Oregon’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (“Paid Leave Oregon”) generally provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of paid time off for leave that qualifies as family, medical, or safe leave. Since Paid Leave Oregon took effect on September 3, 2023, employees have been stacking Paid Leave Oregon leave benefits and Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) leave benefits, leaving employers frustrated with staffing shortages.

Mark Callaghan says the new UK government should increase Statutory Paternity Pay “in excess of inflation,” because it would benefit businesses and families alike.

People Management

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Mikayla Almeida, Kimberly Doud and Anne Sanchez LaWer explain to employers about how implementing benefits related to women’s health and fertility could reduce turnover and retain talent.

ACC Central Florida

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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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Ellen Donovan McCann says post-employment benefits are often the first to be amended when businesses experience budget challenges, but employers may have to take more care in changing them if SCOTUS decides that former employees can sue over those benefits.

SHRM

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Chelsea Lewis provides recommendations for navigating the challenges that may arise when customers or clients refuse to abide by COVID-19 mandates.

ACC South Florida

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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

When Congress overrode President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act on January 1, 2021, it enacted the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), which was part of the defense authorization bill.  In doing so, Congress implemented the most sweeping anti-money-laundering statute since the USA PATRIOT Act.  In addition to a number of regulatory reforms and new disclosure requirements, the AMLA has put into place new whistleblower protections, adding to the range of statutes that have effectively created anti-retaliation provisions for virtually every activity regulated by federal

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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Natasha Adom discusses proposals from the FCA, PRA and Bank of England that would require financial services firms to provide more detailed monitoring and report of diversity and inclusion. 

IFA Magazine

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Steve Biddle examines the recently expanded Arizona Civil Rights Act (ACRA) as well as new ordinances passed by Arizona cities that expand protected categories and coverage.

SHRM Online

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Natasha Adom discusses measures FCA, PRA and BoE regulators are considering to improve diversity and inclusion in the financial services sector. 

Investment Week

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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

Kyle Roseman and Lori Alexander examine a new law in Connecticut, Public Act 21-69, which bans employers from inquiring into the ages of prospective employees "on an initial employment application."

SHRM Online

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Michael Royal and Alyssa Peterson discuss two new laws that will bring changes for employers in Texas by expanding protections for employees who assert claims of sexual harassment under the Texas Labor Code.

SHRM Online

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Kimberly J. Dowd, Chelsea Lewis and Kameron Miller explain the meaning of “allyship” and how it can be applied in the workplace. 

ACC North Florida

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Jorge Sales Boyoli answers questions about whether mandates requiring employees to get vaccinated are legal under Mexico’s labor laws.

Entrepreneur

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Stephanie Chavez offers advice to employers who are considering hiring individuals who have a criminal record.

Law360 Employment Authority

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This year has seen a number of international and regional legislative efforts imposing human rights due diligence and transparency obligations on multinational employers. 

Miguel Arberas explains that those who lie about their training and training to get a job can be dismissed even if there is no damage. 

EL PAÍS

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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?

On June 1, 2023, in United States ex rel.

The Massachusetts legislature has expanded the reasons employees can use Massachusetts Earned Sick Time through provisions in a larger bill entitled, “An Act Promoting Access to Midwifery Care and Out-of-Hospital Birth Options.”  Employees may now use Massachusetts Earned Sick Time to “address the employee’s own physical and mental health needs, and those of their spouse, if the employee or the employee’s spouse experiences pregnancy loss or a failed assisted reproduction, adoption or surrogacy.”

On September 18, 2024, Canada announced that it would impose new language and field of study eligibility requirements on its Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) Program.

On October 1, 2024, Maryland’s Pay Stub/Pay Statement and Pay Transparency laws went into effect. The laws were passed during the General Assembly’s 2024 legislative session and amended the state’s Wage Payment and Collection Law and Equal Pay for Equal Work law, respectively.

Pay Stub/Pay Statement Law Requirements

The Euless, Texas Fair Overtime and Scheduling Standards Ordinance that imposed predictive scheduling obligations on covered employers is no more.   

The Unusual Origin of the Ordinance 

The latest binge watch for many of us at GQ|Littler was the Netflix hit, “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders,” which follows a year in the life of NFL’s Dallas Cowboys cheerleading team.

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.
   

Attorneys Colette Kopon and August Johannsen join Pro Bono Committee Member Lavanga Wijekoon in discussing their participation in Littler’s pro bono clinic, held in collaboration with the National Immigrant Justice Center, focused on assisting migrant families seeking asylum in the U.S.

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.