Dear Littler,

We are a small company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that allowed some of our employees to work remotely during the pandemic. When we recently announced our plans to call employees back to home base in Milwaukee, we received feedback that some employees did not plan to come back—they want to continue working remotely. We anticipated this, and we’re working with them to navigate their individual situations, but we were surprised to learn that some of our employees have actually relocated to different states!

In Escano v. Innovative Financial Partners, LLC,¹ a magistrate judge held that the defendants’ decision to withhold funds from a payment required under a settlement agreement when the plaintiff refused to provide a Form W-9 did not violate the agreement.

On January 31, 2024, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury issued Internal Revenue Circular Letter No. 24-01 (CL IR 24-01) announcing the applicable 2024 limits for Puerto Rico qualified retirement plans.

The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (Department) just announced the 2025 weekly benefit amount and contribution rates for both employers and employees under the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave benefit program, which is funded through a payroll tax.

Andrea M. Kirshenbaum discusses how Johnson v. NCAA is noteworthy beyond the realm of college athletics for its expansive discussion of the FLSA.

The Legal Intelligencer

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Sarah Bryan Fask says a decision clarifying when employers can exit union-brokered pension plans “potentially opens up the floodgates for a lot of employer uncertainty.”

Bloomberg Law

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To support personnel transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in 2011 instituted the SkillBridge internship program, which provides service members with valuable civilian work experience through unpaid internships during their last 180 days of service, while the military continues to pay their wages and full benefits.

Starting in January 2025, California’s Fair Employment & Housing Act (FEHA) will prohibit employers from including a statement in a job advertisement, posting, application, or other material that an applicant must have a driver’s license unless the employer “reasonably” anticipates driving to be an essential job function that cannot be comparably performed by alternative means. The stated purpose of the new FEHA amendment is to help facilitate employment for non-drivers who rely on ride hails, public transportation, biking, and walking as their primary means of transportation.

The United States has announced that Qatar will soon be officially admitted to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP), allowing visa-free travel to the United States by Qatari citizens for up to 90 days. Per the Final Rule published by the Department of Homeland Security on September 26, 2024, Qatar will be added to the VWP no later than December 1, 2024.

Adam Fiss and Sebastian Chilco review updates to California’s paid leave law.

Wolters Kluwer

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Bradford Kelley and Britney Torres predict politics in the workplace will remain an issue beyond the election and so California employers need a long-term plan measures for issues that include voter intimidation and discrimination and employees taking time off to vote.

Law360

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Bradford J. Kelley and James A. McGehee discuss mandates for employers involved in the SkillBridge internship program, which provides military members with civilian work experience.

Westlaw Today

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Adam Joshua Fiss and Sebastian Chilco discuss a new California law that will eliminate employers’ ability to require employees to use up to two weeks of company-provided vacation before they start receiving paid family leave benefits.

SHRM

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Rod M. Fliegel discusses California legislation that further amends the Fair Employment and Housing Act to prohibit discrimination in the hiring process based on the applicant’s lack of a driver’s license.

SHRM

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Bradford Kelley, Sean O’Brien and Alice Wang discuss a new AI framework from the U.S. Department of Labor and what it means for employers. (Subscription required)

Law360

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Following other states and cities across the nation, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 988, the Freelance Worker Protection Act (FWPA), into law on September 28, 2024. This new law aims to provide greater protections to freelance workers (e.g., “independent contractors”).

Employers concerned about the risks and expenses associated with employment litigation have increasingly required their employees to agree to arbitration in the event of a dispute.  Even upon the issuance of the arbitrator’s final decision, however, a court’s intervention may still be necessary.  At the very least, the court can actually enforce an arbitration award, whereas the arbitrator cannot.  Moreover, the losing party in the arbitration may seek to vacate the arbitrator’s decision on limited grounds, or seek further review of the district court’s decision by filing an appeal with th

Over the years, attempts to arbitrate breach of fiduciary duty claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Section 502(a)(2) have had varying results.¹  One court recently recognized that “whether any benefits plan may agree to submit to arbitration and/or whether an individual employment agreement may compel claims on behalf of a benefits plan to proceed to arbitration are not issues of clearly settled law.”²  This issue is before two circuit courts of appeal this year.  So far, the court rulings in the cases seem to provide some guidance while a

Pamela Reynolds’ article discusses whether employers can enforce arbitration of breach of fiduciary duty claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Section 502(a)(2).

