Scott Rechtschaffen talks about cybersecurity enhancements and the importance of investing in technology. 

Law360

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Aaron Crews discusses how employers are using data to move diversity and inclusion programs forward.

Human Resource Executive

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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.
 

In a favorable ruling for employers defending against wage statement compliance claims, the California Supreme Court in Naranjo v. Spectrum Services Inc. (Naranjo) settled an age-old dispute by determining that an employer that reasonably and in good faith believed it was providing a complete and accurate wage statement has a viable defense to a claim for penalties under the California wage statement statute.

Background

Stephen T. Melnick discusses the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA)’s revised workers’ compensation notice for employees, which Massachusetts employers will start using Sept. 16, 2024.

SHRM

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On January 8, 2021, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) issued its final rule modifying the calculation of withdrawal liability by multiemployer pension plans.  This final rule amends the agency’s regulations on allocating unfunded vested benefits to withdrawing employers (29 C.F.R. § 4211) and notice, collection, and redetermination of withdrawal liability (29 C.F.R. § 4219).

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).

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the Second Circuit’s decision in Laurent v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, which held that retirees could receive money damages in the form of recalculated benefits in a class action over how the company’s cash balance pension plan calculated lump-sum benefits.

On February 9, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued its decision in Trustees of IAM Nat'l Pension Fund v. M & K Emp. Sols., LLC, No. 22-7157 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 9, 2024), affirming the district court’s decision to vacate an arbitration award for the employer in a pension fund withdrawal liability case.  The D.C.

Paul Bateman and Erin Webber share how Bateman’s new role will encourage Littler’s social justice initiatives.

Law360

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As more and more employers take steps to improve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the workplace, there’s an increasing demand to know if those measures are successful. In this podcast, Alyesha Dotson, Littler Shareholder, discusses ways in which employers can track progress in their DE&I efforts without tripping over legal hazards, and gauge individual and organizational change.
  

(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.

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

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

HR Dive

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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.

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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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 June 20, 2024, USCIS extended the validity of certain work permits issued to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries under the TPS designations for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan. All impacted beneficiaries will receive Form I-797, Notice of Action, notifying them of the extension of their Employment Authorization Documents (EADs or “work permits”) through March 9, 2025.

Deepti Orekondy and Jorge R. Lopez discuss the new rights and protections provided under lllinois’ new Senate Bill 0508, which provides additional employment protections for individuals flagged by an employment eligibility verification system.

SHRM

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Alexander Thomas MacDonald explains how, through a century of trial and error, labor law has been wildly successful in giving us the most peaceful labor market in history. 

The Federalist Society

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Earlier this month, President Biden released his COVID-19 Action Plan, Path Out of the Pandemic (Plan) with the stated goal of getting more people vaccinated.¹ As part of the Plan, President Biden signed Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors (Order).

On February 1, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) presented a webinar on its new contractor portal through which covered contractors are being asked to certify whether they are meeting their requirement to develop and maintain annual affirmative action programs.

Last August OFCCP published a notice in the Federal Register advising employers that in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the agency was planning to produce confidential information that is ordinarily protected from dis

Andrea M. Kirshenbaum discusses the 2023-24 SCOTUS opinions that promise to reshape administrative law in the United States for decades to come.

The Legal Intelligencer

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David Jordan discusses the framework of the 80/20 tip-credit rule and its current impact on employers after the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision leaves a version of the rule up for questioning.

Bloomberg Law

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Sarah Bryan Fask says the dispute over retired miners’ health benefits is notable because the decision "could impact whether unions could try to use a dispute resolution procedure within a collective bargaining agreement as a venue to dispute anticipated post-collective bargaining agreement changes."

Law360 

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In November 2023, soon after Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed amendments to the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act (the “Act”), several staffing agencies and associations sued for an injunction against enforcement of certain provisions of the Act.  In Staffing Services Association of Illinois v. Flanagan, Case No. 23-CV-16208, these parties claimed that Sections 11, 42, and 67 of the Act were preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the due process clauses of the U.S.

Oregon’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (“Paid Leave Oregon”) generally provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of paid time off for leave that qualifies as family, medical, or safe leave. Since Paid Leave Oregon took effect on September 3, 2023, employees have been stacking Paid Leave Oregon leave benefits and Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) leave benefits, leaving employers frustrated with staffing shortages.

Sarah Bryan Fask says a long-awaited final rule from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. describing interest rate assumption requirements for employers who pull out of multiemployer pension plans would be “very significant.”

Law360

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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

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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

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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

Kyle Roseman and Lori Alexander examine a new law in Connecticut, Public Act 21-69, which bans employers from inquiring into the ages of prospective employees "on an initial employment application."

SHRM Online

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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.

For nearly a decade, Chicago has maintained a “ban-the-box” ordinance restricting employer’s use of criminal records in employment screening. This ordinance largely mirrored the requirements of Illinois’ state-wide Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act (JOQAA), albeit with some important differences.

Hinna Upal discusses things employers should consider in the post-pandemic workplace, including employees’ work-from-home arrangements.

Rochester Business Journal

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