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NYC Incorporates and Enhances NYS Paid Prenatal Leave Requirements (US)

As readers of this blog know, on January 1, 2025, New York became the first state in the country to require a separate bank of paid leave specifically for prenatal healthcare services. The Paid Prenatal Leave (“PPL”) law guarantees 20 hours per year of paid leave for eligible employees to attend pregnancy-related healthcare appointments such … Continue Reading

With the NLRB Unable To Decide Cases, States Move to Fill the Void (US)

Squire Patton Boggs Summer Associate Akshey Mulpuri discusses legislative developments in several states attempting to address the current incapacity of the National Labor Relations Board due to lack of a quorum. Since January 27, 2025, when National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) Member Gwynne Wilcox was removed from that position, the NLRB – the … Continue Reading

U.S. Department of Labor Reinstates Policy Prohibiting Seeking Liquidated Damages in Pre-Litigation Settlement of FLSA Wage Claims (US)

On June 27, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL” or the “Department”) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2025-3, in which it prohibits Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) field staff from seeking liquidated damages in pre-litigation settlements of Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) claims.… Continue Reading

Employers Modifying Retiree Benefits Provided More Clarity Following SCOTUS Decision (US)

Some employers offer benefits not only to their current employees, but under certain circumstances also offer certain benefits, such as health insurance, to employees who retire from working for them. Employers sometimes modify the terms of benefit policies, programs, and plans for a number of reasons, including to change coverages or eligibility requirements or to … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Eases Burden Of Proof In “Reverse Discrimination” Claims (US)

On June 5, 2025, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, No. 23-1039, reviving a lawsuit brought by a heterosexual female employee who alleged she was discriminated against by her employer in favor of less qualified gay candidates. The decision conclusively establishes that the evidentiary burden … Continue Reading

Florida’s Employer-Friendly “CHOICE” Act Establishes New Protections for Garden Leave and Noncompete Agreements (US)

Squire Patton Boggs Summer Associate Daniel Doherty details how new legislation in Florida will impact employers’ use of garden leave and noncompete agreements in the Sunshine State. On April 24, 2025, Florida lawmakers passed business-friendly legislation that impacts Florida’s regulation of noncompete and garden leave agreements and expands employer enforcement power for such agreements. The … Continue Reading

US Employers Must Submit 2024 EEO-1 Data to the EEOC by June 24, 2025

Data collection for 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 filing opened on May 20, 2025. Employers have until Tuesday, June 24, 2025 to submit their data to the agency. Each year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) collects workforce data from private employers with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees … Continue Reading

NLRB General Counsel Expands Paths for Settling ULP Cases, and Realigns Board Practice for Seeking Expanded Remedies (US)

The National Labor Relations Board’s top enforcement official has issued important guidance, which should make it easier for parties to settle unfair labor practice charges, and which narrows the situations where the Board will seek unique expanded remedies. Background From 2021 to 2024, the Board significantly changed the remedies it sought in ULP cases, and … Continue Reading

California Court of Appeal Affirms Enforceability of Prospective Meal Period Waivers (US)

In a ruling that clarifies a previously unsettled area of California employment law, a California Court of Appeal affirmed the enforceability of written, prospective meal period waivers for shifts between five and six hours long. The April 21, 2025 decision in Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, Inc. explained that advanced “blanket” waivers are valid under the … Continue Reading

Eighth Circuit Holds Minnesota Human Rights Act Does Not Apply to Out-of-State, Remote Employee: What All Employers Need to Know (US)

Although the meteoric rise in remote work prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have plateaued and may even be scaling back as employers press return-to-office policies, the reality is that many employees still work, and will continue to work, remotely. As employment law is largely legislated at the state level, the variation in how … Continue Reading

Update: US Supreme Court Stays Lower Courts’ Orders Reinstating NLRB and MSPB Members, Removing Them Once Again (US)

For the first—but not last—time, the US Supreme Court weighed in on President Donald Trump’s removal of Gwynne Wilcox, a Biden-appointed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member (whose removal we discussed in a prior post), and Cathy Harris, a Biden-appointed Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) member. Chief Justice Roberts’ April 9 order temporarily stayed the … Continue Reading

Best Practices for Employers When Implementing a Reduction in Force (US)

Laying off employees – also referred to as a reduction in force or a RIF – is one of the most difficult decisions an employer can make. Whether driven by economic conditions, organizational restructuring or pivots in business strategy, RIFs inherently create legal risks and significantly impact workplace morale. Although RIFs come with many challenges … Continue Reading

U.S. State Employment Law Developments, Reminders, and (Rapidly Approaching) Deadlines (US)

As we reported at the end of 2024, there are a number of critical employment law developments that will affect U.S. employers in the next several months, and, for some employers, in the next several days. Though not an exhaustive list, we focus here on some key upcoming deadlines for employers in Q2 and Q3 … Continue Reading

What is the Current Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors? (US)

Among the flurry of Executive Orders signed by President Trump since he took office is an March 14, 2025 Executive Order rescinding 18 prior executive orders and actions, including Executive Order 14026, a Biden-era order increasing the minimum wage for federal contractors to $17.75. Now that Executive Order 14026 has been rescinded, many federal contractors have … Continue Reading

New York’s “No Severance Ultimatums Act” Sets a New Minimum Standard for Severance Agreements, Expanding Protections for New York Employees (US)

On March 4, 2025, the New York state Senate passed S.372, the “No Severance Ultimatums Act” a first of its kind legislation which, if enacted, will require New York employers to: These protections will apply to all severance agreements except those covered by collective bargaining agreements. This bill has now moved to the New York … Continue Reading

Fashionably Late: Implementation of the New York Retail Worker Safety Act Delayed to June 2025 (US)

On February 14, 2025, the New York Retail Worker Safety Act, initially set to take effect March 4, 2025, was amended (S.B.740), and the new effective date moved to June 2, 2025. Background On September 4, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the New York Retail Worker Safety Act (the Act) (S.B. 8358-C/A. 8947-C) … Continue Reading

Blocked DOL Overtime Rule Set for Review in the Fifth Circuit (US)

On February 28, 2025, the US Department of Labor (DOL) appealed a December 2024 Texas federal trial court’s decision that blocked a Biden-era overtime rule promulgated by the DOL. This is the DOL’s second appeal following an appeal in November by the then Biden-led DOL of another Texas district court’s ruling that similarly vacated and … Continue Reading

Federal Court Concludes States Have Standing to Challenge EEOC’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Rule (US)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled on February 20, 2025, in Tennessee v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, that seventeen (17) State attorneys general have standing to challenge the EEOC’s Final Rule interpreting the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “PWFA” or “the Act”). In the first federal appellate court decision to consider … Continue Reading

Anticipated Shift at National Labor Relations Board Begins With Rescission of General Counsel Memoranda (US)

Under the administrative scheme established by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)– the federal law that governs the relationship between employers, employees, and labor unions – the discretion whether to issue an administrative complaint against an employer based on an unfair labor practice charge is held by the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB or Board) … Continue Reading

SECURE Act 2.0 Mandatory Automatic Enrollment Requirements for New Retirement Plans Guidance Released (US)

One of the hallmarks of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE Act 2.0) legislation was to increase participation in retirement plans. On January 10, 2025, the Treasury Department and the IRS came one step closer when they announced the issuance of proposed regulations requiring automatic enrollment for new Code Section 401(k) and 403(b) retirement … Continue Reading
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