As previously discussed, in March the European Parliament approved the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (the “Act”), creating the world’s first comprehensive set of rules for artificial intelligence. On July 12, 2024, the Act was published in the European Union Official Journal, which is the final step in the EU legislative process.

Barry Hartstein discusses the findings of Littler’s Delta Variant Update report and what they reveal about employers’ current thinking surrounding vaccine mandates.

Corporate Counsel

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Zev Eigen authored an article covering the data science revolution in HR, as well as tools readily available to employers.

The Lawyer's Daily

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Scott Forman authored this article regarding big data, benchmarking, predictive modeling and trendspotting.

Today's General Counsel

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Effective January 1, 2019, California SB 1343 greatly expanded Golden State employers' anti-harassment training requirements. The law not only extends coverage to employers with more than five employees, but it also mandates that employers provide anti-harassment training to all employees – not just supervisors – every two years. But what if an employer provided this training in 2018? Can the next training cycle wait until 2020? No, according to recent guidance from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).

Effective May 11, 2024, New York City now prohibits employers from entering into any type of agreement that shortens the statutory period by which an employee may file an administrative claim or complaint, or civil action, relating to unlawful discriminatory practices, harassment or violence under the New York City Human Rights Law, Admin. Code § 8-101, et seq. (NYCHRL).

In 2019, California adopted several laws that restricted “non-disclosure" provisions in employment-related agreements.  Those laws, passed in the wake of the “me too” movement, limited non-disclosure provisions in settlement agreements for lawsuits and administrative agency charges involving allegations of sexual harassment.¹  They also limited the use of non-disclosure provisions in exchange for a raise or a bonus, or as a co

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.

On August 8, 2023, the Governor of Puerto Rico signed into law Act No. 85-2023, effective immediately. The statute amends Puerto Rico’s Workers’ Compensation Act by further incentivizing safe workplaces.

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.

On August 26, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland decided in Teamsters Local Union No. 355 v. Total Distribution Services, Inc., that the Maryland Economic Stabilization Act (“Maryland WARN Act” or “Act”) does not provide individuals with the right to file suit in their personal capacity to enforce a legal claim under the Act. The Maryland WARN Act still may be enforced by the Maryland Department of Labor.  The Act is based, in part, on its federal counterpart, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, with important differences. 

Ole Kristian Olsby and Nina Elisabeth Thjømøe clarify how to actively prevent sexual harassment and unwanted attention in the workplace through a recent Supreme Court ruling.

International Law Office (ILO)

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The recently enacted Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank") mandates, for publicly traded companies, shareholder advisory votes on compensation packages provided to top executives and on "golden parachute" packages payable in connection with corporate transactions.

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

In a reassuring decision for employers, the UK High Court has confirmed that an employer’s use of a contractual provision to claw back an employee’s bonus was lawful. The ruling in Steel v Spencer Road LLP provides helpful guidance on the circumstances in which a bonus clawback will not constitute a restraint of trade, though employers should be mindful that not all such provisions will be enforceable.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the agency will establish a new process to consider, on a case-by-case basis, requests from eligible noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens for parole-in-place status.  Parole-in-place allows noncitizens who entered the United States without the authorization of an immigration officer to remain in the United States for a certain period.  If paroled, eligible noncitizen spouses will be able to apply for permanent residence without having to leave the United States to be processed for an Immigrant Visa at a U.S.

On August 31, 2021, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the Affirmative Action Program Verification Interface (AAVI) proposed by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) for the verification and upload of federal contractor affirmative action plans.

OFCCP issued yet another notice today regarding its handling of a FOIA request for production of all federal contractors’ EEO-1 Type 2 data from 2016 through 2020.

The request keeps in place a February 17, 2023, deadline for submitting objections, but expands the grounds upon which employers may object, but only if the contractor includes an explanation as to why it did not object “in response to previous notices that we have issued, and why there is good cause for us to accept the objection at this point.”

In July, the Third Circuit upheld a District of New Jersey decision to throw out a withdrawal liability assessment, finding the multiemployer pension fund was barred from pursuing its claim because the fund unreasonably delayed notification of a withdrawal liability assessment for 12 years.

Withdrawal Liability Assessments Under ERISA

Kerry Notestine, Chad Kaldor, Shawn Matthew Clark and Garrick Josephs discuss a court’s decision that the Maryland WARN Act does not give individuals the right to file suit in their personal capacity to enforce a legal claim under the Act.

Wolters Kluwer

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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.

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.

On April 4, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit joined the Ninth Circuit in holding that a plaintiff lacked Article III standing to prosecute her statutory claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in federal court. The Eighth Circuit’s opinion in Schumacher v. SC Data Center, Inc. deepens the split between the circuit courts on standing and increases the chances that the U.S. Supreme Court eventually will have to weigh in on the issue again.

Background: Spokeo and Ramirez

The California Civil Rights Council previously issued draft revisions to the Fair Employment and Housing Act’s regulations governing inquiries into and consideration of a job applicant’s criminal history in making hiring decisions.  On July 24, 2023, the Office of Administrative Law approved the Council’s proposed modifications to the regulations. 

On November 10, 2021, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2021-45, which contains its annual inflation adjustments for over 60 tax provisions, including not only individual income tax rates and deductions, but also many employer-provided benefits.