Effective April 11, 2025, certain foreign nationals in the US must register online with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), while others are already registered based on their status. This requirement is based on a 1940 law that mandates every foreign national who is in the US for 30 days must be registered and fingerprinted … Continue Reading
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
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
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
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 Now that Executive Order 14026 has been rescinded, many federal contractors have … Continue Reading
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
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
President Donald Trump’s removal of Gwynne Wilcox, a Biden-appointed NLRB Member (which we discussed in a prior post), has been reversed by a federal judge. On March 6, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell held that the President does not have the authority to terminate NLRB Members at will, and thus President Trump’s removal … Continue Reading
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
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
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
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
In a timely blog post on our firm’s Pensions and Benefits blog, Squire Patton Boggs’ Stacey Grundman and Joseph Yonadi, Jr. of our Tax Strategy & Benefits practice discussed recent changes to the Department of Labor’s Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program. The changes added a Self-Correction Component for fiduciary failures and finalized an amendment to an … Continue Reading
Considering the fluidity of the current US/Mexico situation and the potential for the escalation of destabilizing tariffs, we prepared a short summary of available employment options in Mexico for companies to keep in mind as they consider their operations in that country. Under Mexican labor law, there are primarily three ways for companies to terminate … Continue Reading
It’s been a little more than a week since Inauguration Day, but the seismic shifts of presidential change in Washington, D.C. continue, now extending to and impacting the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board). On January 28, President Donald Trump shook up the NLRB with two major personnel decisions: one anticipated, the other unprecedented.… Continue Reading
In an increasingly-rare unanimous decision, on January 15 the United States Supreme Court held in E.M.D. Sales, Inc., et al. v. Carrera that employers must prove that an employee is exempt from the minimum wage and overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standard Act by only a preponderance of the evidence, and not by … Continue Reading
In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, smartwatches and other wearable technology devices have progressed past being a great holiday gift for your family member with the perennial New Year’s resolution to hit the gym and are increasingly prevalent in the workplace. These devices, ranging from smartwatches to powered gloves, can enhance employee productivity and improve … Continue Reading
Most employers that have gone through a large-scale layoff or closed a location will tell you that WARN is their most dreaded four-letter word. Now, with the continuing and even increasing prevalence of post-COVID remote work arrangements, the question of who to WARN of mass layoffs of closures has become even more daunting. The federal … Continue Reading
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which became effective in June 2023, requires covered employers to provide job-related accommodations to employees for work limitations they experience due to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. (See our prior coverage here.) Since the PWFA’s enactment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued regulations explaining employer obligations … Continue Reading
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides job-protected, unpaid time off to certain U.S. employees for pregnancy, childbirth or adoption or during periods of personal or family illness. One basis upon which eligible employees can take FMLA leave is to care for a family member with a serious health condition, but the language of … Continue Reading
Not long after the November elections, we discussed potential changes that could come at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) after inauguration day on January 20, 2025. Although it is a virtual certainty that President-Elect Trump will very quickly remove Jennifer Abruzzo from her position as the NLRB’s current General Counsel (the agency’s … Continue Reading
State and local legislatures have been active throughout 2024 passing laws and ordinances that will impact employers of all sizes and all industries. Click HERE for our summary of these laws and related developments in Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New York and elsewhere! As always, our team will continue to monitor these and other state employment law developments. … Continue Reading
Employers should expect changes to their immigration and hiring enforcement regimes under a second Trump administration. Based on campaign rhetoric and promises, those changes will include emboldened and focused immigration policies to remove millions of undocumented workers and tighten the legal immigration system. Below is a summary of expected employment-related immigration changes and practical steps … Continue Reading
Employers fearing rising labor costs can rest a little easier now after a Texas federal court struck down the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) final rule (the “2024 Rule”), which, in July 2024, increased the minimum salary employers are required to pay employees under the executive, administrative, and professional (“EAP”), or “white collar,” exemptions to … Continue Reading
