Since it was established in 2014, a United Nations Inter-Governmental Working Group (“IGWG”) has met annually to develop a multilateral treaty to attempt to hold businesses legally accountable for harms that may be related to their global operations (the “Proposed Treaty”).  Littler Mendelson attorneys have provided testimony at all of these sessions.¹ The IGWG held its most recent session from October 14-18, 2019, during which certain member States of the United Nations (“States”) and other stakeholders discussed a “Revised Draft” of the Proposed Treaty.² This Revise

The Massachusetts Attorney General has recently published an Overview and Frequently Asked Questions (the “Overview”) regarding the amendment to the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, set to take effect on July 1, 2018.  The Overview answers many questions that employers have been asking about this wide-ranging new law.  The Overview also confirms the importance of an employer self-evaluation, offering some direction on what types of evaluations are appropriate, and explaining how it could protect a company from liability under the law.

The New Equal Pay Act

How should an employer respond when an employee is accused, charged, or convicted of a crime?

Fortunately, this is not a day-to-day issue that HR teams tend to deal with, but when it does arise, it can raise complex employment law issues and employers may have a PR crisis on their hands.

Last week, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law several bills that significantly amend the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA). As a result of these amendments, Illinois employers should expect an uptick in discrimination cases proceeding through state courts and agencies.

Longer Statute of Limitations Period

Rhonda Levy and George Vassos discuss a recent British Columbia Supreme Court case that directed an employee’s CERB payment to be deducted from wrongful dismissal damage awards.

Human Resources Director Canada

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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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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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The First Special Session of the 131^st Maine Legislature included debate about more than 2,000 bills. Many that were adopted will impact employers in the Pine Tree State. Below is a brief summary of important employment law changes enacted this session. 

An Act to Create the Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Program

The budget signed by Maine Governor Janet Mills on July 11, 2023, included funding for one of the broadest and most generous paid family and medical leave programs in the country.

Jeff Nowak discusses the problems that negative favoritism in a department can cause if it is not corrected.

SHRM Online

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Before offering a foreign national a permanent position, an employer must demonstrate to the Department of Labor that it tested the market and could not find a U.S. worker to fill the role. How can an employer show it properly tested the U.S. labor market to satisfy the DOL’s requirements under the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) process?

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. 

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.

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 23, 2021) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, is pleased to announce that several of its attorneys have been selected for the 2021 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellows and Pathfinders programs and the National Employment Law Council (NELC) Academy.

In Schachter v. Citigroup, Inc.,¹ the California Supreme Court rejected claims that an incentive plan that conditioned the earning of restricted stock based on continued service was unlawful where the employee voluntarily elected to participate in the plan, and the employee quit before the date on which the incentive was earned. The plan was lawful even though the incentive plan was funded from wages that the employee would have otherwise received in cash.

By now, most lawyers advising international companies on compensation packages for expatriates that include deferred compensation are familiar with section 409A of the United States Internal Revenue Code ("US tax code" or "Code").

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:

As required under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced, through the Federal Register, increases for penalties under the Immigration Reform & Control Act (IRCA), effective February 13, 2024. Interestingly, the Federal Register announcement for DOJ increases also included penalties for sections of IRCA administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).

In the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Autumn Statement, Jeremy Hunt promised that “the government will expand the business Visitor rules to allow businesspeople to engage in a wider range of permitted activities and paid engagements, to take effect from January 2024. The government will also explore further reforms to the business visitor rules during 2024.”

The first of these changes took effect from January 31, 2024. They were not a major reform of the business and other permitted activities that can be carried out on a visit visa, but there are some important changes.

Foreign workers fill a critical need in the U.S. labor market, particularly in the professional and technological fields such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). To fill this need, U.S. employers submit H-1B temporary worker visa status registrations with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is a lottery-based system where registrations are selected from the congressionally allotted quota of 85,000.

Michael Lotito says captive audience meeting bans passed by more than half a dozen states are “intrusive” and “against fundamental First Amendment principles.”

Bloomberg Law

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Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

Download full Q3 2022 Global Guide Quarterly

Court of Appeal Confirms that Conduct of a Whistleblower is Separable from the Fact of Making a Protected Disclosure

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

On May 20, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published its FY 2022 Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL) for supply and service contractors. OFCCP has stated that it will immediately begin to send out scheduling letters to some of the contractors on the new list.  This is a change from the past when OFCCP would wait at least 45 days from publication of the list before beginning audits.  See U.S.

On August 18, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a revised version of its Directive 2022-01 - Advancing Pay Equity Through Compensation Analysis, which was originally issued on March 15, 2022.

On June 5, 2023, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published its FY 2023 Construction Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL). The CSAL includes 250 employers that OFCCP has identified as federal or federally assisted construction contractors.

Alexander MacDonald says Jarkesy's biggest effect on the NLRB might come not from what the court ruled, but from what it decided not to rule on.

Law360 Employment Authority

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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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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.

Jorge Sales Boyoli answers questions about whether mandates requiring employees to get vaccinated are legal under Mexico’s labor laws.

Entrepreneur

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The United States is not the only country currently debating a reform to the law on non-competes. Notably, the UK Government has announced legislation that would limit the duration of non-competes to a period of 3 months after termination of employment.

Two noteworthy developments have occurred since the California Fair Employment & Housing Council released draft revisions to the state’s employment non-discrimination laws on March 15, 2022 that relate to the nascent law surrounding the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other data-driven statistical processes to automate decision-making in the employment context.  

Updated March 24, 2023: The CFPB has edited its updated Summary of Rights document to include the correct contact number. 

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On March 14, 2024, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed legislation that would add a new provision to the Massachusetts Consumer Protection law and would bar the use of true credit reports for employment purposes, i.e., for the purpose of evaluating an individual for employment, promotion, reassignment, or retention as an employee.  The legislation, entitled An Act Reducing Barriers to Employment Through Credit Discrimination (H.1434), is expected to be adopted by the Massachusetts Senate and promptly signed into law by Governor Maura Healy.  Once adopted, th

Eric Compere, William Kim, Melissa Peters, Kennell Sambour and Krystal Weaver provide insight on Cal/OSHA’s new FAQs.

SHRM Online

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On July 1, 2023, after a long delay, mandatory withholdings for the WA Cares Fund finally took effect. The WA Cares Fund is a state-run, long-term-care insurance program requiring employers to pay premiums through a mandatory payroll deduction from all employees who have not provided proof of an exemption.

Kerry E. Notestine, Chad J. Kaldor, Shawn Matthew Clark and Garrick D. Josephs compare and contrast the Maryland WARN Act and its federal counterpart, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

SHRM

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Kerry Notestine, Chad Kaldor, Shawn Matthew Clark and Garrick Josephs discuss the Maryland WARN Act and compares and contrasts it with its federal counterpart, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

Wolters Kluwer

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Angel Valverde presents issues for development of international arbitration in the U.S., as there are no visas that specifically allow a foreign national to be employed as an arbitrator, attorney or expert witness in an arbitration proceeding.

International Law Quarterly

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Alexander MacDonald explains when California employers’ employment agreements are subject to state law and AB 51 may apply. 

XpertHR

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