We have created a high-level guide that gives an “at a glance” snapshot of the severity of lockdown restrictions in 15 countries across Asia Pacific (APAC).  The guide covers the following topics: 

We have created a high-level guide that gives an “at a glance” snapshot of the severity of lockdown restrictions in 28 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). As COVID-19 developments across EMEA slow, the June guide will be the final monthly update of this guide and we will next update the guide when the information substantially changes. We hope you have found the content we have provided over the last 12 months useful.

The COVID-19 pandemic required nearly every employer around the globe to take stock of its workforce, policies and practices, and adapt to a rapidly changing and unpredictable environment.  COVID-19 will eventually pass, but transformative issues laid bare by the pandemic—which were already in motion—will remain, likely at an accelerated pace.

The Firm’s International Practice Group has once again updated its COVID-19 Vaccination: A Littler Global Guide on Legal & Practical Implications in the Workplace. Two years into the pandemic, experts agree that – in the absence of newly emerging and highly transmissible variants – COVID-19 might lose its pandemic status before the end of 2022 due to the development of various COVID-19 vaccines and increasing global vaccination rates.

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

A corporate whistleblower can create more financial, organizational, and reputational damage to an employer by using the federal False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. § 3729-33, than by using any other “whistleblower” law. While the FCA contains no requirement that the whistleblower be an employee to create the damage, most FCA whistleblowers are employees, and almost all of them bring the problem to their management or human resources department before they suffer an adverse employment action. Management often does not hear the whistle blowing when the damage is still avoidable.

While the national vaccination campaigns have made considerable progress lately, there are still many people who have not yet been vaccinated, some of whom are hesitant to receive the vaccine at all. At the same time, discussions emerge whether and when a follow-up vaccination of already vaccinated people might be required.

After more than a year of a crushing global pandemic, the early summer brought hope for a long-anticipated return to normal business operations, at least in the United States. But those plans were derailed by the rapid spread of the highly contagious delta variant and mounting COVID-19 infections. The abrupt change left companies – many of which had just updated plans with an eye toward a post-pandemic future – scrambling to adjust policies on such pressing issues as vaccination, return-to-office timing and mask wearing.

Three years have already passed since the European Union agreed upon Directive 2019/1152 of June 20, 2019, addressing transparent and predictable working conditions in the EU in the area of civil law (Working Conditions Directive).

The pay gap – or paying women and other historically marginalized groups less for the same or substantially similar work – has long been in the media spotlight. But as employees, boards, consumers, and the public are increasingly expecting more from organizations surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion, the stakes for employers regarding pay equity continue to rise. Politicians have also taken note.

Generative AI, which is a type of artificial intelligence that can produce or create new content, has already started to impact the workplace in various ways. On the positive side, it can automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, leading to increased efficiency and productivity. For example, it can assist with data entry, customer service, and content creation. Additionally, it can help businesses to analyze and make sense of large amounts of data, leading to better decision-making.

The United States is not the only country currently debating reform to the law on non-competes. Notably, the UK Government has announced legislation that would limit the duration of non-competes to a period of three months after the termination of employment.

The United States is not the only country currently debating a reform to the law on non-competes. Notably, the UK Government has announced legislation that would limit the duration of non-competes to a period of 3 months after termination of employment.

As part of an employer’s EEO compliance efforts, minimizing the risk of harassment claims should be a top priority. Recent statistics issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) indicate that the number of harassment charges has continued to spike upward over the past several years, including the monetary recovery for such claims.

On May 15, 2024, the EEOC issued its annual statistics on charge activity, which indicated the following:

The Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA) prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants and employees on the basis of their arrest and conviction records.¹  Generally, an employer cannot make decisions on the basis of an arrest or conviction record unless the crimes “substantially relate” to the circumstances of the job at issue.²  For many years, the state agencies responsible for enforcing this law—the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and the Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC)—have taken the view that crimes of domestic violen

Background check industry groups have mounted a full-court press to remedy the recent slowdown in criminal record searches in California state courts caused by last year’s court of appeal decision in All of Us or None v.

Two noteworthy developments have occurred since the California Fair Employment & Housing Council released draft revisions to the state’s employment non-discrimination laws on March 15, 2022 that relate to the nascent law surrounding the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other data-driven statistical processes to automate decision-making in the employment context.  

On April 4, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit joined the Ninth Circuit in holding that a plaintiff lacked Article III standing to prosecute her statutory claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in federal court. The Eighth Circuit’s opinion in Schumacher v. SC Data Center, Inc. deepens the split between the circuit courts on standing and increases the chances that the U.S. Supreme Court eventually will have to weigh in on the issue again.

Background: Spokeo and Ramirez

It used to be that employers had the luxury of waiting until January 1 to be vigilant for new employment laws and compliance challenges.  For the past several years, we have reported on employment and labor laws taking effect mid-year.  The trend is increasing, with states and cities passing a multitude of new workplace regulations throughout the calendar year. 

California state and local governmental bodies—our state legislature, and counties and cities—were active again this year in their efforts to regulate the workplace. Littler Workplace Policy Institute has been tracking these bills as they worked their way through the legislature. Some were signed into law by Governor Newsom earlier this year and have already gone into effect.

The City Council of Atlanta, Georgia recently passed an ordinance that amends its existing anti-discrimination law to include protection on the basis of “criminal history status” as well as “gender expression.”  The ordinance is effective immediately.

With regard to gender expression, the law simply amends existing law to include “gender expression” as an additional protected characteristic.

