In this podcast, Littler attorneys Michael Kessel, Russ McEwan and Alan Model, out of our Newark office, discuss the importance of cultivating “employee engagement” to foster a productive, invested workforce. They also describe the new Littler Positive Employee Relations Series, which offers customized, intensive training to supervisors on the causes of negative morale and then arms them with practical tools to spot and handle problems before they get out of hand.
 

UPDATE: This article was updated on August 15, 2018.

In April 2018, New York State and New York City each adopted expansive legislation directed at educating employees about workplace sexual harassment and reducing the incidence of harassment claims, as we reported in our prior article. 

New Poster for NYC Employers:

Libby Henninger discusses the DOL’s proposal to expand overtime pay protections to more workers and why it may result in a legal battle.

Bloomberg Law

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On November 30, 2023, the Colorado Court of Appeals in Tender Care v.

At the end of January 2024, the UK Government set out a surprise proposal to introduce a £55 fee for individuals to bring proceedings in the Employment Tribunals (ET) and Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).

Jim Paretti comments on a recent boost in EEOC commissioner charges.

Bloomberg Law

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Bradford J. Kelley and Michael J. Lotito discuss key steps to consider when business leaders work with their teams and HR departments to develop political speech policies and enforcement strategies.

Chief Executive

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Philadelphia has imposed significant new recall and retention obligations on hotel, airport hospitality, and event center businesses as they struggle to recover in this uncertain COVID-19 economy.  The new obligations are contained in a legislative package, styled as the Black Workers Matter Economic Recovery Package, which became law in Januar

Over a year and a half since the pandemic first started to take its toll on the health and welfare of individuals and the economy, the country is still reeling and struggling to recover. Some employers and industries were able to pivot and weather the devastating effects of COVID-19. Others scaled back operations or closed permanently due to changes in demand, supply chain issues, or hiring shortfalls.  As businesses start to reopen, employers are facing new challenges.

On March 13, 2023, Ontario announced that it is proposing two amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and related regulations.

Employees Who Work Solely from Home to Become Eligible to Receive Enhanced Notice in Context of Mass Termination  

On November 25, 2023, O. Reg. 340/23: TERMINATION AND SEVERANCE OF EMPLOYMENT made under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) (Regulation), amending O. Reg.

Dear Littler,

 We are a professional services company with employees in various states. During the pandemic we shifted to fully remote work. As the pandemic subsided, we still leaned into remote work to attract and retain talent who preferred remote work. We also shifted our focus almost exclusively to digital services that did not require an in-person presence since our clients were also remote. We kept most of our physical offices intact but downsized some square footage to reduce our overhead.

Shannon Meade talks about how the pandemic has upended the labor market, pushing employees to realize the benefits of higher pay and forcing employers to offer better pay and flexibility.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Jeanine Conley Daves discusses the fact that women still, in the year 2022, are rarely compensated on par with their male counterparts and suggests solutions for workplace parity.

Philadelphia Business Journal

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Eli Freedberg explains that there are lots of gray areas for employers in a New York City law that requires them to post pay ranges in their job ads.

Bloomberg Law

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Lee Schreter comments on the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed overtime rule, which is tentatively slated to be released in October, and the Fair Labor Standards Act’s independent contractor rule.

SHRM Online

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Michael Lotito talks about the fifth-annual Labor Day Report from Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, which examined the state of the labor market and several impending worker-friendly changes to state and federal workplace policy.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Joy Rosenquist offers employers tips to manage compliance challenges that may arise from California’s new regulations that are designed to increase pay transparency.

WorldatWork

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The state of epidemic emergency in Poland will be lifted on July 1, 2023, and Paweł Sych explains how this will affect workers and employers.

interia biznes

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House Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) recently introduced legislation that seeks to provide aid to multiemployer pension plans (MEPs) facing insolvency. Entitled the Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act (EPPRA), the bill would fund this aid directly from the U.S. Treasury.

On March 10, 2021, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) announced that it will not enforce or otherwise pursue enforcement actions with respect to two recently issued final rules amending the “investment duties” regulation under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

A federal court in New Jersey recently applied the arbitrary and capricious standard of review for a denial of benefits claim despite the enactment of an anti-discretionary statute in Minnesota, which governed the benefit plan policy. Hocheiser v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32154 (D.N.J. Feb. 22, 2021).

On Friday, July 8, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued its decision in United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension Plan v. Energy West Mining Company, joining the Sixth Circuit in holding that the assumptions used by a multiemployer defined benefit pension plan in calculating the amount of withdrawal liability owed by an exiting employer must reflect the actual and projected experience of the plan.

On October 14, 2022, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the federal agency that insures and regulates private-sector defined benefit pension plans under Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), published a proposed rule governing employer withdrawal liability.

