Employment Law

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AI In the Workplace: Navigating a New Technological Frontier (US)

Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, Generative Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) has taken the world by storm, attracting over 100 million users for both personal and professional use in less than one year. Given the growing popularity of ChatGPT and similar AI tools, it is likely that they will soon infiltrate your workplaces, if … Continue Reading

Completing I-9s in a Post-Pandemic World:  Is There a Cure for the Long-Haul Woes Relating to Remote Hires? 

Employers take note: most of you will need to take significant action to update and/or correct your Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, in the coming weeks due to sunsetting temporary COVID-19 flexibilities relating to physical inspection of employee documents. Failure to take timely action could result in significant monetary and other penalties. The Department of … Continue Reading

Summer State/Local Law Round-Up, Part 2 of 2 (US)

In our post earlier this week, we covered recent developments in state and local labor and employment laws in the states at the beginning of the alphabet. We now turn our attention to developments in the remaining states.… Continue Reading

Summer State/Local Law Round-Up, Part 1 of 2 (US)

Now that we’re almost half-way through 2023, it’s time again to review the developments in state and local labor and employment laws. State legislatures and city councils continue to be very busy making new laws and amending existing laws. In fact, due to the large number of updates, we are splitting our post into two parts. … Continue Reading

A Deep-Dive Analysis of Lion Elastomers – the NLRB’s Recent Pronouncement on Offensive Workplace Conduct (US)

Here’s the situation: You own a small business that employs 15 employees. You do your best to provide good pay and benefits, but, like many companies, your business has been adversely impacted by lingering effects of the pandemic and the overall sluggishness of the economy. You call an all-hands meeting and reluctantly inform your employees … Continue Reading

State Law Roundup: 2022 Year-End Edition (US)

State and local legislatures were active throughout 2022 in passing laws and ordinances that will impact employers of all sizes and all industries in 2023. Click HERE for our summary of these laws and related developments, including important developments in California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, and elsewhere! If you haven’t already, you might also want … Continue Reading

US Employers Must Submit 2021 EEO-1 Data to the EEOC by May 17, 2022 (US)

Each year, all private employers that are covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and that have 100 or more employees must file EEO-1 Component 1 data, which consists of demographic information – such as race, gender, and ethnicity information – of the employer’s workforce by job category with the U.S. … Continue Reading

DOL Issues New Guidance, Specific Examples of Prohibited Retaliation Under WHD-Enforced Wage & Hour Laws (US)

On March 10, 2022, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) entitled “Protecting Workers from Retaliation.” The FAB provides guidance on worker anti-retaliation protections available under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Migrant and Seasonal … Continue Reading

EEOC Issues Reminder That Caregiver Duties Continue Even As COVID Surge Wanes (US)

On March 14, 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new technical assistance document, “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Caregiver Discrimination Under Federal Employment Discrimination Law,” reminding employers that caregiver obligations continue notwithstanding our gradual return to normal. The 10-page document warns that, even as pandemic conditions change, many employers, schools, and daycare … Continue Reading

President Biden Signs Into Law Ban on Mandatory Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Claims (US)

On February 11, 2022, we reported on Congress’ enactment of legislation barring the use of mandatory arbitration provisions in cases of sexual assault or sexual harassment. On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed the bill into law, as expected, making it illegal to compel an employee to arbitrate a claim of sexual assault or sexual … Continue Reading

Congress Bars Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Claims (US)

On February 7, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, and on February 10, the U.S. Senate approved, a bill (the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (Act)) that would amend the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) so as to invalidate clauses in employment agreements requiring employees to arbitrate claims of sexual … Continue Reading

Time To Play the Numbers:  H-1B Cap Registration Returns on March 1st (US)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2023 H-1B cap will open at noon EDT on March 1, 2022  and run through noon EDT on March 18, 2022.  This occurs one week earlier than last year. This registration process will not apply to H-1B transfers (between employers) or extensions of status applications.  It will only impact new H-1B visas subject to … Continue Reading

New York City to Require Employers List Salary Ranges in Job Advertisements (US)

UPDATE (04/29/22): On April 28, 2022, the New York City Council approved an amendment to the City’s pay transparency law, delaying its effective date to November 1, 2022.  The law, as amended, also: Clarifies that the pay range required to be included in any advertised job, promotion or transfer opportunity refers to either the annual … Continue Reading

