UPDATE: On May 17, 2024, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 24-205 into law, although not without reservations. Governor Polis sent a letter to the members of the Colorado General Assembly encouraging them to reconsider and amend aspects of Senate Bill 24-205 before it takes effect on February 1, 2026.

Stephen Shore discusses a new law in Saskatchewan, Canada, that requires employers to create workplace violence prevention programs and inform employees about other workers who have a history of violent behavior.

International Employment Lawyer

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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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May 25th marked six years since the General Data Protection Regulation has been in effect.

Since it was implemented, GDPR has been regarded as the gold standard for data protection legislation across the world. The implementation of GDPR signaled the European Union’s firm stance on data privacy and security, demonstrated by the large fines introduced for businesses that violate GDPR standards. The GDPR is retained in the UK’s domestic law as UK GDPR, which sits alongside the Data Protection Act 2018.

Zoe Argento says the use of AI to evaluate or assess applicants or employees is the highest risk use of AI in the workplace, and it’s also where she’s seeing the most amount of regulation.

Law Week Colorado

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Kristy Peters discusses how employment law attorneys can be critical partners for employers to help them identify challenges and opportunities for their business.

InBusiness Phoenix

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Bradford Kelley, Kellen Shearin and Michael Lotito say employers must consider employees' rights — and limits on those rights — related to political speech and activities in the workplace.

Law360

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Hot off the press – here is Littler’s mid-year report!  As federal regulators, states and cities continue to pass new workplace regulations through the calendar year, we summarize each state’s notable labor and employment law updates. Some states, like Maryland, have at least a dozen new laws and regulations taking effect this summer, tackling everything from vaping at work to pay discrimination.  Other states have just one, such as the state of West Virginia, which now restrains employers from acting against employees who store firearms in their vehicles on company property.

Zoe M. Argento, Philip L. Gordon, Kwabena A. Appenteng, Orly Henry and Alyssa Daniels discuss the Biometric Amendment, an amendment to the Colorado Privacy Act that requires employers to obtain consent before collecting and using biometric information.

SHRM Online

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Rod M. Fliegel and Cirrus Jahangiri discuss what a recent court of appeal decision means for employers in California, who are often restricted from access to employees’ public records, including criminal history information.

SHRM Online

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Thomas W. Carroll, Matt Freemann, David C. Gartenberg and Billie Jo M. Risheim provide an overview of the significant new laws passed during the 2024 legislative session that affect Colorado employers.

SHRM Online

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On August 2, 2024, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law Senate Bill 2979 (the “Amendment”), implementing long-awaited, highly anticipated reform to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The Amendment is a milestone in the broader ongoing effort to resolve BIPA’s vague statutory language and courts’ expansive interpretations of the law, which have resulted in businesses across Illinois paying hundreds of millions of dollars to settle the 1,000+ BIPA class actions filed in state and federal courts to date.

In a significant decision focused on public employers, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) recently held that Ontario public school boards are “government” and, as such, they are subject to the provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter), and their teachers are protected from unreasonable search and seizure in their places of employment. In York Region District School Board v.

Zoe Argento says more companies are using tools like artificial intelligence that incorporate biometric identifiers, and so new privacy laws are likely to apply to a larger swath of employers than might think they must comply with them. 

The Sum & Substance

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Bradford Kelley and James McGehee discuss the potential risks for employers when employees use social  media for political purposes.

Law360

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Joycelyn Stevenson shares four key points employers should consider when it comes to politics at work.

Nashville Business Journal

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Marko Mrkonich discusses findings in Littler’s AI C-Suite Survey Report that explains why it’s essential for employers to implement workplace generative AI policies.

Corporate Compliance Insights

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Marko Mrkonich says it’s important for companies to establish their AI compliance framework at the beginning, instead of after employees have already gotten used to deploying AI in certain ways.

Corporate Counsel

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Tyler Sims discusses what General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo’s tough stance on stay or pay could mean for employers.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Stephan Swinkels, Jan-Ove Becker and Deborah Margolis discuss findings from Littler’s 2024 European Employer Survey Report.

International Employment Lawyer

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Stephan Swinkels discusses key findings in Littler’s 2024 European Employer Survey Report, including AI use and politically charged issues in the workplace.

Law360

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Stephan Swinkels and Deborah Margolis discuss key findings in Littler’s 2024 European Employer Survey Report and what they mean for employers.

The Global Legal Post

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Deborah Margolis talks about the importance of creating effective GenAI policies.

Human Resources Director America

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Rebecca Goldstein and Terri Solomon comment on New York's Retail Worker Safety Act, which requires retail employers to adopt a violence prevention policy.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Ben Smith discusses a UK proposal to abolish the two-year qualifying period for employees to bring an unfair dismissal claim against their employer.

Law 360

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Stephan Swinkels and Jan-Ove Becker discuss workplace issues that European employers are struggling with, including geopolitical events, political debates and LGBTQ+ rights. 

Human Resources Director Asia

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Ben Smith says Labour's plans to upgrade workers' rights would create extra red tape for employers. 

BBC

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Joy Rosenquist says a new law enshrining the principle of intersectionality in California’s anti-discrimination statutes will have a substantial impact on equal pay litigation.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Paul Piccigallo says the Second Circuit panel's unanimous ruling in Herrera v. Comme Des Garçons Ltd has resulted in the filing of fewer motions to dismiss at the initial responsive pleading stages in overtime lawsuits.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Ben Smith and Maya Beauville say the UK government's softened plan to grant employees the right to disconnect out of hours is unlikely to change the legal sector's entrenched long-hour culture anytime soon.

Law360

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Kelly M. Cardin provides insight about why New York City is expanding its sick leave law to let workers use it to care for pets and service animals.

Law360

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Bradford J. Kelley stresses to employers the importance of implementing safeguards when considering adopting AI technologies.

Thomson Reuters

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Sabine Vianden discusses the German Pay Transparency Act and how it can help solve the gender pay gap discrepancies in Germany.

International Employment Lawyer

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Alex MacDonald says the US Labor Department’s ability to use in-house judges to resolve claims may have to be addressed by the US Supreme Court because circuit splits threaten to limit the judges’ power. 

Bloomberg Law

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Michael Lotito, Jim Paretti, and Shannon Meade discuss what a new administration will mean for employment law and employers.

American City Business Journals

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Bradford J. Kelley and James McGehee say employees’ controversial posts on social media can damage brand reputations and expose companies to discrimination and harassment claims.

Financial Times

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Jim Paretti says labor and employment attorneys need to look at amicus briefs because they provide good insight into how the EEOC will view certain things.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Shannon Meade says wage legislation on the hill has consistently failed and stalled in Congress, so states have been stepping up to fill the void.

Forbes

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Michael Lotito, Jorge Lopez, Shannon Meade and Jim Paretti say employers are likely to see immigration raids, agency chair replacements, a slowing in regulatory activity and DEI limitations under the Trump administration.

HR Dive

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Jim Paretti says DEI initiatives under a Republican administration will "be under a lot more scrutiny" and subject to tighter limits.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Jim Paretti says the Trump administration’s previous agenda and stance toward IE&D will likely repeat when he returns to office.

Bloomberg Law

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Amidst question marks with the NLRB and workplace regulations because of the new administration, Michael Lotito says employers should consult their counsel about preventative steps.

The American Lawyer

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Shannon Meade says Democrats and Republicans both want to make progress on paid leave, but no one is sure whether a national paid leave program will be among their priorities.

Corporate Counsel

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