The pandemic seems not to have slowed down state and local lawmakers.  Indeed, over 100 new labor and employment laws and ordinances are scheduled to take effect between July 1, 2021 and November 1, 2021.

El 7 de enero de 2022, el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) publicó los nuevos valores para la Unidad de Medida y Actualización (en adelante “UMA”) que entrará en vigor el 1 de febrero de 2022, de acuerdo con lo establecido en el Artículo 5 de la Ley para Determinar la Unidad de Medida y Actualización.

Los valores de la UMA para el 2022 serán los siguientes:

On January 7, 2022, Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI by its acronym in Spanish) published the new values for the Updated Metric Unit (Unidad de Medida y Actualización or UMA) that will take effect on February 1, 2022, as provided by Article 5 of the Law to determine the value of the UMA. The UMA serves as the basis for calculating the payments, obligations, or penalties that are owed to the government, whether under federal or state law. Its updated value is published on an annual basis.

The values of the UMA for 2022 will be as follows:

On January 14, 2022, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury issued Internal Revenue Circular Letter No. 22-01 (CL IR 22-01) announcing the applicable 2022 limits for Puerto Rico qualified retirement plans.

On June 30, 2022, the governor of Puerto Rico signed into law Act No. 52 (Act 52-2022), which amended the concept of “engaged in trade or business” under the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011, to address the pandemic-related issue of employees working remotely from the Island for “out-of-state” employers with no business nexus to Puerto Rico.

Pursuant to Act 52-2022, for taxable years commencing after December 31, 2021, businesses with employees working remotely from Puerto Rico will not be deemed “engaged in trade or business,” provided the following conditions are met:

On September 17, 2022, Puerto Rico Governor Hon. Pedro Pierluisi issued Executive Order No. OE-2022-045, declaring a state of emergency due to the passing of Hurricane Fiona through the Island. Likewise, on September 21, 2022, President Joseph Biden authorized a disaster declaration for Puerto Rico, opening up additional relief and assistance for Puerto Rico's recovery process after the devastation left by the hurricane.

On December 14, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) signed and published a Memorandum of Understanding for Employment Tax Referrals (the “MOU”). The MOU establishes a system for referrals from the DOL’s Wage & Hour Division (WHD) to the Small Business/Self Employed Specialty Employment Tax unit (“SB/SE”).

The Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury recently issued Internal Revenue Circular Letter No. 23-01 (CL IR 23-01) announcing the applicable 2023 limits for Puerto Rico qualified retirement plans.

In an opinion issued on June 20, 2023, the United States Court of Federal Claims reminded taxpayers that they must obtain a certificate of coverage in order to claim an exemption from Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA) under a totalization agreement.

On June 15, 2023, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo signed SB 290, which requires early wage access (EWA) providers to obtain a license from the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. This is the first EWA law enacted by any state. 

Early Wage Access Generally

Dear Littler,

We are a small company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that allowed some of our employees to work remotely during the pandemic. When we recently announced our plans to call employees back to home base in Milwaukee, we received feedback that some employees did not plan to come back—they want to continue working remotely. We anticipated this, and we’re working with them to navigate their individual situations, but we were surprised to learn that some of our employees have actually relocated to different states!

On January 31, 2024, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury issued Internal Revenue Circular Letter No. 24-01 (CL IR 24-01) announcing the applicable 2024 limits for Puerto Rico qualified retirement plans.

Andrea M. Kirshenbaum discusses how Johnson v. NCAA is noteworthy beyond the realm of college athletics for its expansive discussion of the FLSA.

The Legal Intelligencer

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James A. Paretti Jr. and Melissa McDonagh offer insights into the implications of the court’s rejection of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) proposed nationwide ban on noncompete agreements.

Thomson Reuters

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Bradford J. Kelley and Maria Malaver-Reyes discuss how Loper Bright will impact federal and state administration of AI statutes, regulations and guidance.

Westlaw Today

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To support personnel transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in 2011 instituted the SkillBridge internship program, which provides service members with valuable civilian work experience through unpaid internships during their last 180 days of service, while the military continues to pay their wages and full benefits.

Bradford Kelley says the U.S. still lacks comprehensive AI legislation, but C-suite executives are taking note of a sharp rise in regulatory activity to address AI use in the workplace.

International Employment Lawyer

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Starting in January 2025, California’s Fair Employment & Housing Act (FEHA) will prohibit employers from including a statement in a job advertisement, posting, application, or other material that an applicant must have a driver’s license unless the employer “reasonably” anticipates driving to be an essential job function that cannot be comparably performed by alternative means. The stated purpose of the new FEHA amendment is to help facilitate employment for non-drivers who rely on ride hails, public transportation, biking, and walking as their primary means of transportation.

Bradford Kelley and Britney Torres predict politics in the workplace will remain an issue beyond the election and so California employers need a long-term plan measures for issues that include voter intimidation and discrimination and employees taking time off to vote.

Law360

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Bradford J. Kelley and James A. McGehee discuss mandates for employers involved in the SkillBridge internship program, which provides military members with civilian work experience.

Westlaw Today

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Rod M. Fliegel discusses California legislation that further amends the Fair Employment and Housing Act to prohibit discrimination in the hiring process based on the applicant’s lack of a driver’s license.

