Alexander MacDonald says agencies may have to “regulate more modestly and litigate more often” after the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Chevron.

SHRM Online

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Andrea M. Kirshenbaum discusses the 2023-24 SCOTUS opinions that promise to reshape administrative law in the United States for decades to come.

The Legal Intelligencer

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Alex MacDonald says the NLRB's judges aren’t necessarily the sort of officers whom the president has the power to remove under Jarkesy and Supreme Court precedents.

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.

Alex MacDonald discusses recent court decisions that criticized the way the NLRB operates and that could transform American labor law.

Washington Legal Foundation

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Shawn Matthew Clark discusses the basics of noncompetes and what employers need to consider regarding noncompetes, as well as why the FTC wants to ban them and how recent SCOTUS decisions may affect the FTC’s rule.

New York County Lawyers Association

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Melissa McDonagh said employers should continue to be thoughtful with their approach to noncompete agreements, ensuring compliance with existing state laws and monitoring the status of the FTC noncompete rule as it winds its way through the appellate process.

WorldatWork

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Melissa McDonagh said employers should continue to be thoughtful with their approach to noncompete agreements, ensuring compliance with existing state laws and monitoring the status of the FTC noncompete rule as it winds its way through the appellate process.

McKnights Senior Living

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Sarah Bryan Fask says she is watching proceedings in a wholesale bakery's appeal in a dispute over a $6.3 million withdrawal liability bill because the decision will be "incredibly significant."

Law360

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Javier Molina discusses the challenges of employers giving employees gifts for Christmas.

Expansión

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Ellen Donovan McCann, Alice Kokodis and Jim Paretti explain the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave’s new, more employer-friendly guidance.

SHRM Online

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Joy Rosenquist talks about the impact of an executive order banning the use of salary history in hiring by federal agencies and contractors.

WorldatWork

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In November 2023, soon after Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed amendments to the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act (the “Act”), several staffing agencies and associations sued for an injunction against enforcement of certain provisions of the Act.  In Staffing Services Association of Illinois v. Flanagan, Case No. 23-CV-16208, these parties claimed that Sections 11, 42, and 67 of the Act were preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the due process clauses of the U.S.

Anne C. Sanchez and Briana M. Swift explain what employers need to know about the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO), a local ordinance that requires employers to make certain healthcare expenditures on behalf of their San Francisco-based employees.

SHRM

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Erin Webber explains how a remote environment requires more leadership responsibility, skills and choices.

The American Lawyer

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Largely overshadowed by the rise in COVID-19 deaths and the January 6, 2021, siege on the Capitol, the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2019 (“the Act”) became law on December 23, 2020. See 15 U.S.C. § 7a-3. The Act, which Senator Chuck Grassley sponsored, prohibits employers from retaliating against individuals who report criminal antitrust violations to their employer or the federal government, or who participate in a federal governmental criminal antitrust investigation or proceeding.  

Background

On February 19, 2021, the U.S.

Jeanine Conley Daves and Alexa Laborda Nelson explain how employers can take steps to ensure they are in compliance with the recent COVID-19 relief plans and avoid potential whistleblower litigation.

Chief Executive

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Philip Berkowitz weighs in on the Anti-Money Laundering Act’s whistleblower protections that took effect this year.

SHRM Online

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The recently enacted Anti-Money Laundering Act significantly increases the potential value of awards for whistleblowers under the Bank Secrecy Act. The challenge for a financial services employer is to establish that discipline against an employee in a compliance role is supported by evidence that the decision was based on the employee's incompetence or other inappropriate behavior, and that any whistleblowing activity he or she engaged in was not a consideration. Philip M. Berkowitz explores the issues in this edition of his Employment Issues column.

Terri Solomon talks to HR Dive about how employers can best handle mental health crises in the office.

