On August 7, 2024, the City of Los Angeles unveiled its “Model Contract” under the Freelance Workers Protections Ordinance (FWPO). This ordinance, which took effect on July 1, 2023, was designed to bolster protections for freelance workers in Los Angeles.

Ensure Compliance with California Labor Code Section 2775 et seq.

On September 24, 2024, the Pittsburgh City Council passed a new ordinance prohibiting discrimination against an individual’s status as a medical marijuana patient. Mayor Ed Gainey signed the ordinance the same day, making it effective immediately.

The Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) Office of Labor Standards (COLS) recently posted updates to its website regarding minimum wage obligations, paid leave and paid sick and safe leave, new fair work week thresholds, and updated required labor notices. The compliance deadline for these obligations is July 1, 2024.

Littler Principal Cindy-Ann Thomas and her special guest, author and Professor of Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, Adia Harvey Wingfield, explore:

Jeanine Conley Daves hosts a conversation between Tom Bender and Shin-I Lowe. They discuss the importance of mentorship, what a successful mentorship relationship looks like, and how male mentor influences are equally important to women.
  

(March 17, 2021) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, is pleased to announce that Shareholder Theodora Lee (San Francisco) has been selected for the National Black Lawyers (NBL) “Top 100” for California. Additionally, associates Ashley Thomas (Houston) and Adama Wiltshire (Philadelphia) have been named to the NBL “Top 40 Under 40” for Texas and Pennsylvania, respectively.

A properly structured and implemented Affinity Group (AKA Employee Resource Group) is a powerful tool in an employer’s Diversity Equity & Inclusion tool belt. But, unwary employers may risk violating the National Labor Relations Act if they bargain with an Affinity Group. In this month’s podcast, Alyesha Asghar Dotson discusses the do’s and don’ts of interacting with an active Affinity Group within your organization.
  

Barry Hartstein explains his view of the EEOC’s vaccination incentives.

HR Dive

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Jim Paretti shares his opinion on the EEOC’s response to COVID-19 vaccine incentives.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Littler's Chief Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Officer Paul Bateman leads a conversation with Shareholders Dionysia Johnson-Massie (Atlanta), LaToi Mayo (Lexington), Lindbergh Porter (San Francisco), and Charles Wilson (Houston) as they discuss the trail to Juneteenth, its importance and how various acts impacted slavery in the U.S.
  

Kimberly Doud of Littler’s Orlando office, Chelsea Lewis of Littler's Miami office and Kameron Miller of Littler's Charleston office present episode two of the Allied Behavior podcast series. Allied Behavior is focused on cultivating conscious conversations about inclusion, equity, diversity, and allyship in a corporate environment. In this episode, Kimberly, Chelsea and Kameron discuss Juneteenth, the factors shaping our perceptions about race, and how to foster meaningful interactions in the workplace.
  

Jim Paretti discusses the rescinding of a controversial EEOC rule that would have required the agency to share more information with employers credibly accused of discrimination during the conciliation process.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Philadelphia, PA/ March 20, 2009 -- Littler Mendelson (Littler), the nation's largest employment and labor law firm representing management, is pleased to announce the arrival of shareholders Warren E. Fusfeld and Melissa B. Kurtzman to the firm’s Philadelphia office, both formerly of WolfBlock LLP.

On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173) (the "Act"), which is intended "to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system" and "to protect the American taxpayer by ending bailouts, to protect consumers from abusive financial services practices, and for other purposes." While the Act is directed at the financial system, it incorporates broad executive compensation provisions that apply beyond the financial services industry.

The focus of this 2011 Littler Report is to provide employers with information to prepare and plan for regulations recently passed and those currently making their way through the agency rulemaking process. Part One of this Littler Report will set the stage and define the challenge employers will face in the coming years as the Obama Administration enters the second half of its term.

By now, most lawyers advising international companies on compensation packages for expatriates that include deferred compensation are familiar with section 409A of the United States Internal Revenue Code ("US tax code" or "Code").

Monica Schiaffino contributed an overview of the primary sources of law that govern or affect executive compensation arrangements or employee benefits in Mexico.

Getting the Deal Through

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Update 2: On March 12, 2021, in Mikelsteins v.