SHRM

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Jim Paretti offers his opinion on how things have gone in interactions with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during the pandemic.

Law360 Employment Authority

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In Aponte Valentín v. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, CC-2018-748,¹ the Puerto Rico Supreme Court reinforced the strong public policy favoring arbitration agreements in Puerto Rico, validating continued employment as implicit consent for such agreements.

On November 9, 2021, in United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Canada Local 333 v.

Rhonda B. Levy and Douglas Sanderson examine Northern Regional Health Authority v. Horrocks, in which the Supreme Court of Canada decided that in Manitoba, human rights disputes arising from the interpretation, application or alleged violation of a collective agreement fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of a labour arbitrator.

Human Resources Director Canada

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Since late fall 2021, we have seen a steady flow of arbitration awards emerge in Ontario and British Columbia that consider issues relating to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies in the unionized workplace. In this Insight, we provide an overview of key trends in these awards.

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario recently held a preliminary hearing to determine whether allegations made under the Human Rights Code (Code) fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of a labour arbitrator, or whether the Tribunal had concurrent jurisdiction over employment-related human rights matters in a unionized workplace.  

Jim Paretti says several new bipartisan laws focused on issues women experience in the workplace may move employers to work on preventing instances that would violate the new measures.

Bloomberg Law

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Rhonda B. Levy and Barry Kuretzky discuss a case in which an arbitrator issued the first award in Ontario to address and uphold the reasonableness of a hospital vaccination policy that allows employers to terminate employees for non-compliance.

Human Resources Director Canada

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Rhonda Levy, Adrian Jakibchuk, Barry Kuretzky and George Vassos comment on an arbitrator’s ruling that federal employers can count employees’ sick leave credits as paid medical leave days under the Canada Labour Code (CLC) if their own program provides “a more favourable benefit” to workers.

Human Resources Director Canada

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William H. Foster and Katie E. Towery examine the impact President Biden’s “America’s Jobs Plan” might have on South Carolina’s growing businesses and workforce. 

Association of Corporate Counsel South Carolina

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On July 22, 2021 the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDOH) issued Administrative Order No. 2021-509 (AO) providing that, in order to physically attend school, post-school educational institutions, or universities, personnel and students age 12 and older must be vaccinated against COVID-19. According to the PRDOH, the vaccination requirement for in-person school attendance will play an essential role in controlling the pandemic and providing a safer educational environment for students.

On August 2, 2021, Denver, Colorado Mayor Michael B. Hancock announced that all city employees, as well as private-sector workers in certain “high-risk” settings, must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 30, 2021. After September 30, unvaccinated individuals covered by this mandate will not be permitted to work onsite or in the field. In order to meet this September 30 deadline, employees covered by this requirement must receive their final doses of the vaccine by September 15.

Who is Affected by the Vaccine Mandate?

On September 29, 2021, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) Jennifer A. Abruzzo released a nine-page memorandum taking the unequivocal position that “certain Players at Academic Institutions” are employees under Section 2(3) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).  Refusing to call such players “student athletes,” Abruzzo asserts in the memorandum (GC 21-08) that:

Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi recently issued back-to-back executive orders (EO) regarding COVID-19. It appears that the third EO was stuck in holiday traffic. This latest EO, like her sisters, amends November’s EO-2021-075 to curtail COVID-19 infections.

Anabel Rodríguez-Alonso and José L. Maymí-González examine Puerto Rico’s new back-to-back executive orders regarding COVID-19.

SHRM Online

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In the midst of declining infection rates and increasing debate over mask and vaccine mandates, on February 7, 2022, Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene DeWitte Grischow temporarily enjoined COVID-19 mitigation measure mandates that had been imposed by order of Governor Pritzker and related administrative agency rules, affecting nearly 170 school districts. Echoing the concern expressed by the Eleventh Circuit, in its December 2021 Georgia v.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently announced that it is clarifying the validity period of off-campus employment authorization for international students pursuant to the Special Student Relief (SSR) package.

In a joint “Dear Colleague” letter (DCL) released May 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights teamed up with the U.S.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently updated guidance in its policy manual regarding international students within F and M student classifications. This new guidance consolidates and provides greater clarity on existing policy for international students.

Since 2006, public employers in New York have been required to implement programs to prevent and minimize workplace violence.¹ Public school employers, including public school districts, New York City public schools, Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES), and County Vocational Education and Extension Boards, were previously exempted from the law.

Tyler A. Sims disagrees with a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional director’s ruling that men’s college basketball players at Dartmouth College are employees for National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) purposes.

SHRM Online

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While testifying at a congressional hearing, Tyler A. Sims said the potential consequences of unionizing could be damaging for athletes.

Inside Higher Ed

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In a significant decision about workplace drug use, the Connecticut Appellate Court backed an employer’s right to terminate a worker who was impaired on the job by medical marijuana. The decision also clarified the factual basis an employer must possess to justify ordering a drug test based on suspicion of impairment.

James McGehee and Bradford Kelley provide insight into the potential impact of AI on the construction industry. 

For Construction Pros

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Devjani Mishra discusses the pandemic’s ongoing impact on the workplace revealed by key findings from Littler’s 2024 Annual Employer Survey Report.

Bloomberg Law

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