Libby Henninger discusses the DOL’s proposal to expand overtime pay protections to more workers and why it may result in a legal battle.

Bloomberg Law

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On November 30, 2023, the Colorado Court of Appeals in Tender Care v.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has spoken, and employers that once relied exclusively on McDonnell Douglas might need to rethink their litigation strategy in employment-discrimination cases.

Andrea M. Kirshenbaum and Jennifer N. Capozzola dive into the U.S. DOL’s final rule (2024 IC Rule) for analyzing whether a worker should be classified as an employee or independent contractor under the FLSA and the lawsuits and challenges that remain in its path. 

The Legal Intelligencer

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Alexander MacDonald says overtime exemptions are about to get more expensive as the salary necessary to qualify for the FLSA’s “white collar” exemptions will rise in July and again in January 2025.

The Federalist Society

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that contains a new, temporary COBRA subsidy.

Just about a year ago, in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic activity in many sectors went from red hot to nearly frozen, seemingly overnight.  The hospitality industry was particularly hard hit, as business and leisure travel evaporated.  Many businesses were forced to lay off workers, and California’s unemployment soared.

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.

In addition to the information and consultation obligations linked to their general responsibilities,¹ Social and Economic Committees (“Comité Social et Economique” or "CSE") in French workplaces, which replace and merge all the employee representative bodies, staff representatives, works council, and health, safety and working conditions committee, must be informed and consulted in the event of a “restructuring and downsizing.”² What is their scope of intervention?

Cases Requiring Consultation

Isha Malhotra, Trent Sutton and Nancy Zhang offer guidelines for in-house counsel when advising a business on a restructure in APAC.

ACC Docket

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Governor Philip D. Murphy recently signed Assembly Bill 4682 / Senate Bill 2389, establishing various employment protections for specific “service employees” during changes of ownership. This bill goes into effect on October 22, 2023—90 days from signing.

Amber Spataro and David Ostern examine New Jersey’s new Assembly Bill 4682, which establishes various employment protections for specific "service employees" during changes of ownership.

SHRM Online

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Currently, employees in the UK on statutory maternity, adoption or shared parental leave who are at risk of redundancy have priority rights to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy (but only where such a vacancy exists).

New regulations have been introduced to extend redundancy protections, both before (for pregnant employees only) and after the return to work. These regulations arose in response to research that found that mothers returning from maternity leave still faced discrimination in the workplace after returning from leave.

As a result of subcontracting reform, Jorge Sales Boyoli explains that some companies want to distribute profits under conservative criteria and plan to compensate by distributing an additional bonus. 

El Diario Mexico

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Eli Freedberg discusses New York’s controversial new pay transparency law.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Lee Schreter comments on why raising the overtime salary threshold might not be a good idea with a recession on the way.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Michael Lotito weighs in on the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division’s key proposals and nominations.

Law360 Employment Authority

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James A. Paretti Jr. says the DOL’s new overtime rule is likely to face a legal challenge, so employers should start reviewing their workforces but stop short of implementing changes right away.

Law360 Employment Authority

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

Bloomberg Law

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The Colorado Court of Appeals recently decided an issue of first impression regarding the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s (ERISA) preemptive power over Colorado’s divorce-revocation statute. The decision in Ragan v. Ragan, 2021 COA 75, settled an open question in Colorado regarding whether ERISA preempts “post-distribution” lawsuits under Colorado’s divorce-revocation statute. Specifically, the court held that ERISA preempts lawsuits against a former spouse to recover plan benefits that were distributed to the former spouse as the named beneficiary.

On March 10, 2022, the Department of Labor issued guidance on the use of cryptocurrency in plans governed by ERISA.  The announcement applies to cryptocurrencies as well as digital assets, which include “tokens,” “coins,” “crypto assets” and any derivates thereof.

Sarah Bryan Fask explains why attorneys are critical of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.’s proposed rule to use interest rate assumptions to determine a withdrawing employer's liability to a multiemployer pension plan.

Law360

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Employers offering 401(k) and similar retirement plans should familiarize themselves with a new rule published by the Employee Benefits Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights, which takes effect on January 30, 2023.

Golf is one of the most significant informal business networks and approximately half of all women feel like their exclusion from these gateways is among the key challenges to reaching the highest echelons of corporate leadership. As a prelude to the 2022 edition of the “Masters Season,” Littler Principal Cindy-Ann Thomas explores how enduring barriers in recreational golf impact meaningful access and equity gains for women in corporate America.

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?

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.
  

Since the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard University and the University of North Carolina on June 29, 2023, striking down race-conscious admission processes in higher education, it has sent shock waves throughout the corporate community as business leaders consider the decision’s potential impact on their own diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Littler Principal Cindy-Ann Thomas and her guest, Littler Shareholder Kim Carter, explore:

In June 2023, the Georgia Court of Appeals held in North American Senior Benefits, LLC v. Wimmer that an employee non-solicitation covenant must contain an express geographic limitation to be enforceable.

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. 

Sophie Vanhegan says employers must continue to shift culture and workplace dynamics to encourage greater awareness of and support for mental health matters. 

People Management

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On September 24, 2024, the U.S.

Littler Principal Cindy-Ann Thomas and her special guest, author and Professor of Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, Adia Harvey Wingfield, explore:

Littler Principal Cindy-Ann Thomas and her special guest, Pranam Lipinsk, a dedicated scholar of Generation Z and co-founder of Door of Clubs, delve into the (unofficial) rule book for attracting and retaining these young professionals. They will:

Laura Jousselin, Raoul Parekh and Stephan Swinkels discuss how European employers are responding to workplace changes, including AI and remote workplace demands from employees.

International Employment Lawyer

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Alexander Thomas MacDonald provides insight into the new regulations under theH-2A visa program. 

The Federalist Society

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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 of July 1, 2024, the Foreign Labor Certification (FLC) Data Center website (FLCDataCenter.com) will be discontinued and will not be available for providing prevailing wage data for occupations. Prevailing wage information is required for permanent and temporary foreign labor certification processes as well as for various non-immigrant temporary work visas such as H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3.

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

Dear Littler,

In the first major action of 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it had entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with a publicly traded global software company for alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The January 10, 2024 announcement described the company’s agreement to pay more than $220 million in connection with the investigation, consisting of just under $120 million in criminal penalties.  While significant, these fines were reduced based on the pilot program announced by the DOJ last spring, as described below.

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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It was all very well to say ‘Drink me,’ but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry. ‘No, I’ll look first,’ she said, ‘and see whether it’s marked “poison” or not’; for […] she had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked ‘poison,’ it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.

                                           —Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 1, Down the Rabbit Hole

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.

Alyesha Dotson weighs in on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling that private businesses with religious convictions don’t have to follow antidiscrimination laws that protect LGBTQ+.

SHRM Online

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On December 14, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor issued final regulations requiring the so-called “nondisplacement” of workers performing work on contracts for the federal government under the Service Contract Act (SCA). These regulations implement Executive Order 14055, “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts,” President Biden signed on November 18, 2021.

Michael Lotito says the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to nix Chevron deference sends a message to federal agencies that the days of administrative overreach are over.

Law360 Employment Authority

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The Connecticut Supreme Court recently adopted the U.S. Supreme Court's relatively narrow definition of “supervisor” for use in determining when employers are liable under the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (CFEPA) for creating or failing to remedy a hostile work environment. The decision provides employers with clarity as the term is not defined by the CFEPA.