM

View (Subscription required)

Chelsea Lewis provides recommendations for navigating the challenges that may arise when customers or clients refuse to abide by COVID-19 mandates.

ACC South Florida

View Article 

When Congress overrode President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act on January 1, 2021, it enacted the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), which was part of the defense authorization bill.  In doing so, Congress implemented the most sweeping anti-money-laundering statute since the USA PATRIOT Act.  In addition to a number of regulatory reforms and new disclosure requirements, the AMLA has put into place new whistleblower protections, adding to the range of statutes that have effectively created anti-retaliation provisions for virtually every activity regulated by federal

Philip Berkowitz weighs in on the Anti-Money Laundering Act’s whistleblower protections that took effect this year.

SHRM Online

View (Subscription required.)

Joon Hwang advises employers to review and scope the terms of their restrictive covenants and confidentiality agreements to ensure they are well defined to meet their business interests.

Pit & Quarry

View 

Terri Solomon talks to HR Dive about how employers can best handle mental health crises in the office.

HR Dive

View 

Steve Biddle examines the recently expanded Arizona Civil Rights Act (ACRA) as well as new ordinances passed by Arizona cities that expand protected categories and coverage.

SHRM Online

View (Subscription required.)

Compliance or internal audit departments frequently carry out audits intended to assure that business partners in an organization, such as human resources or legal departments, have in place policies and procedures that are effective for maintaining corporate compliance and consistent with the myriad laws with which the organization must comply, including employment, whistleblower, and anti-bribery and corruption.  These reviews are often not confined to policies but may also seek review of actual compliance events and sensitive contemporaneous records.  For example, in the case of an inte

Devjani Mishra discusses employers coming up with COVID-19 safety rules that are appropriate for their own workplace.

Law360 Employment Authority

View (Subscription required.)

Michael Lotito and Bruce Sarchet share their thoughts on SB 93, a new California law that requires some employers in the hospitality industry to prioritize recalling workers who were laid off due to COVID-19.

SHRM Online

View (Subscription required.)

Michael Royal and Alyssa Peterson discuss two new laws that will bring changes for employers in Texas by expanding protections for employees who assert claims of sexual harassment under the Texas Labor Code.

SHRM Online

View (Subscription required.)

Kimberly J. Dowd, Chelsea Lewis and Kameron Miller explain the meaning of “allyship” and how it can be applied in the workplace. 

ACC North Florida

View 

Stephanie Chavez offers advice to employers who are considering hiring individuals who have a criminal record.

Law360 Employment Authority

View  (Subscription required.)

Libby Henninger offers tips for employers paying disabled workers lower wages.

Law360 Employment Authority

View (Subscription required.)

This year has seen a number of international and regional legislative efforts imposing human rights due diligence and transparency obligations on multinational employers. 

Natasha Adom weighs in on racism experienced by former cricket player Azeem Rafiq.

Personnel Today

View (Subscription required.)

On April 1, 2022, a Los Angeles County Superior Court ruled that California Assembly Bill 979—a bill designed to increase diversity and improve the persistently low number of underrepresented groups on corporate boards—violated the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution and was therefore unenforceable. In its ruling, the court acknowledged the pitfalls of homogeneity in business and communities, but it cautioned against quotas and specific number requirements.

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed a new whistleblower law that significantly increases the risk and cost of whistleblower claims for domestic and overseas financial services institutions that must be cognizant of anti-money laundering (AML) laws and regulations. This covers 26 categories of institutions, including banks, branches and agencies of foreign banks, broker-dealers, insurance companies, operators of credit card systems, mutual funds, certain casinos, and travel agencies.

As workplace issues have become more complex, human resource professionals and managers often turn to employment lawyers for advice in sorting out matters involving the interaction between business requirements and the requirements of employment laws and regulations. When is such advice protected from disclosure under the attorney-client privilege?

Speaking about I-9 retention periods, Jorge Lopez advises employers to be prudent and make a purge process part of the I-9 compliance module.

SHRM Online

View (Subscription required.)

On September 18, 2024, Canada announced that it would impose new language and field of study eligibility requirements on its Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) Program.

At the November 5, 2024 election, California voters will determine the fate of Proposition 32, which proposes to increase the state minimum wage and provide for automatic future adjustments tied to inflation.

The latest binge watch for many of us at GQ|Littler was the Netflix hit, “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders,” which follows a year in the life of NFL’s Dallas Cowboys cheerleading team.

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform the workplace, lawmakers and agencies are grappling with how to regulate its use in employment settings, from hiring practices to employee monitoring. The next administration’s approach to AI regulation will help shape the balance between innovation and worker protection, with each political party offering distinct views on the role of government oversight. A shift in power could lead to changes in how the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the U.S.

Voters in several states will decide whether marijuana or, in one case, psychedelic substances should be legal in the upcoming November 5, 2024 general election. Employers should keep their eyes on these ballot measures and prepare for questions regarding changes to workplace policies if some or all of them pass. A rundown of the ballot measures in these jurisdictions follows.

Marshall v. Mercantile Exchange Corporation, 2024 CanLII 71128  (ONSC), is an action for wrongful dismissal where the employee claimed he could not mitigate his damages by seeking alternative employment indefinitely because of a mental health condition (i.e., stress and depression) allegedly arising out of his termination. He claimed a 26-month notice period. The employer sought an independent medical examination (IME) of the employee pursuant to s.

A number of Littler lawyers in our office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada recently authored the Ontario section of Employment: North America for Lexology, Getting The Deal Through.

This publication provides an overview of labour and employment law in Ontario, Canada, focusing on the following categories: 

European companies are navigating a variety of social and equality-related issues impacting their workplaces and, according to Littler’s second annual European Employer Survey, are increasingly channeling their concerns into concrete actions.

Employers with employees in Ontario often ask about legislative requirements under various employment statutes, including mandatory policies, training and postings under the Employment Standards Act, 2000, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, the Pay Equity Act, and the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017.  To make this information conveniently available, the Littler Toronto office assembled these requirements in a single publication. 

Many employers are hopeful that a vaccine for COVID-19 will be the silver bullet that will enable employers to return to some semblance of a pre-COVID workplace. Assuming a vaccine is developed, can an employer mandate that employees be vaccinated before coming back to work? What happens when an employee cannot or will not take this vaccine, either for religious, medical, or other personal reasons? Can a union or group of workers successfully challenge employer-mandated vaccines?