Employers are feeling some regulatory relief following a year that brought several changes to workplace policy, but are also grappling with the uncertainty these shifts have created. Sweeping regulatory changes have left them to redesign policies and strategies that had only recently been updated, while simultaneously navigating a growing patchwork of employment laws as states and localities work to fill perceived policy vacuums at the federal level.

Employers’ compliance challenges have swelled on multiple fronts over the past year as HR and business leaders grapple with an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. With changes under the Trump administration proving slow to materialize, most employers continue to anticipate robust enforcement by the Department of Labor and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in particular.

Jennifer Youpa, a shareholder in Littler’s Dallas office, and Kevin O’Neill, Senior Director of Littler’s Learning Group, discuss the importance of harassment complaint investigations in the #MeToo climate. As Jennifer and Kevin explain, investigatory responses can no longer be “one size fits all,” especially with the possibility of the viral disclosure of allegations or incidents through social media. In this podcast, Jennifer and Kevin reveal strategies and trends they have seen as they conduct training for employers on sexual harassment and related issues.

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).

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its new immigration-related fines/penalties, effective January 15, 2024. Immigration-related violations before the DOL involve these visas: H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B. These increases are pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015. Since that time, penalties have been adjusted yearly based on the rate of inflation.

Below are the offenses, including regulation citations, with the old and new penalties:

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.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recently announced a streamlined process for foreign workers to request deferred action. Deferred action is a type of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action (deportation) for a noncitizen for a certain time period.  The new process will apply where these workers are participating in or otherwise involved an investigation or enforcement action by a federal, state, or local labor and employment agency.    

USCIS has officially announced the dates for the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap lottery, which will open on Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at noon ET and end on Friday, March 22, 2024, at noon ET. This annual lottery is meant to select new H-1B candidates, who will be eligible to file an H-1B petition and, if approved, begin H-1B employment on October 1, 2024 (the first day of FY 2025).

Jesús Lahera offers a detailed analysis of Spain’s Whistleblowing Directive and its impact on employers and employees.

Observatorio de RRHH

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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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In December 2021, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) implemented a new requirement that all covered federal contractors and subcontractors annually certify that they have current affirmative action plans in place for each of their establishments or functional units as applicable.  The Process for Certification, which was to be made through a new Contractor Portal, was rolled out over a five-month period beginning on February

In 2022 the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) began requiring that federal contractors and subcontractors subject to the affirmative action requirements of Executive Order 11246 annually certify that they are meeting their requirement to develop and maintain annual affirmative plans (AAPs).  In rolling out this program, OFCCP warned that covered contractors that failed to certify by a deadline would be at a higher risk for audit.  OFCCP made good on this warning when it published its 2023 Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL), which is a courtesy notice of cont

On March 29, 2024, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published revisions to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15). These changes will impact how companies collect the race and ethnicity data for their federal reporting. 

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

While the Department of Justice (DOJ) has initiated at least two new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions against U.S. companies, it has also announced several decisions not to prosecute—most recently involving a U.S. biotech firm and its subsidiaries. The November 16, 2023, declination letter is instructive for companies concerned about protecting themselves against the consequences of employees who take it upon themselves to flout internal anti-bribery policies.

This Annual Report on EEOC Developments—Fiscal Year 2019 (hereafter “Report”), our ninth annual publication, is designed as a comprehensive guide to significant EEOC developments over the past fiscal year. The Report does not merely summarize case law and litigation statistics, but also analyzes the EEOC’s successes, setbacks, changes, and strategies. By focusing on key developments and anticipated trends, the Report provides employers with a roadmap to where the EEOC is headed in the year to come.

This year’s Report is organized into the following sections:

Many employers are hopeful that a vaccine for COVID-19 will be the silver bullet that will enable employers to return to some semblance of a pre-COVID workplace. Assuming a vaccine is developed, can an employer mandate that employees be vaccinated before coming back to work? What happens when an employee cannot or will not take this vaccine, either for religious, medical, or other personal reasons? Can a union or group of workers successfully challenge employer-mandated vaccines?

