On March 18, 2020, shortly after it passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 90-8, H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“Act” or “Law”), was signed into law by President Trump. The Act, which takes effect by...more
[Update: The Senate Passed the Revised Bill by a Vote of 90-8; It Now Goes to the President]
As we previously reported, on March 14, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response...more
Early Saturday morning, March 14, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 363-40 to pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R.6201) (the “Bill”), a sweeping piece of legislation aimed at reducing the...more
As certain long-standing issues of interest to financial services employers seem to be receiving a degree of reactive attention, other cutting-edge issues continue to force such employers to revisit and update policies to...more
11/25/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Internal Investigations ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
State Labor Laws
On August 12, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed Assembly Bill A8421 / Senate Bill 6577 (“Law”), which, as we previously reported, contains sweeping changes to New York State’s Human Rights Law (“HRL”). Below is an updated...more
8/15/2019
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
NYHRL ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws
In response to mounting attention to the #MeToo movement, on June 19, 2019, the New York State Legislature passed Assembly Bill A8421 / Senate Bill 6577 (“Bill”), a measure that is even more far-reaching and, thus,...more
On April 9, 2019, a proposed bill, Int. 1445-A (“Bill”), which prohibits employers from pre-employment drug testing for marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinols (“THC,” the active ingredient in marijuana), was passed by the New...more
4/17/2019
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Drug Testing ,
Drug-Free Workplace Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Marijuana ,
Mayor de Blasio ,
OSHA
In managing workforces, particularly when addressing employee turnover, employers often find themselves facing issues regarding how best to safeguard their confidential business information and how to protect their...more
Five Issues in Focus for Financial Services -
For this edition of the Take 5 for financial services, we focus on a number of very well-publicized issues. The tidal wave of sexual harassment allegations that followed the...more
11/29/2017
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Pay Gap ,
Pay Ratio ,
Political Speech ,
Risk Management ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Trade Secrets
Employers in the financial services industry should diligently monitor upcoming changes under the Trump administration. Although it is unlikely that that President Donald J. Trump will “dismantle” the Dodd-Frank Wall Street...more
2/28/2017
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Executive Compensation ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Immigration Reform ,
Popular ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
On July 13, 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced the publication of a revised proposal (“Revised Proposal”) that would amend the Equal Employer Information Report (“EEO-1 report”) to...more
On May 11, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”), which amends the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 to provide a federal cause of action to private companies for trade secret...more
Employers in the financial services industry are faced with an escalating number of employment law compliance challenges, but the news is not all bad. For example, although pleading standards for Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX”)...more
3/1/2016
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OFCCP ,
Popular ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
On June 9, 2015, six federal agencies (“Agencies”) subject to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Act”) issued much-anticipated joint final standards (“Final Standards”) in accordance with...more
7/24/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
Board of Directors ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Covered Entities ,
Diversity ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FDIC ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Reserve ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Joint Policy Statements ,
Jurisdiction ,
NCUA ,
OCC ,
OMWI ,
Public Policy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business ,
U.S. Treasury
With summer here, including its long days and blazing heat, many thoughts may turn to beaches, sunshine, and lazy afternoons. The summer may also be a good time for employers—especially those in the financial services...more
8/12/2014
In its "Strategic Enforcement Plan for FY 2013-2016," the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC" or "Agency") identifies "Preserving Access to the Legal System" as one of its six core priorities. The Agency...more
6/6/2014
Employers attempting to manage corporate compliance programs while balancing privacy concerns and whistleblower protections might find a certain irony, perhaps empathy, in the Obama administration's recent petition for U.S....more
3/7/2014
/ CFTC ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Lawson v FMR ,
NTSA ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Separation Agreement ,
Training ,
Transportation Security Administration ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
As we previously reported (see the Act Now Advisory titled "New York City Human Rights Law Expanded to Require Employers to Reasonably Accommodate Pregnant Employees"), on October 2, 2013, former New York City Mayor Michael...more
In the area of trade secrets and non-compete law, there continue to be notable developments at the state and federal levels. Here are five recent ones.
...more
Another decision has been issued by a National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or "Board") administrative law judge ("ALJ") striking down a non-union employer's confidentiality and proprietary information and non-disparagement...more