On November 24, 2022, Bill 41 – 2022: Workers Compensation Amendment Act (No. 2), 2022 (Bill 41), which introduced changes to British Columbia’s Workers Compensation Act, received Royal Assent. Effective January 1, 2024, Bill 41 imposes certain duties on employers and employees following a workplace injury.

In a significant decision about workplace drug use, the Connecticut Appellate Court backed an employer’s right to terminate a worker who was impaired on the job by medical marijuana. The decision also clarified the factual basis an employer must possess to justify ordering a drug test based on suspicion of impairment.

Update: On June 20, 2024, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board unanimously approved an amended version of the proposed indoor heat illness prevention regulation which specifically excluded the government entities (mainly correctional facilities) whose inclusion had led to the earlier rejection by the Director Finance. The Board also requested that the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) expedite their review and allow the regulation to become effective immediately upon OAL approval.

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On April 1, 2024, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its final rule clarifying that employees may designate a non-employee third party as their representative during an OSHA inspection.

Devjani Mishra discusses findings from Littler’s 2024 Annual Employer Survey Report that show an increase in workplace requests for leaves of absence or other accommodations for mental health.

Corporate Counsel

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Alka Ramchandani-Raj talks to employers about OSHA-recommended accommodations when altering employees’ working hours due to heat-related conditions.

CNN

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In R. v. Greater Sudbury (City), 2024 ONSC 3959, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (OSCJ) dismissed an appeal of the trial judge’s decision in which she acquitted the City of Sudbury (City) of various charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).

On October 15, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor released expanded guidance for OSHA inspections of employers in the animal slaughtering and processing industry. This guidance supersedes previous guidance issued in 2015, which had been limited to poultry processing establishments.

New York is postponing its AI bias law’s effective date, and Eli Freedberg says there really was no way that companies could have gotten compliant in time because of all the uncertainty still surrounding the law.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Jim Paretti said the EEOC’s new guidance explaining the application of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to automated systems that incorporate artificial intelligence in a range of HR-related uses is a wake-up call to employers.

SHRM Online

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(December 1, 2023) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, earned the top score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for the 15th consecutive year. The firm joins the ranks of 545 major U.S. businesses who also earned top marks in this year’s benchmarking survey and report, which measures corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality.

HOUSTON (April 2, 2024) – N. Brenda Adimora, an associate in the Houston office of Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has been selected as a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. Fellows of the Foundation are selected based on outstanding contributions to the legal profession as well as a commitment to their Texas communities.

TORONTO (August 29, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labour law practice representing management, is pleased to announce that three of its attorneys have been featured in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada™ in Labour and Employment Law.

The attorneys included in this year’s edition were:

Amid election uncertainty, employers face challenges that include a growing skills gap, an increasingly active labor movement, and legal complexity around corporate diversity efforts

The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) has just issued some much-needed guidance, through Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), on whether enrollment and use of E-Verify is prohibited in Illinois for private employers that do not have federal contracts. The answer is NO.

Alyesha Asghar and Julian G.G. Wolfson explain “background circumstances,” which are required as evidence in cases of reverse discrimination, and the implications for employers and IE&D.

Wolters Kluwer

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Emily Haigh, U.S. Army veteran and co-founder of Littler's Veterans Initiative, speaks with Littler attorneys Michael Kibbe, Caroline Lutz and Jonathan Heller, about how their military experience has had a positive impact on their legal practice.
  

Denise Backhouse shares how best to alleviate data risks that many e-discovery professionals may face in the new year.

Legaltech News

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Kwabena Appenteng weighs in on the challenges to international data privacy regulations and data transfers and says companies should make sure that they have standard contractual clauses in place.

SHRM Online

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Deborah Margolis, Jan-Ove Becker and Stephan Swinkels discuss AI’s impact on the global economy and the workforce.

International Employment Lawyer

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As we look ahead to 2024, it is clear that both data protection and AI will continue to take center stage in the UK, as it will in many other countries.

In this article we look ahead to the developments that are expected to impact UK employers in the coming year.

The Brazilian Data Protection Law (LGPD) in effect since 2020 is starting to show its effects in the litigation landscape.

Multinational employers operating in China have been waiting since September 2023 for the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) to finalize proposed revisions to its complex and burdensome rules for cross-border data transfers.  Relief arrived on March 22, 2024, when the CAC published the “Provisions on Promoting and Regulating Cross-border Data Flows” (the “Approved Provisions”), which went into effect on the same day.

Zoe Argento, Kwabena Appenteng, Alyssa Daniels, Philip Gordon, Rajko Herrmann, Soowon Hong, Renata Neeser, Naomi Seddon, Christina Stogov and Grace Yang share a comprehensive guide for how employers can ensure data protection as they implement artificial intelligence.

Corporate Compliance Insights

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May 25th marked six years since the General Data Protection Regulation has been in effect.

Since it was implemented, GDPR has been regarded as the gold standard for data protection legislation across the world. The implementation of GDPR signaled the European Union’s firm stance on data privacy and security, demonstrated by the large fines introduced for businesses that violate GDPR standards. The GDPR is retained in the UK’s domestic law as UK GDPR, which sits alongside the Data Protection Act 2018.