Jamie Spataro discusses what’s next for OSHA rulemaking and interpretive authority after SCOTUS overturned “Chevron deference.”

Industry Today

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As part of the Obama administration's commitment to accountability in spending under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the federal Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will be tracking its ARRA-related and non-ARRA-related enforcement activities separately and aggressively auditing recipients of ARRA funds.

On July 7, 2009, OFCCP released a new directive that explains the different procedures that will apply in scheduling and conducting compliance evaluations for ARRA-funded contractors versus other federal contractors.

The Internal Revenue Services (IRS) has announced that beginning in November 2009 it will launch its latest National Research Program (NRP). This NRP will be focused on conducting detailed employment taxes examinations. Approximately 5,000 or more employers are to be randomly selected for audit. In addition to potential "assessments," these audits will provide the IRS with the statistical sample of overall employment taxes compliance. The audit program will be conducted over a three year period with at least 2,000 employment tax audits conducted per year.

Connecticut and Rhode Island construction industry employers are facing a significant increase in government scrutiny of their labor and employment practices over the next several years. On November 30, 2011, the Hartford office of the U.S Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division ("U.S. DOL") issued a press release announcing a "multiyear enforcement initiative" aimed at improving what it sees as "widespread noncompliance with minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act" in the construction industry in both Connecticut and Rhode Island.

On October 1, 2013, the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (DOL) published a final rule in the Federal Register eliminating the Fair Labor Standard Act's (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime exemption for home care workers employed by home care agencies and other companies.  The new regulations also significantly narrow the exemption for home care workers employed directly by the individuals or families receiving home care services. 

Mark Phillis discusses the practice of looking to HR professionals to testify in court and conduct workplace investigations.

Bloomberg BNA Human Resources Report

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In this edition of his Employment Issues column, Philip Berkowitz writes that if you are internal counsel or a human resources executive, your compliance department may want to review not only policies, but also backup data.

As prosecutors and states have ramped up the criminal prosecution of wage theft and other employment law violations, Jacqueline Kalk explains why this isn’t always necessary.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Jeff Nowak offers advice to employers on the DOL’s announcement that it will ramp up Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), as well as wage and hour, audits.

SHRM Online

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Jim Paretti weighs in on the many legal questions raised by a new law in New York City that will ban employers from using AI tools in hiring unless they're annually audited.

Law.com

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David Goldstein talks about some differences as the Labor Department proposes changes to a Trump-era rule that it says “undermined” how it handles and resolves discrimination claims by federal contractors.

Government Executive

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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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(January 2, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, is ringing in the new year with a new shareholder class. The firm elevated 26 attorneys to shareholder across its U.S., Mexico and Singapore offices, effective January 1, 2024.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (January 4, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has appointed Paula Anthony as office managing shareholder (OMS) of the firm’s New Haven, Connecticut office, effective January 1, 2024. Anthony succeeds Lori Alexander who will be stepping down to continue to focus on her full-time litigation and advice practice.

(January 24, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has elected five new members to its 2024 board of directors: William Anthony (New York), Kristine Grady Derewicz (Philadelphia), Danielle Herring (Houston), Charlotte Main (Atlanta) and Stephan Swinkels (Amsterdam). Additionally, Michael Wilder has been reelected as board chair.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 12, 2024) – Littler shareholder Tyler A. Sims testified today before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce at a joint hearing of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development and the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions on “Safeguarding Student-Athletes from NLRB Misclassification.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 8, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added Elizabeth Sitgreaves as special counsel in its Nashville office. Sitgreaves joins from The Law Offices of John Day, P.C. and brings over 15 years of litigation experience.

In a letter sent to Congress today, the Coalition expresses support for legislation that would modernize America’s workforce development and education system

Update: On August 2, 2024, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed SB 2979 into law, reforming the liability guidelines under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.

CHICAGO (April 11, 2024) – Today, the Illinois Senate passed SB 2979, which would reform the liability guidelines under the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The bill marks an important milestone in the broader effort to resolve BIPA’s vague statutory language and courts’ expansive interpretations of the law, which have posed a threat to businesses that capture biometric information.

TORONTO (April 15, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labour law practice representing management, has added Stephen Shore as a partner in its Toronto office. Shore joins from Ogletree Deakins and represents employers across all areas of employment and labour law.

MIAMI (May 8, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has appointed D. Porpoise Evans as office managing shareholder (OMS) of the firm’s Miami office. Evans succeeds Lori Brown, who will fully shift her role to focus on her firmwide management and operational responsibilities.

SEATTLE (May 28, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added Briana M. Swift as a shareholder in its Seattle office. She joins the firm from K&L Gates and focuses her practice on employee benefits and executive compensation. Swift is the sixth attorney to join Littler at the shareholder level since the beginning of April.

NEW YORK (May 28, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added Kelly M. Cardin as a shareholder in its New York City office. Cardin – who joins the firm from Ogletree Deakins, where she was co-chair of the Pay Equity practice group – marks Littler’s fifth shareholder level addition since the beginning of April.

New arrival comes as Stephen Shore is appointed Littler’s Toronto Office Managing Partner

TORONTO (June 3, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labour law practice representing management, has added Shana French as a partner in its Toronto office. Her arrival comes as Stephen Shore, who joined Littler in April, is named Office Managing Partner in Toronto. French joins from Sherrard Kuzz and marks Littler’s seventh partner level addition since the beginning of April.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 4, 2024) – Bruce Buchanan, an attorney in the Nashville office of Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has published the 2024 edition of The I-9 and E-Verify Handbook, along with co-author Greg Siskind of Siskind Susser, PC.

TORONTO (June 17, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labour law practice representing management, continues its hiring streak in Toronto today with the addition of Matthew Badrov as a partner. Badrov, who joins from Sherrard Kuzz, marks Littler’s third partner addition in Toronto in recent months, following the arrivals of Shana French and Stephen Shore.

(June 21, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, and its attorneys have been featured in the 2025 editions of Best Lawyers^® in France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

The individual attorneys that were listed include the following:

New Additions Follow Arrival of Three Partners in Recent Months

(July 24, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has named new office managing shareholders (OMS) in Indianapolis; Denver; Portland, Oregon; San Diego and San Jose.

(August 15, 2024) – More than 240 lawyers  from Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, have been included in the 31st edition of The Best Lawyers in America^® guide.

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:

SAN FRANCISCO (October 7, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, is pleased to announce the addition of Amit Shah as the firm’s Chief Digital Innovation Officer (CDIO). He joins Littler from Excelitas Technologies, where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Information Technology.

(November 7, 2024) – For the 15th consecutive year Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has achieved “National Tier 1” rankings for the following practice areas in the 15th edition of Best Law Firms^®, ranked by Best Lawyers^®:

On November 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Opinion Letter FLSA2024-01.  This letter provides additional clarity about whether daily expense reimbursement payments can be excluded from an employee’s regular rate when calculating overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  

Stacey James and Jamie L. Santos discuss a California amendment that seeks to allow restaurants to support higher wages and benefits while clearly disclosing service fees to consumers upfront.

Wolters Kluwer

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Scott Forman gives his predictions for legal technology and data analytics tools, especially towards generative AI point solutions, in 2024.

Legaltech News

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

Stephen Shore discusses a new law in Saskatchewan, Canada, that requires employers to create workplace violence prevention programs and inform employees about other workers who have a history of violent behavior.

International Employment Lawyer

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Zoe Argento says the use of AI to evaluate or assess applicants or employees is the highest risk use of AI in the workplace, and it’s also where she’s seeing the most amount of regulation.

Law Week Colorado

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