On January 7, 2026, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order No. 14372, “Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting” (EO), which targets underperforming federal contractors who, in the administration’s view,...more
3/6/2026
/ Corporate Governance ,
Defense Contracts ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Compensation ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Share Buybacks ,
Trump Administration
California’s Fair Investment Practices by Venture Capital Companies Law (FIPVCC), commonly referred to as SB 54, as amended by SB 164, requires certain venture capital companies (including venture capital funds) with a...more
1/29/2026
/ California ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Private Funds ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Venture Capital
SB 294 requires employers to provide a new notice of worker rights to employees upon hire and annually thereafter, beginning February 1, 2026....more
1/12/2026
/ California ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workers’ Compensation
The Prairie State’s most recent legislative session wrapped up with several significant new employment laws effective in the second half of 2025 and beyond....more
1/7/2026
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Pay ,
Illinois ,
Immigration Procedures ,
New Legislation ,
NLRA ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Penalties ,
Privacy Laws ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
California Assembly Bill 692 generally prohibits most “stay or pay” requirements that are commonly included in starting bonus programs, unless they comply with new requirements....more
12/15/2025
/ Bonuses ,
California ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Contract Terms ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
New Legislation ,
Penalties ,
Recruitment Policies ,
State Labor Laws
During its 2025 legislative session, California enacted several new employment laws, most of which take effect on January 1, 2026 (unless otherwise indicated). ...more
11/25/2025
/ Bias ,
Cal-WARN ,
California ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Pay ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
A Massachusetts Superior Court recently addressed whether post-termination commissions contingent on future events qualify as “wages” under the state’s Wage Act law. In Ford v. Vacationeer, LLC, the court granted summary...more
Massachusetts’ pay transparency law requires employers to include pay ranges in all job postings starting October 29, 2025. To comply, employers should follow the six key steps outlined below....more
Over a two-day span, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently provided a preview of its shift in approach to noncompete agreements. Rather than seeking to revive its 2024 rule that would have banned most post-employment...more
Federal contractors may face a variety of workforce compliance challenges during the current US federal government shutdown. These challenges include understanding and meeting obligations under federal and state wage and hour...more
10/6/2025
/ E-Verify ,
Employee Benefits ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Mini-Warn Acts ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Recent federal, state and litigation developments in artificial intelligence (AI) use in the workplace highlight the growing tension between fostering innovation and safeguarding against discrimination and other harms arising...more
9/5/2025
/ ADEA ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automated Decision Systems (ADS) ,
Collective Actions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
New Legislation ,
Popular
On July 1, 2025, the US Department of Labor (DOL) – which includes the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) – released three notices of proposed rules, outlining changes to federal contractors’ affirmative...more
Washington’s legislative session recently ended with a number of significant new employment laws affecting Evergreen State employers. The new state laws cover the full range of the employment life cycle, from pay...more
On July 30, 2025, US Attorney General Pam Bondi released a memo to all federal agencies titled “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination.” This document clarifies how federal...more
On July 1, 2025, the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) issued a new notice of employee rights and an FAQ under AB 2499, a victims’ leave law enacted last year.
As described in this December 2024 Cooley alert,...more
Following the Federal Trade Commission’s largely unsuccessful attempt to implement a nationwide ban on most post-employment noncompete agreements last year, states have stepped in to fill the legislative gap. The result has...more
There have been recent developments in the continually evolving legal landscape for employers utilizing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and policies. Below is a brief overview of those recent developments and...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently opened its 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection portal and announced that covered employers have until June 24, 2025, to submit and certify their EEO-1 reports....more
5/27/2025
/ Disparate Impact ,
EEO-1 ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
In an April 23 executive order titled, “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” the Trump administration declared it federal policy to eliminate the use of disparate impact liability “in all contexts to the...more
In Raymond v. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, the US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit considered and rejected a group of former employees’ allegations that they were selected for termination in a reduction in force (RIF)...more
On February 21, 2025, the US District Court for the District of Maryland issued an order temporarily blocking three key provisions of two January 2025 executive orders issued by President Donald Trump – Executive Order 14151,...more
2/26/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fifth Amendment ,
First Amendment ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Separation of Powers ,
Trump Administration
Seemingly overnight, several key artificial intelligence (AI) guidance documents from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and US Department of Labor (DOL) regarding the use of AI in the workplace vanished...more
During California’s 2024 legislative session, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several new employment laws impacting California employers. Unless otherwise specified, the laws summarized below take effect on January 1,...more
12/12/2024
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
California ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Freelance Workers ,
Minimum Wage ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
New Jersey has become the latest state to enact a new pay transparency law for employers, following Gov. Phil Murphy’s signature enacting SB 2310. As detailed below, the bill requires pay range disclosures in job postings for...more
On August 20, 2024, the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission issued an order blocking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule banning all post-employment noncompete...more