Updates: On November 12, 2020, in James Anthony Manastersky v.

Enacted on Friday, March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (H.R. 748, the “CARES Act” or the “Act”) is intended to stimulate the U.S. economy in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act contains a number of provisions relating to employee benefits and executive compensation, which are summarized below.

Retirement Plan Provisions

As many employers are on the way to normalizing their business practices and re-engaging their employees, they should not overlook the many potential pitfalls in the administration of their retirement, health and welfare plans and their executive compensation arrangements. The risks of missteps are high, and include loss of tax-qualification of retirement plans, penalty taxes in connection with the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer mandate rules, other IRS penalties, employee lawsuits and Department of Labor enforcement actions.

On January 30, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced an increase to its filing fees across the board. The last such increase was in 2016. This change will be effective April 1, 2024. In some cases, increases are minor, but several are substantive.

In just two weeks, on April 1, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will implement its new filing fee structure. The new fees will vary by visa type with exceptions for small employers and non-profit entities. A new Asylum Program Fee will also be added to certain petitions.

As an example of the upcoming changes, the following chart covers a comparison of the most common visa types:

Introducing the latest UK Immigration Rules Statement of Changes, Legal Immigration Minister Tom Pursglove announced that they will “deliver the biggest ever cut to migration over the course of this year.”

The Statement of Changes HC590 will have serious consequences for employers from April 4, 2024, as well as for British citizens and settled residents bringing partners to live with them in the UK from April 11.

On August 9, 2024, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 0508 (“SB0508”) into law. This new law provides additional employment protections for individuals flagged by an employment eligibility verification system, including federal E-Verify, as having identification discrepancies. The new rights and protections created by SB0508 will take effect on January 1, 2025. This evaluation does not address whether the state law directly restricts or curtails the use of E Verify.

Shannon Meade and Michael Lotito discuss key issues that employers are facing now, according to Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute’s 2024 Labor Day Report.

Human Resource Executive

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Michael Lotito says captive audience meeting bans passed by more than half a dozen states are “intrusive” and “against fundamental First Amendment principles.”

Bloomberg Law

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A recent District of Columbia federal court ruling reminds employers that a severance agreement containing a release of claims under the False Claims Act does not guarantee dismissal of a suit on those grounds.

Background on the FCA

The SEC recently issued imposed significant and costly sanctions against companies that require employees to sign non-disclosure agreements containing certain language either limiting employees from disclosing company confidential information without company approval, or representing that they have not filed complaints with government entities.

By Philip M. Berkowitz | November 08, 2023 at 10:00 AM

D. Porpoise Evans examines a new DOJ whistleblower program that will complement last year’s focus on corporate voluntary disclosure programs and offers whistleblower awards to motivate employees to report misconduct.

HR Daily Advisor

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2024 has been a fruitful year in the UK for whistleblowing law so far, with three key cases employers should be aware of:

Can an external job applicant qualify as a whistleblower?

One of the very first questions to ask when presented with a whistleblowing claim in the UK is whether the person who made the disclosure was entitled to protection. The Employment Rights Act 1996 protects employees from dismissal, and protects employees and workers from detriment, for having made protected disclosures. But does it cover job applicants?

On September 1, 2021, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), the Department of Labor sub-agency charged with enforcing affirmative action and non-discrimination requirements imposed on federal contractors by way of Executive Order 11246, announced that it was reversing

Meredith Shoop talks about the Affirmative Action Program Verification Interface where covered federal contractors can upload their affirmative action plans for review.

Government Executive

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On August 19, 2022, OFCCP published a notice in the Federal Register for the stated purpose of advising employers that in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, it is planning to produce confidential information that is protected from disclosure pursuant to a statutory exemption.

As outlined in our August 22 Insight, OFCCP announced an intention to produce federal contractors’ Type 2 EEO-1 data in response to a FOIA request from the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR).  Employers were given until September 19, 2022, to file their objections. On September 15, 2022, OFCCP extended the deadline for filing objections to October 19, 2022.

Readers will recall that in August 2022, OFCCP published a notice in the Federal Register advising employers that it was the subject of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking EEO-1 data from all federal contractors, including first-tier subcontractors, for the period 2016-2020.