HR Dive

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Compliance or internal audit departments frequently carry out audits intended to assure that business partners in an organization, such as human resources or legal departments, have in place policies and procedures that are effective for maintaining corporate compliance and consistent with the myriad laws with which the organization must comply, including employment, whistleblower, and anti-bribery and corruption.  These reviews are often not confined to policies but may also seek review of actual compliance events and sensitive contemporaneous records.  For example, in the case of an inte

Raoul Parekh and Natasha Adom write in support of updating laws to help give employers more freedom to create the real change that so many want and promote more diversity and equality in workplaces.

The Law Society Gazette

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Libby Henninger offers tips for employers paying disabled workers lower wages.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Natasha Adom weighs in on racism experienced by former cricket player Azeem Rafiq.

Personnel Today

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On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed a new whistleblower law that significantly increases the risk and cost of whistleblower claims for domestic and overseas financial services institutions that must be cognizant of anti-money laundering (AML) laws and regulations. This covers 26 categories of institutions, including banks, branches and agencies of foreign banks, broker-dealers, insurance companies, operators of credit card systems, mutual funds, certain casinos, and travel agencies.

As workplace issues have become more complex, human resource professionals and managers often turn to employment lawyers for advice in sorting out matters involving the interaction between business requirements and the requirements of employment laws and regulations. When is such advice protected from disclosure under the attorney-client privilege?

Attorneys Sarah Coats, Carly Compton, Christina Cordoza, Chris Johlie and Mark Flores share more about the nonpartisan election activities they have assisted with on a pro bono basis with Pro Bono Committee Member Breanne Martell.

As part of the annual National Celebration of Pro Bono hosted by the American Bar Association, Littler is highlighting various pro bono efforts from around the firm. Our attorneys and professional staff demonstrate their commitment to pro bono by providing significant efforts to organizations in their communities.
   

Pro Bono Committee Member Jenny Schwendemann is joined by Associate Don Nguyen, Customer Success Senior Coordinator Megan Gunn, Director Christie Bhageloe (Veterans Consortium Discharge Upgrade Program) and Associate Corporate Counsel Kate Brown (Amazon) to discuss Littler’s pro bono collaboration with Amazon in support of The Veterans Consortium.

On October 4, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services (Case No. 23-1039) to decide whether plaintiffs who are members of historically majority communities asserting “reverse discrimination” claims under Title VII must show there are “background circumstances” that support the inference that the defendant is the “unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.”

The “Background Circumstances” Requirement

This Annual Report on EEOC Developments—Fiscal Year 2019 (hereafter “Report”), our ninth annual publication, is designed as a comprehensive guide to significant EEOC developments over the past fiscal year. The Report does not merely summarize case law and litigation statistics, but also analyzes the EEOC’s successes, setbacks, changes, and strategies. By focusing on key developments and anticipated trends, the Report provides employers with a roadmap to where the EEOC is headed in the year to come.

This year’s Report is organized into the following sections:

Workforce reductions, whether in the form of hours reductions, furloughs, or layoffs, are often a last resort for employers experiencing financial pressures. Nevertheless, when these actions are necessary, time typically is of the essence, because when shedding payroll is the objective, the more drawn out the process, the smaller will be any financial savings. But quick decisions need not be careless decisions. The key is to thoroughly understand the risks before making decisions that later may result in potential liability.

This Annual Report on EEOC Developments—Fiscal Year 2020 (hereafter “Report”), our tenth annual publication, is designed as a comprehensive guide to significant EEOC developments over the past fiscal year. The Report does not merely summarize case law and litigation statistics, but also analyzes the EEOC’s successes, setbacks, changes, and strategies. By focusing on key developments and anticipated trends, the Report provides employers with a roadmap to where the EEOC is headed in the year to come.

This year’s Report is organized into the following sections:

Over the past year, employers have had to grapple with seismic social, cultural, and political developments impacting profoundly how they do business.

In mid-November, the UAE Cabinet approved a new Labour Law, Federal Law Number 33 of 2021 (the New Labour Law) which will come into force on 2 February 2022 and repeals Law Number 8 of 1980 (the Old Law), replacing it entirely. The New Labour Law consolidates many of the changes which have been introduced by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MHRE) through various regulations over the past five years and also introduces significant new changes, thus amounting to a radical overhaul of labour relations in the UAE.