This Annual Report on EEOC Developments—Fiscal Year 2020 (hereafter “Report”), our tenth annual publication, is designed as a comprehensive guide to significant EEOC developments over the past fiscal year. The Report does not merely summarize case law and litigation statistics, but also analyzes the EEOC’s successes, setbacks, changes, and strategies. By focusing on key developments and anticipated trends, the Report provides employers with a roadmap to where the EEOC is headed in the year to come.

This year’s Report is organized into the following sections:

Employers transitioning to a post-pandemic workplace face a host of novel challenges.

High on that list is navigating hybrid work models and what a return to physical workplaces looks like – especially when, as our survey reveals, the percentage of employees who prefer remote or hybrid work is higher than the percentage of employers who plan to offer it. The survey also finds employers taking a cautious approach to asking about employees’ COVID-19 vaccination status and making a range of changes to their physical workplaces.

This Annual Report on EEOC Developments—Fiscal Year 2021 (hereafter “Report”), our eleventh annual publication, is designed as a comprehensive guide to significant EEOC developments over the past fiscal year. The Report does not merely summarize case law and litigation statistics, but also analyzes the EEOC’s successes, setbacks, changes, and strategies.  By focusing on key developments and anticipated trends, the Report provides employers with a roadmap to where the EEOC is headed in the year to come.

This year’s Report is organized into the following sections:

No one said adjusting to the “new normal” would be easy.

That sentiment is hitting home for employers as workers increasingly return to offices in the midst of a historically tight labor market and after more than two years of a global pandemic. Issues and initiatives that have consumed the corporate world’s attention – from vaccine policies to hybrid work models to evolving regulations and emerging technologies – are now entering a pivotal phase, posing new challenges and opportunities alike.

This Annual Report on EEOC Developments—Fiscal Year 2022 (hereafter “Report”), our twelfth annual publication, is designed as a comprehensive guide to significant Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC” or “the Commission”) developments over the past fiscal year. The Report does not merely summarize case law and litigation statistics, but also analyzes the EEOC’s successes, setbacks, changes, and strategies. By focusing on key developments and anticipated trends, the Report provides employers with a roadmap to where the EEOC is headed in the year to come.

Widespread economic uncertainty. Evolving workforce expectations. Accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. A growing patchwork of local, state and federal regulations.

Numerous headwinds are colliding in 2023 – and presenting employers with a litany of tough decisions.

This Annual Report on EEOC Developments—Fiscal Year 2023 (hereafter “Report”), our thirteenth annual publication, is designed as a comprehensive guide to significant Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC” or “the Commission”) developments over the past fiscal year. The Report does not merely summarize case law and litigation statistics, but also analyzes the EEOC’s successes, setbacks, changes, and strategies. By focusing on key developments and anticipated trends, the Report provides employers with a roadmap to where the EEOC is headed in the year to come.

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.

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.

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.

On May 12, 2022, the “Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act” was introduced in the House of Representatives by Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA).  Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced a companion bill in the Senate. The bill seeks to ban arbitration and discretionary clauses in employer-sponsored benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

On July 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) updated the STEM Designated Degree Program List by adding eight new qualifying fields of study. The Program List is generally used to determine whether a degree completed by an F-1 nonimmigrant student qualifies as a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degree as determined by DHS.

On April 29, 2024, The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that effective the fall semester 2024, international students holding a valid study permit will be permitted to work up to 24 hours per week off campus during the school term. The current policy permits international students to work up to only 20 hours per week off campus during the school term.

This change is designed to not only help students gain work experience and offset expenses, but also to address ongoing Canadian labour shortage needs.

On October 31, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that the agencies have executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) “to strengthen the agencies’ partnership to promote safe and healthy workplaces through protecting worker voice.”  The

PITTSBURGH (April 15, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added Shannon Huygens as special counsel in its Pittsburgh office. Huygens, who was an associate at Littler from 2004 to 2013, rejoins the firm after serving as associate general counsel at the University of Pittsburgh for more than a decade.

2024 promises to be a consequential year for employers. The U.S. is preparing for an election that could significantly impact the future of employment and labor law. At the same time, businesses continue to wrestle with cultural changes stemming from the pandemic and are confronting newer challenges such as the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence (AI).