Shannon Meade examines the key labor and employment regulatory actions included in the Biden administration’s long-awaited Fall 2022 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.

SHRM Online

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Jeronimo Simonovis and Lavanga Wijekoon discuss an asylum case before U.S. immigration authorities that Jeronimo won involving a woman and her 8-year-old son.

Littler attorneys provide pro bono services in a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. The firm values and encourages the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
  

Renea Saade and Breanne Martell talk about an Alaska adoption case with a great outcome.

Littler attorneys provide pro bono services in a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. The firm values and encourages the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
  

Nicole LeFave, Vinay Patel and Garrick Chan share their experience with Jenny Schwendemann of working on a collaborative effort through the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance.

Littler attorneys provide pro bono services in a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. The firm values and encourages the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
  

Mike Dissinger and Jenny Schwendemann tell the story of how Mike’s love of dogs led him to start working with a pet rescue organization in Las Vegas (as well as taking home a new pup in the process).

Littler attorneys provide pro bono services in a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. The firm values and encourages the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
  

Tomasz Rogala and Marcin Sanetra, Littler | PCS attorneys, and Lavanga Wijekoon discuss the legal assistance Littler’s Poland attorneys have given Ukrainians fleeing the recent conflict there.

Littler attorneys provide pro bono services in a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. The firm values and encourages the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
  

In continued celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, Littler's Jennifer Maguire, Sarah Sorensen, and Daniel Kim discuss how their individual experiences in the U.S. Military – as a JAG officer, a military spouse, and an officer – shaped them as leaders, ultimately leading to careers in labor and employment law.
  

Jenny Schwendemann and Dan Kim share their experience with Lavanga Wijekoon about their collaborative efforts with assisting immigrants from Afghanistan.

Our Littler attorneys demonstrate their pro bono commitment by providing significant pro bono efforts to community organizations. These services cover a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. Overall, the firm values, encourages and respects the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
   

Emily Linn talks with Breanne Martell about the amicus brief she assisted with to seek justice for a neurodiverse individual, Robert Leslie Roberson, who was convicted of murder based on science that has now been debunked.

Our Littler attorneys demonstrate their pro bono commitment by providing significant pro bono efforts to community organizations. These services cover a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. Overall, the firm values, encourages and respects the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
  

Littler has a partnership with a firm client through The Veterans Consortium that is focused on helping veterans. David Haase speaks with Littler attorneys Matthew Hank, Neil Alexander, Don Nguyen, Jake Thorn, and Director of The Veterans Consortium's Discharge Upgrade Program Christie Bhageloe about the work they’ve done through the consortium.  

In our final Pro Bono Week podcast, Jenny Schwendemann discusses homelessness, one of the most significant humanitarian challenges many Americans face today, with Director of Ending Youth Homelessness, Katie Meyer Scott, and Pro Bono Director, Carlton Martin, of the National Homelessness Law Center.

Since the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard University and the University of North Carolina on June 29, 2023, striking down race-conscious admission processes in higher education, it has sent shock waves throughout the corporate community as business leaders consider the decision’s potential impact on their own diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Littler Principal Cindy-Ann Thomas and her guest, Littler Shareholder Kim Carter, explore:

In celebration of Pride Month, Littler shareholder Mattheus Stephens and associates Trevor Hardy and Jessica Wimsatt discuss their advocacy work for LGBTQIA+ individuals in their local communities. The group also highlights the importance of how being authentically you and sharing your story can help others find community and feel connected.
  

The Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) has published a revised workers’ compensation Notice to Employees, which Massachusetts employers should use starting September 16, 2024.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill on September 4, 2024 that requires retail employers to develop and implement workplace violence prevention training and policies, among other measures.  The law becomes effective 180 days after her signature, or March 3, 2025.

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.

Ole Kristian Olsby and Nina Elisabeth Thjømøe explain the regulations around gender equality and discrimination in the workplace.

International Law Office (ILO)

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One year into a global pandemic, with vaccinations underway, we are eagerly preparing for social “re-entry.” But how do the isolating behaviors that we have now perfected – in the interest of sheer survival – bode for the concept of “inclusion” in a post-pandemic world?

Littler Principal Cindy-Ann Thomas and her guest, Enidio Magel, Managing Director and Founder of the Multicultural Institute, consider:

(March 22, 2021) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, is pleased to announce new leadership for its ‘Ohana and Reunión affinity groups. Additionally, the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Council added six new members.

Helene Wasserman shares her view on how mentorships can positively impact career paths.

The National Law Review

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Report reviews the myriad forces transforming the workplace and formalizes Littler’s Global Workplace Transformation Initiative

Michael Chichester explains how the pandemic has changed what the workforce looks like today and in the future.

Law360

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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.
  

Teresa Trigueros discusses workplace harassment and its protocols.

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