Rachel P. Kaercher, Wendy Buckingham and William J. Simmons examine a new ordinance passed by the Atlanta City Council that amends its existing anti-discrimination law to include protections on the basis of criminal history status and gender expression.

SHRM Online

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Earlier this month, Governor Ned Lamont announced the long-awaited implementation of the state’s so-called “Clean Slate Act” – sort of.  According to a recent press release, January 1, 2023 will see the full or partial erasure in some 44,000 cases involving convictions for cannabis possession.  Individuals with eligible convictions for other crimes, including most misdemeanors and certain lesser felonies, will have to wait until the second half of 2023 as a result of implementation delays.

The Clean Slate Law & How it Works

Updated March 24, 2023: The CFPB has edited its updated Summary of Rights document to include the correct contact number. 

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The District of Columbia continues to implement broad employment initiatives, ranging from wage and hour laws to stricter civil penalties. The following is a rundown of key developments for employers to keep an eye on as we move into the next quarter of 2023.

DC Tipped Wage Workers Amendment Act

Rod Fliegel discusses California’s proposed Fair Chance Act of 2023, which would further restrict how employers can use information about the criminal histories of job seekers and employees, and offers tips for complying with the current Fair Chance Act.

SHRM Online

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UPDATE: Governor Hochul signed this bill on November 16, 2023, which will take effect one year from signing.

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Michael Paglialonga and Stephen Fuchs discuss New York’s new Clean Slate Act, which will prohibit employers from inquiring about sealed records or discriminating against applicants or employees based on sealed records.

SHRM Online

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The California Civil Rights Council previously issued draft revisions to the Fair Employment and Housing Act’s regulations governing inquiries into and consideration of a job applicant’s criminal history in making hiring decisions.  On July 24, 2023, the Office of Administrative Law approved the Council’s proposed modifications to the regulations. 

Pennsylvania and Philadelphia recently enacted changes that impact employer criminal background screening.

State Law

Enacted on December 14, 2023, and effective February 12, 2024, Pennsylvania’s House Bill No. 689 amends Pennsylvania law relating to the expungement of certain criminal record information and employer immunity when hiring individuals with expunged records. 

On March 14, 2024, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed legislation that would add a new provision to the Massachusetts Consumer Protection law and would bar the use of true credit reports for employment purposes, i.e., for the purpose of evaluating an individual for employment, promotion, reassignment, or retention as an employee.  The legislation, entitled An Act Reducing Barriers to Employment Through Credit Discrimination (H.1434), is expected to be adopted by the Massachusetts Senate and promptly signed into law by Governor Maura Healy.  Once adopted, th

Mike Paglialonga and Stephen Fuchs talk about the complicated patchwork of “clean slate” laws that multistate employers must consider when hiring.

SHRM Online

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The Lehigh County Human Relations Ordinance was enacted February 26, 2024, establishing county-specific non-discrimination requirements for employment, housing, education, health care and public accommodations.  The ordinance also creates a Lehigh County Human Relations Commission charged with investigating and enforcing claims of discrimination.  The ordinance becomes effective June 1, 2024.

Expanded Protected Characteristics and Employer Coverage

Employers with operations in California are all too familiar with how state and local officials continue to restrict the access employers have to public records, including criminal history information.¹ For example, lengthy delays in completing standard criminal background checks are now routine in California.² Apart from criminal background checks, many employers rely on motor vehicle record checks (MVRs) to vet candidates for positions that require driving as part of the job.  In Doe v. California Dept.

Eric Compere, William Kim, Melissa Peters, Kennell Sambour and Krystal Weaver provide insight on Cal/OSHA’s new FAQs.

SHRM Online

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The pandemic seems not to have slowed down state and local lawmakers.  Indeed, over 100 new labor and employment laws and ordinances are scheduled to take effect between July 1, 2021 and November 1, 2021.

Dear Littler: You alerted us to some wage & hour and leaves & benefits issues stemming from our “wandering workers” who have scattered across the country during the pandemic, yet continue to work for our Texas-based company.

On November 10, 2021, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2021-45, which contains its annual inflation adjustments for over 60 tax provisions, including not only individual income tax rates and deductions, but also many employer-provided benefits.

In Mexico, the fiscal authority has dramatically strengthened all the strategies that allow for better control and collection of employment taxes, and Jorge Sales Boyoli explains what that means for employers.

Forbes Mexico

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On June 9, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service issued Announcement 2022-13, increasing the optional standard mileage rate for the final six months of 2022 from 58.5 cents per mile to 62.5 cents per mile.  The new rate will be effective for traveling beginning on July 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.  The old rate of 58.5 cents per mile will remain in effective through June 30, 2022.

On June 30, 2022, the governor of Puerto Rico signed into law Act No. 52 (Act 52-2022), which amended the concept of “engaged in trade or business” under the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011, to address the pandemic-related issue of employees working remotely from the Island for “out-of-state” employers with no business nexus to Puerto Rico.

Pursuant to Act 52-2022, for taxable years commencing after December 31, 2021, businesses with employees working remotely from Puerto Rico will not be deemed “engaged in trade or business,” provided the following conditions are met:

In response to rising inflation, the French and UK governments have instituted various measures that affect employers.

France

During the presidential campaign, Macron’s Government promised to increase purchasing power. On August 18, 2022, a new law with several measures intended to mitigate the consequences of inflation entered into force. Outlined below are the main parts of the employment law measures of this “emergency law for the protection of the purchasing power.”