OSHA Withdraws COVID-19 Vaccination-or-Test Emergency Temporary Standard (US)

As was anticipated by many, on Tuesday, January 25, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced the withdrawal of its November 2021 “Emergency Temporary Standard” (ETS) that would have required private sector US employers with 100 or more employees to either mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for their employees or require them to comply with … Continue Reading

OSHA’s “Vax-or-Test” ETS: Where Do We Go From Here? (US)

By now, employers know that on January 13, the United States Supreme Court stayed the controversial “Emergency Temporary Standard” (ETS) issued by the U.S. Occupational Safety Administration (OSHA). (See our post discussing the Court’s ruling here). Now that the dust has settled somewhat, employers that would have been subject to the ETS had the Supreme … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Halts Implementation of OSHA Vaccine-or-Test Rule (US)

In a per curiam majority decision issued on January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) that would have obligated employers with 100 or more U.S. employees to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination or weekly COVID-19 testing, plus imposed … Continue Reading

US DOS Extends and Expands Visa Interview Waiver Eligibility; President Rescinds Latest Covid Travel Ban (US)

Due to the limited capacity to adjudicate visa applications during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of State (DOS) announced the extension and expansion of its nonimmigrant visa interview waiver program through Dec. 31, 2022. Currently, U.S. consular officers may waive the in-person interview requirement for applicants who are renewing any type of nonimmigrant visa in … Continue Reading

US Supreme Court to Hear Vaccine Mandate Appeals

In a pair of orders consolidating several pending cases, on December 22, 2021, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear emergency appeals from orders from multiple federal appellate courts relating to two of the pending COVID-19 vaccine mandates – the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) issued by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and … Continue Reading

New York Latest State to Provide Additional Employee Privacy Protections With Electronic Monitoring Law (US)

From Labor & Employment Partner Katharine Liao and our Data Privacy & Cybersecurity colleague Kristin Bryan, below is a post from Squire Patton Boggs’  Consumer Privacy World blog covering recent legal developments involving electronic monitoring of employees in New York State. Beginning on May 7, 2022, employers in New York State who engage in electronic … Continue Reading

EEOC Opines Long-Haul COVID-19 Consequences May Constitute ADA Disability (US)

This past summer, we reported that President Biden expressed in a speech commemorating the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that his administration believes “long-haul” COVID may constitute a disability. Unlike mild cases of COVID-19 that resolve in days or weeks, long-haul COVID is marked by chronic symptoms that continue weeks or months … Continue Reading

New York City Announces First of its Kind Private Sector COVID-19 Mandate (US)

UPDATE (12/10/21): Justice Frank Nervo issued an amended order, filed December 9, 2021, clarifying that New York City’s municipal-worker mandate remains in effect until the scheduled December 14, 2021 hearing. On Monday, December 6, 2021, New York City’s outgoing mayor, Bill de Blasio, announced a “first-in-the-nation” COVID-19 vaccine mandate, requiring that all private sector employees … Continue Reading

Nationwide Halt on Implementation of Federal Contractor Vaccine Rule Issued (US)

On December 1, we discussed a decision issued by the Eastern District of Kentucky enjoining implementation of President Biden’s Executive Order 14042 in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee, querying whether similar challenges would likewise result in injunctive relief. As we portended, on December 7, a federal judge in the Southern District of Georgia issued a broader … Continue Reading

Executive Order Mandating Federal Contractor Vaccination Blocked in Three States (US)

In the latest in a series of judicial decisions impeding executive agency action that had been aimed at slowing COVID-19 vaccination rates in the U.S. (see here and here), on November 30, 2021, a federal judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued a preliminary injunction blocking implementation of President Biden’s Executive Order 14042 which … Continue Reading

The Sixth Circuit and OSHA’s Upcoming December 6th Deadline (US)

Our colleague Colter Paulson at Squire Patton Boggs’ Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog provides an update on the status of the lawsuits challenging OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard on COVID-19 vaccination and testing. Employers across the United States are wondering whether they need to comply with OSHA’s original, rapidly-approaching December 6th and January 4th deadlines.  And while … Continue Reading
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