With the usual flurry of activity at the end of the legislative session, California has enacted a slew of bills with labor and employment ramifications.¹ Closing out his first year in office, Governor Gavin Newsom signed more than 40 such bills on a wide variety of topics, ranging from antidiscrimination and workplace safety measures to the much-debated worker classification bill (AB 5) codifying the ABC test from last year’s Dynamex case.

Zev Eigen authored an article covering the data science revolution in HR, as well as tools readily available to employers.

The Lawyer's Daily

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Scott Rechtschaffen authored this article on the future of knowledge management in law firms.

CIO Review

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Effective January 1, 2019, California SB 1343 greatly expanded Golden State employers' anti-harassment training requirements. The law not only extends coverage to employers with more than five employees, but it also mandates that employers provide anti-harassment training to all employees – not just supervisors – every two years. But what if an employer provided this training in 2018? Can the next training cycle wait until 2020? No, according to recent guidance from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).

Alyesha Asghar discusses the potential impact for employers after the Supreme Court’s decision regarding Title VII in Muldrow v. St Louis.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Jim Paretti comments on a recent boost in EEOC commissioner charges.

Bloomberg Law

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Over the past few years, cities have started to implement workplace regulation, an area previously reserved to federal and state governments.  The hotel industry, which often is one of the primary drivers of a local economy, has been a particular focus.

California is at it again – adopting a host of new labor and employment laws that will further regulate and complicate business operations in the Golden State.  Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute has been tracking these bills as they worked their way through the legislature and been signed into law by Governor Newsom.  The new California laws are summarized briefly below.  Also, please join us at our annual webinar on October 19, 2022, in wh

Jorge Sales Boyoli weighs in on a reform that was almost passed in Mexico, which “violates the most sacred thing that a worker has: his salary.” 

El Heraldo de Mexico

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Claire Deason weighs in on whether employers are obligated to pay for remote employees' commutes into work, business expenses and paid sick time.

Law360 Employment Authority

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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.

Sarah Bryan Fask explains the future of multi-employer pension reforms.

Bloomberg Law

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In the weeks leading up to and during the historic confirmation hearings of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the first Black female justice was repeatedly recognized by a number of senators for being so “articulate” while being questioned. The “compliment” resonated at the same frequency as fingernails screeching across a chalkboard for many listeners.

Littler Principal Cindy-Ann Thomas and her special guest, Professor Inte’a DeShields:

In honor and celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Littler attorney, Judy Iriye (L.A. – Century City) talks with fellow Littler attorney, Kevin Yam (New York) and Littler alum, Fran Barbieri (Chief Counsel, Litigation and Employment at World Wide Technology in St Louis, Missouri), about personal experiences where they were able to overcome feelings of foreignness to achieve personal and professional success.
 

Jeronimo Simonovis and Lavanga Wijekoon discuss an asylum case before U.S. immigration authorities that Jeronimo won involving a woman and her 8-year-old son.

Littler attorneys provide pro bono services in a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. The firm values and encourages the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
  

Renea Saade and Breanne Martell talk about an Alaska adoption case with a great outcome.

Littler attorneys provide pro bono services in a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. The firm values and encourages the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
  

Nicole LeFave, Vinay Patel and Garrick Chan share their experience with Jenny Schwendemann of working on a collaborative effort through the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance.

Littler attorneys provide pro bono services in a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. The firm values and encourages the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
  

Mike Dissinger and Jenny Schwendemann tell the story of how Mike’s love of dogs led him to start working with a pet rescue organization in Las Vegas (as well as taking home a new pup in the process).

Littler attorneys provide pro bono services in a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. The firm values and encourages the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
  

Tomasz Rogala and Marcin Sanetra, Littler | PCS attorneys, and Lavanga Wijekoon discuss the legal assistance Littler’s Poland attorneys have given Ukrainians fleeing the recent conflict there.

Littler attorneys provide pro bono services in a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. The firm values and encourages the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
  

Jenny Schwendemann and Dan Kim share their experience with Lavanga Wijekoon about their collaborative efforts with assisting immigrants from Afghanistan.

Our Littler attorneys demonstrate their pro bono commitment by providing significant pro bono efforts to community organizations. These services cover a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. Overall, the firm values, encourages and respects the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
   

Emily Linn talks with Breanne Martell about the amicus brief she assisted with to seek justice for a neurodiverse individual, Robert Leslie Roberson, who was convicted of murder based on science that has now been debunked.

Our Littler attorneys demonstrate their pro bono commitment by providing significant pro bono efforts to community organizations. These services cover a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. Overall, the firm values, encourages and respects the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
  

Littler has a partnership with a firm client through The Veterans Consortium that is focused on helping veterans. David Haase speaks with Littler attorneys Matthew Hank, Neil Alexander, Don Nguyen, Jake Thorn, and Director of The Veterans Consortium's Discharge Upgrade Program Christie Bhageloe about the work they’ve done through the consortium.  

In our final Pro Bono Week podcast, Jenny Schwendemann discusses homelessness, one of the most significant humanitarian challenges many Americans face today, with Director of Ending Youth Homelessness, Katie Meyer Scott, and Pro Bono Director, Carlton Martin, of the National Homelessness Law Center.

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.

If you have employees working in Oregon, chances are you have heard about Oregon’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program also known as Paid Leave Oregon (“PLO”). In addition to PLO, eligible Oregon employees may be entitled to leave under the Oregon Family Medical Leave Act (“OFLA”), Oregon Sick Time law (“OSTL”), and the federal Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”).

(July 12, 2021) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has received Gold Standard Certification from the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) for the 11th consecutive year. WILEF grants Gold Standard status to firms that meet objective criteria concerning the number of women among equity partners, in firm leadership positions and in the ranks of their most highly compensated partners. Littler is one of only five firms that have been awarded Gold Standard Certification every year since WILEF began the award in 2011.

In this attorney-authored article, Steven Friedman of Littler's New York office and Ellen Sueda of Littler's San Francisco office discuss the ambiguities in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and the changes that financial institutions must make to their current compensation practices in light of the current legislative language.

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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Welcome back to our World Cup series, where we compare various aspects of labor and employment law in some of the participating countries.¹  We kicked off Parts One and Two of this series with vacation and sick leave entitlements.

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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Dear Littler,

UPDATE: This law took effect on February 8, 2024.

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Dear Littler,

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.

We’re thinking about rolling out some IE&D initiatives – is that the same thing as an Affirmative Action Plan?

The short answer is no, and there is often confusion between an Affirmative Action Plan, or AAP, and more general and voluntary IE&D initiatives.

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