Benefits Pro

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George Vassos explains new rules that broaden and clarify British Columbia’s ability to investigate employment compliance matters and tighten rules for hiring children younger than 16 years old.

SHRM Online

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Keith A. Jacoby explains what makes Mark Rudy a good mediator.

Daily Journal

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In Aponte Valentín v. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, CC-2018-748,¹ the Puerto Rico Supreme Court reinforced the strong public policy favoring arbitration agreements in Puerto Rico, validating continued employment as implicit consent for such agreements.

On November 9, 2021, in United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Canada Local 333 v.

Rhonda B. Levy and Douglas Sanderson examine Northern Regional Health Authority v. Horrocks, in which the Supreme Court of Canada decided that in Manitoba, human rights disputes arising from the interpretation, application or alleged violation of a collective agreement fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of a labour arbitrator.

Human Resources Director Canada

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Update: This bill was signed into law on March 3, 2022.

On April 4, 2022, in Fraser Health Authority v British Columbia General Employees’ Union, 2022 CanLII 25560, Arbitrator Koml Kandola of the British Columbia Labour Relations Board dismissed the union’s grievance respecting the dismissal of the grievor because she was ineligible to work under the order issued b

Since late fall 2021, we have seen a steady flow of arbitration awards emerge in Ontario and British Columbia that consider issues relating to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies in the unionized workplace. In this Insight, we provide an overview of key trends in these awards.

Rhonda B. Levy and Barry Kuretzky provide an overview of key trends in arbitration awards in Ontario and British Columbia since fall 2021 that have considered issues relating to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies in the unionized workplace.

Human Resources Director Canada

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The United States Supreme Court’s decision in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana will dramatically impact employers’ rights to enforce arbitration agreements related to claims under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).¹  This decision, which is a significant win for employers with interests in California, will allow employers to compel arbitration of a PAGA plaintiff’s individual PAGA claims.

On July 8, 2022, in Gist v. ZoAn Management, Inc., the Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the decisions of the trial court and court of appeals granting the defendants’ motion to compel arbitration.  The court concluded that because nothing in the arbitration agreement prohibited the plaintiff from being awarded any relief he might be entitled to under Oregon’s wage and hour statutes, the arbitration provision was not unconscionable and therefore enforceable.

Background

Christine Sargent writes about an Oregon Supreme Court case that affirmed the importance of implementing enforceable arbitration agreements.

SHRM Online

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The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario recently held a preliminary hearing to determine whether allegations made under the Human Rights Code (Code) fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of a labour arbitrator, or whether the Tribunal had concurrent jurisdiction over employment-related human rights matters in a unionized workplace.  

This Littler Lightbulb highlights some recent labor and employment law developments at the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeal.

This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment law developments at the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeal in the last month.

This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment and labor law developments at the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeal over the last month.

At the Supreme Court

Angel Valverde presents issues for development of international arbitration in the U.S., as there are no visas that specifically allow a foreign national to be employed as an arbitrator, attorney or expert witness in an arbitration proceeding.

International Law Quarterly

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Natasha Jenkins’ alma mater profiles her and her roles at Littler and as the president of Illinois’ Cook County Bar Association (CCBA). 

The Spectator

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This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment law developments at the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeal in the last month.

At the Supreme Court

Rhonda B. Levy and Barry Kuretzky discuss a case in which an arbitrator issued the first award in Ontario to address and uphold the reasonableness of a hospital vaccination policy that allows employers to terminate employees for non-compliance.

Human Resources Director Canada

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On June 28, 2023, the California Second District Court of Appeal issued a decision interpreting the scope of California Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.98(a)(1), a recently amended California statute that requires employers to pay all arbitration costs and fees within 30 days of the due date, or risk being in material breach of the arbitration agreement.  In Cvejic v. Skyview Capital, the court held that an arbitrator cannot cure a missed or late arbitration fee payment.

This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment law developments at the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeal in the last month.

At the Supreme Court

Alexander MacDonald explains when California employers’ employment agreements are subject to state law and AB 51 may apply. 

XpertHR

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Rhonda Levy, Adrian Jakibchuk, Barry Kuretzky and George Vassos comment on an arbitrator’s ruling that federal employers can count employees’ sick leave credits as paid medical leave days under the Canada Labour Code (CLC) if their own program provides “a more favourable benefit” to workers.

Human Resources Director Canada

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Alexander MacDonald discusses a case in which the ACLU, sharp critic of arbitration, is arguing that individual arbitration plays a “fundamental role” in protecting labor rights.

The Federalist Society

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