The past year has brought sweeping changes to the world of work. Federal agencies finalized rules on minimum wage and overtime exemptions, union representation elections, pregnancy accommodations, OSHA inspections, and...more
A new General Labor Law (NGLL) was enacted by Law No. 12/23, of 27 December 2023, which came into force on March 26, 2024.The NGLL repealed the former General Labor Law (approved by Law No. 7/15, of June 15, 2015),...more
At the end of its 2024 term, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down four decisions limiting the power of federal agencies. While none of those decisions involved a labor and employment agency, all of them could transform labor...more
7/2/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Article II ,
Article III ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corner Post Inc v Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Statutory Interpretation
On Friday, June 28, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Chevron, USA Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council. Chevron often required courts to defer to federal agencies when those agencies were interpreting statutes they...more
7/1/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
White-Collar Exemptions
What do you get when you combine a business-backed ballot initiative, the state legislature and governor’s office, and labor organizations? A deal. California style.
By now you have heard of the deal to reform the...more
As the 2024 election approaches, protests continue across the country, and employees increasingly engage in discourse on important national and international political topics, employers can expect that political speech and...more
Executive Summary -
2024 promises to be a consequential year for employers. The U.S. is preparing for an election that will likely have a significant impact on the future of employment and labor law. At the same time,...more
5/8/2024
/ Annual Reports ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Labor Law Violations ,
State Labor Laws ,
Surveys
On March 8, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas struck down regulations promulgated by the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB” or “Board”) defining joint employment (the “new Rule” or “2023...more
3/11/2024
/ Controlling Employer ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Vacated
The U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule on January 9, 2024, defining “independent contractor” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final regulation rescinds a 2021 rule defining the same term. In place...more
1/9/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
Wage and Hour
Next week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases asking whether to overturn Chevron USA, Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council. Chevron is a landmark administrative law decision. It requires courts...more
On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued an “Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” to address the growing concerns surrounding the use of artificial...more
11/1/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Practices ,
Bias ,
Biden Administration ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Innovative Technology ,
Machine Learning ,
Regulatory Reform
On October 26, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “the Board”) released a final rule setting forth the standard for joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or “the Act”). The rule...more
Federal appropriations are set to expire at midnight (ET) on Saturday, September 30. Unless lawmakers agree to a spending plan before then, much of the federal government will shut down....more
10/2/2023
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Agencies ,
Government Shutdown ,
NLRB ,
Regulatory Agencies
For years, California has led the way in the fast food industry, with several prominent brands having their origins in the Golden State. More recently, California has shown innovation in the ways that the employment of fast...more
9/12/2023
/ California ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
FEHA ,
Food Service Workers ,
IWC ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
We are in the final stretch of the California legislature’s first year of a two-year session. One bill that sped through the legislative process—without any registered opposition—is Senate Bill 699, which extends the state’s...more
9/7/2023
/ California ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Out-of-State Companies ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
On August 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) released its highly anticipated decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific (“Cemex”), NLRB Case No. 28-CA-230115. Cemex involved allegations...more
Introduction -
As headlines in The New York Times and other major news media tout increases in the number of employed non-farm workers, a deeper dive reflects that the labor force participation rate in June was 62.6% for...more
As Illinois employers and businesses recover in a post-pandemic world, the continued and growing threat of The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) looms on the horizon. This paper demonstrates that, due to the...more
As happens this time every year in California, legislators and the governor are crafting a state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget bill currently under consideration in Sacramento contains a startling and...more
6/27/2023
/ California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
IWC ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Reform ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Authority ,
State Budgets ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Executive Summary -
Widespread economic uncertainty. Evolving workforce expectations. Accelerating use of artificial intelligence (AI). A shifting patchwork of local, state and federal regulations.
Numerous headwinds...more
5/10/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
State Labor Laws ,
Telecommuting ,
Wage and Hour
It’s been a busy spring at the California state capitol. Among the few thousand bills being considered by California’s legislature this year, AB 1228 stands out. The bill would essentially create joint liability for...more
4/21/2023
/ California ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Joint Liability ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Wage and Hour
With one day left to spare before the deadline to introduce new bills, on February 16, 2023, California Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-41) introduced Assembly Bill 1228, the “Fast Food Franchisor Responsibility Act.” This...more
2/22/2023
/ California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Over the weekend, Senate Democrats defied midterm election historical trends and maintained control of their narrow majority in the Senate. In Nevada, Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto narrowly defeated Republican...more
11/16/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Union Elections ,
Wage and Hour
On October 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor released a proposed rule to update the test for determining whether a worker is an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or an independent contractor. FLSA...more
10/12/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
I. The State of the U.S. Workforce -
In the early months of the pandemic, jobs declined by a staggering 22.2 million. The good news is that jobs recovery has been on the rise since February 2020. In July, the number of...more