U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a new version of Form I-9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of employees, as well as a new alternative procedure for document examination.
SCOTUS Ruling Broadens Religious Protections for Workers
In a rare unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has substantially altered the standard under which employers must evaluate employee requests for religious accommodations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
NLRB General Counsel Joins FTC in Biden Administration Assault on Noncompete Agreements
The National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo announced in a memo yesterday that noncompete agreements in employment contracts violate federal labor law except in limited circumstances, because they interfere with employees’ rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“the Act”) to engage in concerted activity to improve their wages
EEOC Releases Technical Assistance Document Providing Guidance on Assessing Adverse Impact under Title VII in AI and Other Software
On May 18, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a technical assistance document explaining the interplay of various established aspects of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (“Title VII”) and an employer’s use of artificial intelligence and other automated systems. This technical assistance is released as a follow-up to the EEOC’s
Pay Transparency Laws Sweeping the Country Have Significant Implications for Workforce Development
A recent wave of pay transparency laws has left many employers apprehensive about recruiting across state lines. Pay transparency refers to the practice of making employee compensation figures visible to others – internally, externally, or both. Roughly 1 in 4 U.S. workers lives in a state or locality with a salary transparency law in place
Key Takeaways From NLRB General Counsel’s Guidance Memo Regarding McLaren Macomb Decision
We recently reported on the National Labor Relations Board’s McLaren Macomb decision, which held that employers commit an unfair labor practice by merely proffering a severance agreement including broad confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses, regardless of whether the employee actually signs the agreement. The Board’s General Counsel (“GC”) has now issued a Guidance Memorandum explaining her
EEOC Performance Report Shows Twenty Percent Increase in Employment Discrimination Charges for Fiscal Year 2022
On March 13, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released its Annual Report for fiscal year (“FY”) 2022, demonstrating a significant increase in the number of charges of discrimination filed with the agency, as well as emails and calls to the agency’s contact center, from the year prior.
A total of 73,485 new
NLRB Finds Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Provisions in Severance Agreements Unlawful
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) ruled this week in the McLaren Macomb case, a decision applicable to both non-unionized and unionized employers, that merely including standard confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions in a severance agreement violates the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”). The new Biden administration Board found that such provisions “interfere with, restrain
SCOTUS Ruling Increases Employer Risk of Overtime Liability for Day Rate Compensation
On February 22, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision holding that an employee who is paid a day rate (without any weekly guarantee) must be paid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) because day rates are inconsistent with the Department of Labor (“DOL”) regulations governing many exemptions from the
Secure Act 2.0 – The Top Ten Retirement Provisions
The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”), signed into law by President Biden on December 29, 2022, is another round of retirement reforms that began with the original SECURE Act (i.e., the “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act”) passed in 2019. SECURE 2.0 is memorialized in “Division T” of the