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
Update: House Fails to Override Presidential Veto—DOL Final Regulations Permitting Retirement Plan Fiduciaries to Take Into Account ESG Factors Still In Place
In the continuing saga of the (possible) use of Environmental Social and Governance (“ESG”) factors by retirement plan fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), on Thursday, March 23, 2023, the House in a 219-200 vote failed to reach the two-thirds majority required to overturn a presidential veto regarding a joint resolution of
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
A New DOJ Policy Provides Significant Benefits for Self-Disclosing Misconduct
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a nationwide policy that gives credits for companies that make “voluntary self-disclosures” for corporate misconduct. The policy builds on changes to DOJ’s Corporate Enforcement Policy that was announced in January.
The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices’ (USAO) Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy, which was prepared by a Corporate Criminal
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