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!

In Escano v. Innovative Financial Partners, LLC,¹ a magistrate judge held that the defendants’ decision to withhold funds from a payment required under a settlement agreement when the plaintiff refused to provide a Form W-9 did not violate the agreement.

All Canadian employers other than those in Quebec¹ are required to:

• Deduct Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions from their employees’ pensionable earnings if the employee meets certain conditions;
• Contribute an amount equal to the CPP contributions that were deducted; and
• Remit both amounts.

These obligations end when the employee reaches the maximum contribution for the year.

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.

The new tax year is swiftly approaching, along with new statutory rates, limits and changes to employment law in England and Wales that HR practitioners should be aware of. 

Annual rates and limits increases

The usual annual updates to the statutory rates and limits will come into effect in early April 2024.

Here are the key changes:

We recently reported on the saga that followed the Constitutional Court's ruling of February 8, 2024 on the conditions for applying the partial exemption from payment of withholding tax for employers organizing shift work (CIR/92, art. 275/5). 

The ruling of February 8, 2024, had given rise to fears among many employers whose successive shifts fluctuate in size that they would simply lose the tax advantage, which can represent a reduction of 10 to 15% in the wage costs associated with shift workers. 

The IRS has issued a new fact sheet (FS-2024-22) to address frequently asked questions about educational assistance programs (EAPs), also known as Section 127 plans.¹ EAP plans have been an effective recruitment and retention tool for many employers over the past two decades and remain popular with employees because the payments are tax exempt to employees and tax deductible to employers.

The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (Department) just announced the 2025 weekly benefit amount and contribution rates for both employers and employees under the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave benefit program, which is funded through a payroll tax.

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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Sarah Bryan Fask says a decision clarifying when employers can exit union-brokered pension plans “potentially opens up the floodgates for a lot of employer uncertainty.”

Bloomberg Law

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Joy Rosenquist discusses what California employers should watch for after the state’s AI bias bill failed and its Civil Rights Department continues work on proposed regulations that could be game-changing.

Law360 Employment Authority

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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 Kelley and Mike Paglialonga explain the basics of wage and hour laws and why it’s critical for business owners to ensure their business complies with federal, state and local laws and regulations.

American Drycleaner

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Bradford Kelley and Mike Paglialonga explain the basics of wage and hour laws and why it’s critical for business owners to ensure their business complies with federal, state and local laws and regulations.

American Drycleaner

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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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Over the past few months, the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) of the Department of Justice has entered into several settlements from which employers can learn some valuable lessons so that these discriminatory practices are not followed.

In a recent settlement, a transportation and parking management company agreed to settle an IER charge to resolve IER’s determination that the company discriminated against the Charging Party when it refused to honor the employee’s valid Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

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.

New Jersey is the latest state to advance pay transparency requirements.  On September 26, 2024, the New Jersey state legislature passed Senate Bill 2310, which if signed and enacted by Governor Murphy (as is expected), would mandate that certain New Jersey employers disclose wage or salary ranges and general benefits information in each job posting/advertisement. The bill would also require that employers take “reasonable” steps to make opportunities for promotions known to current employees.

Applicability

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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The United States has announced that Qatar will soon be officially admitted to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP), allowing visa-free travel to the United States by Qatari citizens for up to 90 days. Per the Final Rule published by the Department of Homeland Security on September 26, 2024, Qatar will be added to the VWP no later than December 1, 2024.

Adam Fiss and Sebastian Chilco review updates to California’s paid leave law.

Wolters Kluwer

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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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Adam Joshua Fiss and Sebastian Chilco discuss a new California law that will eliminate employers’ ability to require employees to use up to two weeks of company-provided vacation before they start receiving paid family leave benefits.

SHRM

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Lauren J. Marcus, Amber M. Spataro and Francis A. Kenny discuss New Jersey’s new bill that would require employers to disclose wage or salary ranges and general benefits information in each job posting/advertisement.

SHRM

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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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Following other states and cities across the nation, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 988, the Freelance Worker Protection Act (FWPA), into law on September 28, 2024. This new law aims to provide greater protections to freelance workers (e.g., “independent contractors”).

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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Over the years, attempts to arbitrate breach of fiduciary duty claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Section 502(a)(2) have had varying results.¹  One court recently recognized that “whether any benefits plan may agree to submit to arbitration and/or whether an individual employment agreement may compel claims on behalf of a benefits plan to proceed to arbitration are not issues of clearly settled law.”²  This issue is before two circuit courts of appeal this year.  So far, the court rulings in the cases seem to provide some guidance while a

Michael Lotito offers insight on the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (or PRO Act), which includes a change to a standard known as “joint employer.”

Entrepreneur

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Robert F. Millman has been representing employers in collective bargaining and regulatory
proceedings with unions for 46 years. Daily Journal talks about a few of his big wins.

Daily Journal

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Pamela Reynolds’ article discusses whether employers can enforce arbitration of breach of fiduciary duty claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Section 502(a)(2).

Benefits Pro

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Libby Henninger weighs in on several wage and hour bills that will be prevalent in the next six months.

Law360 Employment Authority

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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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Michael Lotito writes about unions and their allies’ attempts to sneak parts of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act into the budget bill.

The Wall Street Journal

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George Vassos explains new rules that broaden and clarify British Columbia’s ability to investigate employment compliance matters and tighten rules for hiring children younger than 16 years old.

SHRM Online

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Keith A. Jacoby explains what makes Mark Rudy a good mediator.

Daily Journal

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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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Update: This bill was signed into law on March 3, 2022.

On April 4, 2022, in Fraser Health Authority v British Columbia General Employees’ Union, 2022 CanLII 25560, Arbitrator Koml Kandola of the British Columbia Labour Relations Board dismissed the union’s grievance respecting the dismissal of the grievor because she was ineligible to work under the order issued b

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.

Rhonda B. Levy and Barry Kuretzky provide an overview of key trends in arbitration awards in Ontario and British Columbia since fall 2021 that have considered issues relating to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies in the unionized workplace.

Human Resources Director Canada

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The United States Supreme Court’s decision in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana will dramatically impact employers’ rights to enforce arbitration agreements related to claims under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).¹  This decision, which is a significant win for employers with interests in California, will allow employers to compel arbitration of a PAGA plaintiff’s individual PAGA claims.