With March Madness approaching, some employers may wish to get in on the action by sponsoring bracket pools to boost employee camaraderie or strengthen relationships with customers or clients. ...more
Executive Order (EO) 14173 “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” creates new obligations that could carry significant risks for any organization doing business with the United States federal...more
2/13/2025
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Subcontractors ,
Whistleblowers
Employment discrimination against individuals with or perceived to have family caregiving responsibilities will soon be unlawful in Illinois under a law set to take effect on January 1, 2025....more
On November 13, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision prohibiting the practice of holding mandatory employee meetings to discuss the employer’s views on unionization....more
On November 8, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that telling employees unionization could impact their relationship with their employer may violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), overturning...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is appealing a Texas federal court ruling that struck down the FTC’s noncompete ban nationally, teeing the case up to be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit....more
New advanced features built into smartphones, mobile devices, and other applications allow individuals to record and transcribe phone calls and meetings more easily than ever before. While such tools can improve employee...more
10/1/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Audio Recording ,
Automated Systems ,
Consent ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Machine Learning ,
Mobile Devices ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Productivity ,
Smartphones ,
Transcripts
Tropical Storm Helene is projected to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast as a major hurricane later this week, and evacuations are already underway in parts of the state. Employers are likely to face inevitable workplace safety risks...more
One of the main reasons for a separation agreement with an employee is to obtain an effective release of claims against the employer. However, ensuring release agreements are effective and enforceable is becoming increasingly...more
9/19/2024
/ Contract Drafting ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Multistate Employers ,
Release of Claims ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Separation Agreement ,
Severance Agreements ,
Standard Form Contracts ,
Termination ,
Voluntary Reduction in Force
The landmark $1.4 billion settlement reached by the state of Texas and a social media company to settle allegations that the company’s platform unlawfully scanned the faces of millions of users in Texas serves as a warning to...more
8/12/2024
/ Biometric Information ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Online Platforms ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Privacy Laws ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sensitive Personal Information ,
Settlement ,
Social Media ,
State Privacy Laws ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
A California appellate court recently denied a motion to compel arbitration, finding the agreement unconscionable in part because it (1) applied to all claims rather than just those arising from employment, (2) was unlimited...more
On July 24, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit declined to block a New Jersey law aimed at equalizing the pay of temporary workers with that of direct employees....more
A Connecticut appellate court recently held that the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (CFEPA) does not recognize a cause of action for associational disability discrimination....more
The Illinois General Assembly has passed a bill prohibiting claims for per-scan damages under the Biometric Information Privacy Act (Privacy Act or BIPA), legislatively overruling the Supreme Court of Illinois’s...more
On May 22, 2024, more than a dozen business groups and a company filed a lawsuit seeking to block the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new final rule that significantly raises the minimum salary thresholds for the Fair Labor...more
5/28/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Salaried Employees ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On May 6, 2024, the Supreme Court of California held that when an employer “reasonably and in good faith” believes it complied with California’s legal requirement to provide accurate wage statements and it does not, the...more
On April 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) published new guidance clarifying employers’ obligations under federal labor laws as they pertain to use of automated systems and artificial...more
Earlier this year, Utah joined the growing number of states to enact legislation to ban employers from requiring confidentiality clauses or agreements that block employees from speaking openly about sexual misconduct...more
5/8/2024
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exclusions ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Penalties ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws
The Illinois legislature is considering a bill that would prohibit Biometric Information Privacy Act (Privacy Act or BIPA) per-scan damages and provide a potential lifeline to employers that face potentially catastrophic...more
New York City has published an anticipated new required workplace poster on the city-created “Workers’ Bill of Rights” that is meant to inform employees of their rights at work....more
On April 29, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued the final version of new workplace harassment guidance for employers, formally updating the EEOC’s position on the legal standards and employer...more
5/1/2024
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Identity ,
New Guidance ,
Pregnancy ,
Protected Class ,
Race Relations ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
On April 18, 2024, a jury in Seattle, Washington, determined that a not-for-profit hospital system employer would be required to pay nearly $100 million for time clock rounding and meal period violations, raising concerns for...more
4/23/2024
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Jury Awards ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Rounding ,
State Labor Departments ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Willful Violations
On April 17, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States held that an employee challenging a job transfer in an unlawful employment discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 must show that the...more
On March 22, 2024, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that amends the state’s Child Labor Law to allow minors sixteen and seventeen years of age to work more hours....more
Employers are facing new potential legal risks under the federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) and the Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA) over inquiries in routine employment physicals...more