Grant Goerke and Jennifer Chierek Znosko discuss a recent federal court decision that agreed an Illinois employer had the right to enforce a zero-tolerance policy on marijuana use.

Westlaw Today

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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.

The Internal Revenue Services (IRS) has announced a delay in beginning a comprehensive employment tax audit program originally scheduled for November 2009 but now scheduled to begin February 2010. In February, the IRS will launch its latest National Research Program (NRP). This NRP will be focused on conducting detailed employment taxes examinations. Approximately 6,000 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 district court's opinion denying cross-motions for summary judgment in Bobbitt v. Broadband Interactive, Inc., No. 8:11-cv-2855 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 21, 2013) illustrates how not to structure an independent contractor relationship and how not to lay the groundwork to defend that relationship in the event of litigation.  The case also serves as a warning that even well-conceived independent contractor relationships may be open to question by a court that is inclined to distrust them.

Background

On page 54, Eric Stevens urges bank executives to begin preparing now for changes to employee data reporting in 2018 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  

The Tennessee Banker

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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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Jim Paretti talks about submitting workforce data correctly on EEO-1 reports.

SHRM Online

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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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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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Aki Tanaka talks about how the monthly average working hour per employee went down in Japan after the country started implementing a law limiting overtime in 2018.

SHRM Online

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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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(November 16, 2023) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, is pleased to announce that attorneys in its Colombia, Portugal, Puerto Rico and Spain offices have been recognized in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers^®.

The individual attorneys that were recognized include the following:

(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.

MILWAUKEE (April 8, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added John D. (J.D.) Tripoli as a shareholder in its Milwaukee office. Tripoli joins from Eimer Stahl LLP and focuses his practice on employment-related litigation.

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.

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.

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.

(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:

(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.

(August 22, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labour law practice representing management, and its attorneys in several Latin American offices have once again been recognized by Chambers and Partners in the Chambers Latin America 2025 guide.

Littler’s Colombia and Costa Rica offices earned a Band 1 ranking for Labour & Employment and its Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela offices received band rankings in the same practice area.

In addition, the following attorneys were named as leaders in the field for the Labour & Employment practice area:

Survey also reveals significant misalignment among top executives, posing challenges for effective AI risk management

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has released its 2024 AI C-Suite Survey Report, completed by more than 330 C-suite executives across the United States.

Joy C. Rosenquist, Rick Reyes and Blair C. Senesi examine California’s new Freelance Worker Protection Act (FWPA), which aims to provide greater protections to freelance workers.

Wolters Kluwer

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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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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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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.

Australia’s Senate on Thursday, February 8, 2024, passed a bill that would prevent an employer from contacting employees outside of work hours. The bill gives the employee the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact, or attempted contact, from an employer outside of the employee’s working hours without fear of being penalized, unless the employee’s refusal is unreasonable.

Niloy Ray and Alice H. Wang say California’s Senate Bill 1047 represents another significant step forward in the state’s wide-ranging efforts to regulate the development and use of AI.

Daily Journal

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Niloy Ray says employers should be intentional about their generative AI usage, not only with regard to whether they use it at all, but also how, why and when. 

HR Dive

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Orly M. Henry calls a law to amend language addressing claim accrual in BIPA litigation long overdue and “a huge step in the right direction.”

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

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