The last two years has seen multiple rounds of changes to employment, industrial and safety laws at federal and state level in Australia....more
8/22/2024
/ Australia ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Work Act ,
Gender Equity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Wage and Hour
Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs or confidentiality agreements) have come under fire in recent years due to concerns that they silence victims, conceal unlawful behaviour and prevent companies and regulators from understanding...more
There is a global call for greater transparency around employee pay. For multinational organizations, tracking the ever-changing global pay equity reporting obligations can pose daunting challenges. To simplify the process,...more
International Women’s Day for 2024 has the important theme of Count Her In: Invest in Women. The UN talks about the importance of empowering women and investing in women in a range of ways. This includes accelerating women’s...more
In our previous post celebrating the firm’s decade in Australia, our partners shared their insights into the most significant changes in employment and safety law that have affected leading employers. This post further...more
Seyfarth just celebrated ten years of service to leading employers in Australia. To mark the occasion, we invited some of our partners to share insights on the evolution of employment, industrial relations and workplace...more
If it’s not already happening, Board room agendas will be making room for yet another compliance program.
We’ve said it before and it’s worth repeating: the bolstering of anti-sexual harassment laws will see workplaces...more
9/26/2023
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Australia ,
Board of Directors ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Workplace Gender Equality Act ,
Workplace Safety
The High Court of Australia’s decision in the Qantas outsourcing case has been widely reported. But both the scope of the decision and the key takeaway have potentially been misunderstood. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The use of contracting arrangements is widespread; however, around the world, we are seeing trends suggesting this type of work arrangement may become more restricted, higher cost or higher risk to...more
9/11/2023
/ Australia ,
Background Screening Services ,
Contractors ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
In a previous blog, we summarized the recent case of Groff v. Dejoy, where the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously clarified the undue hardship standard under Title VII, a federal law in the United States that prohibits employment...more
7/19/2023
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Multinationals ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
USPS
Already stretched HR, ER, WHS and Legal teams are about to confront a (seemingly) never-ending stream of law changes that will require cross-team collaboration to operationalise....more
We have psychosocial risks, of which sexual harassment is one of the most common hazards. We have a new positive duty to prevent sexual harassment at a federal level that we discussed in our previous blog. The duties are at...more
The arrival of a four-day workweek (where staff work fewer hours with no loss of pay) is a hot topic for employers in Australia and overseas. Employees generally see this work arrangement as a viable way to maintain a...more
There is a global call for greater transparency around employee pay. For multinational organizations, tracking the ever-changing global pay equity reporting obligations can pose daunting challenges. To simplify the process,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As all of us, and all of us at #Seyfarth celebrate International Women’s Day, several of our global partners provide their thoughts and insights on how both international and domestic employers can...more
Employers around Australia will need to review and centralise sexual harassment prevention initiatives in light of the new duty in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 to take “reasonable and proportionate” measures to prevent...more
We have seen a market driven push for companies to embrace diversity and inclusion (D&I) policies over the last few years, which reflects a key shift in social and cultural norms for many organisations. Increasingly,...more
Employee burnout is high, with one recent survey reporting that one in three participants say they experienced this in the last 12 months. This can lead to disengagement, high staff turnover and claims connected with mental...more
The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021 estimates that at the current rate of progress it will take more than two and a half centuries to close the worldwide gender gap in economic participation and...more
The pandemic has prompted many organisations to adopt ‘hybrid’ work models. Seyfarth’s global Future of Work pulse survey in 2021 found that navigating remote and hybrid work was the number one concern that in-house legal and...more
Our project was finished. With grins on our faces, my colleague and I walked towards each other, hands sailing through the air in synchronised arcs. Onlookers shouted, “No, don’t! It’s not COVID-safe….” Our grins faded, but...more
All the modelling done and released by our governments to support the roadmaps out of lockdowns tell us the same thing: as our businesses and borders reopen, the COVID numbers will increase. We will need to learn to live with...more
For a variety of historical and social reasons, US law permits (and in some cases requires) employers to affirmatively track and provide opportunity to historically underrepresented groups in the workplace. Companies are...more
The first time a global client asked me for a template employment diversity form, I didn’t know what they were after. ...more
The line between lawful and unlawful unpaid work is not always clear.
Many companies are contacted by people offering to work on a voluntary basis. It is often pitched as a “win-win” because the person is willing to work...more
1/30/2020
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exploitation ,
Fashion Industry ,
Fines ,
Internships ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Risk Management ,
Startups ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Volunteers ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages