Acting EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas issued a public statement regarding the 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 data-collection portal. The statement serves as a reminder for employers to complete their reporting obligations by June 24, 2025,...more
No one should be surprised that the independent contractor pendulum—which swings towards making that classification harder in Democratic administrations and easier in Republican ones—is now tilting towards making it easier....more
We all know what “intentional” discrimination means. But what about facially non-discriminatory policies or practices that have a discriminatory effect? The U.S. Supreme Court invented a then-novel, and still somewhat...more
In California, even a single racial slur by a non-management employee may now give rise to employer liability under certain circumstances. In Bailey v. San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, the California Supreme Court,...more
Few legal developments sound less sleep-inducing than “changes to federal rulemaking authority.” But don’t mistake dullness for a lack of impact: a pair of Supreme Court decisions just issued will arguably have the single...more
This spring, California employers received two rare and substantial victories, alleviating some of the burden caused by frequent and costly wage and hour claims that plague California businesses. In 2023 alone, California’s...more
Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed the New York State Budget for fiscal year 2025. The budget includes bills enacting paid lactation breaks and paid prenatal leave, as well as ending paid COVID-19 leave....more
In recent years, state #MeToo laws have slowly but surely chipped away at the use of confidentiality or non-disclosure clauses in settlement agreements. Employers have attempted to get “creative” and have relied more heavily...more
A U.S. Supreme Court with a conservative majority is still capable of surprising us. In Muldrow v. St. Louis, the Court lightened the burden on employment discrimination plaintiffs by lowering the legal ‘bar’ for an employee...more
It comes as no surprise that the EEOC’s enforcement activity, charge activity, and settlements have all increased under a Democratic administration. The EEOC’s recent Annual Performance Report paints that picture in numbers,...more
The long-awaited death of noncompetes in New York is—forgive the pun—dead in the water, at least for now. On December 22, 2023, Governor Hochul vetoed pending legislation that would have effectively banned noncompetition...more
Effective November 17, 2023, Governor Hochul signed a new law impacting settlement agreements resolving claims of harassment, discrimination and retaliation. The new law, S4516 amends Section 5-336 of the New York General...more
In the wake of challenges to the NLRB’s new joint-employer rule, the NLRB extended the effective date of the new rule from December 26, 2023, to February 26, 2024. As we previously reported, the rule expands the scope of the...more
In a move that may have gone under the radar given recent world events, Governor Hochul recently signed S.B. 5572, legislation amending Article 6 of the New York Labor Law (NYLL), limiting the exemption status and expanding...more
An ideologically recalibrated (and motivated) National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has yet again modified several Trump-era rules regarding representation case procedures and expanded the scope of protected concerted...more