New York State Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed into law eight pieces of legislation designed to combat human trafficking. These laws require many hospitality industry employers to provide specific anti-human-trafficking awareness training to employees. They also require certain hospitality and transportation industry employers to post information regarding services available to human trafficking victims.

Lavanga Wijekoon and Aki Tanaka explore the significant impact of the European Union’s expected Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) on global corporate responsibility, with a specific focus on its implications for Japanese companies.

Institute for Security and Development Policy

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Zev Eigen considers artificial intelligence and predictive coding to be tools in making better informed hiring decisions. 

Corporate Counsel

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During a presentation at the 2017 SHRM Employment Law and Legislative Conference, Marko Mrkonich, Zev Eigen and Corinn Jackson discussed the risks employers face when using data analytics.

HR Daily Advisor

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Marko Mrkonich comments on the current capabilities of artificial intelligence in the workplace.

Workforce

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The Littler Pay Equity Assessment™ Provides Enhanced Data Analytics to Help Employers Assess Risk and Proactively Identify Solutions

Aaron Crews and Michael McGuire answer questions about cybersecurity, eDiscovery and other data topics.

The Cybersecurity Law Report

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Scott Rechtschaffen talks about cybersecurity enhancements and the importance of investing in technology. 

Law360

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The Massachusetts Attorney General has recently published an Overview and Frequently Asked Questions (the “Overview”) regarding the amendment to the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, set to take effect on July 1, 2018.  The Overview answers many questions that employers have been asking about this wide-ranging new law.  The Overview also confirms the importance of an employer self-evaluation, offering some direction on what types of evaluations are appropriate, and explaining how it could protect a company from liability under the law.

The New Equal Pay Act

Employers are feeling some regulatory relief following a year that brought several changes to workplace policy, but are also grappling with the uncertainty these shifts have created. Sweeping regulatory changes have left them to redesign policies and strategies that had only recently been updated, while simultaneously navigating a growing patchwork of employment laws as states and localities work to fill perceived policy vacuums at the federal level.

Aaron Crews explains Littler's Pay Equity Assessment Tool.

Employee Benefit News

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Seventh annual survey of more than 1,100 employers reveals how companies are responding to rapid social and political changes

Bloomberg Law’s^® Daily Labor Report^® news team at the Littler Executive Employer^® Conference interviewed panelists about a broad spectrum of employment and labor topics addressing significant developments, emerging trends and challenges facing in-house counsel, employee relations professionals and human resources executives.

Denise Visconti and Allan King urge employers to be vigilant regarding pay equity issues.

The National Law Journal

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Aaron Crews discusses efficient ways to use AI in the workplace.

HR Dive

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Report Explores the Myriad Issues Related to Technology-Induced Displacement of Employees (TIDE)

Littler attorneys comment on the results of Littler's Annual Employer Survey and analyze the impact that sweeping regulatory changes and other factors, including the #MeToo movement, have on employers.

General Counsel News

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Aaron Crews discusses how employers are using data to move diversity and inclusion programs forward.

Human Resource Executive

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Jason Dirkx and Scott Rechtschaffen consider the intersection of technology and law degrees. 

ABA Journal

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Employers’ compliance challenges have swelled on multiple fronts over the past year as HR and business leaders grapple with an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. With changes under the Trump administration proving slow to materialize, most employers continue to anticipate robust enforcement by the Department of Labor and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in particular.

Eighth annual survey of more than 1,300 employers finds HR and business leaders grappling with increasingly complex compliance challenges, focused on preventing workplace harassment and pay inequality

In an age where computer generated imagery (CGI) and digital effects enable entire film genres to exist, like Marvel’s superhero series the Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy, audiences have no expectation that movies they consume depict actual events or reflect reality. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the context and forum of how digital media and information is communicated, observed and consumed informs our default expectations of it.

In this podcast, Aaron Crews, Littler’s Chief Data Analytics Officer, Natalie Pierce, co-chair of Littler’s Robotics, AI and Automation Practice Group and Diversity and Inclusion Council and Garry Mathiason, co-chair of Littler’s Robotics, AI and Automation Practice Group discuss what impact AI and automation will have on employers in the future.
 

In this podcast, Littler’s Chief Knowledge Officer, Scott Rechtschaffen, talks with his Cornell Law School students about the potential for lawyers to use software to develop practical tools for the delivery of legal services. During their semester, the students experienced how to take their growing knowledge of the law, identify a problem, coordinate with subject matter and technical experts, and create a legal app designed to assist users, who might be either clients or fellow attorneys.

Aaron Crews describes the use of data in determining liability and building arguments in wage and hour lawsuits.

Financial Times

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Aaron Crews describes the various duties of legal technologists.

Legaltech News

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As 2017 winds down, and the window closes to complete any mandatory training, Kevin O’Neill, Senior Director of Littler Learning Group, chats with Dawn McKenney-Maxwell of Littler’s Knowledge Management team about employer training initiatives. Kevin identifies hot topics – social media and bystander training, for example – and reviews employer anti-harassment training duties, particularly in California. Kevin discusses how training approaches continue to evolve and how employers can embrace new trends and technology to make employee training more effective.
 

In this podcast, Littler attorneys Michael Kessel, Russ McEwan and Alan Model, out of our Newark office, discuss the importance of cultivating “employee engagement” to foster a productive, invested workforce. They also describe the new Littler Positive Employee Relations Series, which offers customized, intensive training to supervisors on the causes of negative morale and then arms them with practical tools to spot and handle problems before they get out of hand.
 

UPDATE: This article was updated on August 15, 2018.

In April 2018, New York State and New York City each adopted expansive legislation directed at educating employees about workplace sexual harassment and reducing the incidence of harassment claims, as we reported in our prior article. 

New Poster for NYC Employers:

As we have previously reported,¹ New York State and New York City both enacted legislation in 2018 that require New York employers to train their employees in workplace sexual harassment prevention. The state training legislation went into effect on October 9, 2018, and the city training legislation went into effect on April 1, 2019.

Kevin O'Neill explains the benefits of teaching via multimedia platforms such as videos.

Attorney at Work

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Asha Santos, Shareholder in Littler’s Boston office, explains the purpose of bystander intervention training and the value of diversity and inclusion sessions in today's workplace.
 

Update: On December 22, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a nationwide preliminary injunction banning the enforcement of Executive Order 13950.

Bradford Kelley comments on a case that he says shows several ways in which USERRA is more far-reaching than other employment anti-discrimination laws even though it gets less attention.

SHRM Online

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Alexander Thomas MacDonald discusses an upcoming Supreme Court case that may determine how much power the National Labor Relations Board should have. 

The Federalist Society

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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.

Update: This law was enacted on January 20, 2024.  It goes into effect March 20, 2024.

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Bradford J. Kelley says employers are increasingly using AI and other technology to measure or enhance worker productivity and efficiency.

Asian Robotics Review

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In London District Catholic School Board v.

Alyesha Asghar said the Supreme Court’s decision in Muldrow v. St. Louis, which will make it easier for employees to pursue discrimination claims over job transfers, does not mean an end to IE&D.

The Washington Post

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