Employment Law Landscape

Providing Insight into the Ever-Changing Landscape of Labor & Employment Law

Blog Authors

AB C DEF G HIJ K L M NOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Sebastien Angel

Latest from Employment Law Landscape

Employment Law Landscape

OSHA Issues COVID-Related Emergency Rule and Recommendations

By Michael P. Wissa & Derek Barella

June 14, 2021

Notebook page with text OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration, on a table with a stethoscope and pen, medical concept.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (the Act) requires employers to provide a safe and healthy workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees. Late last week, the agency responsible for administering the Act, the U. S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), issued a long-awaited emergency temporary standard (the Emergency Rule) effective for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. In what is being regarded…

Employment Law Landscape

EEOC Updates Vaccine Guidance: Accommodation, Confidentiality, Employer Incentives, and More

By Julie Furer Stahr

June 1, 2021

On May 28, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its guidance on employer vaccination policies in the form of additional Q&As. Some of the Q&As relating to mandatory vaccination policies, accommodation, and confidentiality supplement and clarify EEOC guidance that was originally issued on these topics on December 16, 2020. Other Q&As are new as of May 28, 2021, including those relating to employer-provided incentives for receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. The Guidance addresses…

Employment Law Landscape

What’s Old is New (For Now): DOL Rescinds Trump-Era Worker Classification Rulemaking, Eyes Adoption of ABC Standard

By Trevor M. Jorgensen & Derek Barella

May 21, 2021

On May 5, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew a Trump-era final rule that would have made it easier for employers to designate workers as independent contractors rather than employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The rule, titled “Independent Contractor Status under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” was published on January 7, 2021, at the tail end of the Trump administration, and was scheduled to take effect on March 8.…

Employment Law Landscape

New COVID-19 Relief Package Provides Free COBRA Premiums Starting April 1: What Employers and Employees Need to Know

By Brian A. Friederich, Lauralyn G. Bengel & Edward Spacapan Jr.

March 26, 2021

COBRA Healthcare Insurance Benefits for Unemployment concept

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) was signed into law on March 11, 2021. One of the significant COVID-19 relief provisions in the bill includes a 100 percent COBRA premium subsidy so eligible individuals can continue getting health insurance for up to six months. The subsidy is available beginning April 1, 2021, and ends September 30, 2021 (the “Free COBRA Period”).…

Employment Law Landscape

DOL Will Not Enforce ESG-Related Final Rule

By Katherine S. Walton

March 19, 2021

In one of the latest developments in the Biden administration’s recent initiatives to strengthen environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts in the United States, the U. S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced last week that it would not enforce a final rule requiring fiduciaries subject to ERISA to evaluate investment opportunities based upon financial performance factors, rather than ESG metrics. The DOL stated that the final rule “created a perception that fiduciaries are at risk…

Employment Law Landscape

New Indictments Raise Antitrust Issues in Employment Settings

By Gregory Dickinson, Richard J. Hoskins & Robert J. Wierenga

February 10, 2021

Two recent federal criminal indictments have captured the attention of both antitrust and employment lawyers, as well as the legal and business community nationwide. The cases – both in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas – demonstrate that the U.S. Department of Justice is escalating its focus on so-called wage-fixing and no-poach agreements. This is an important development to be aware of because (1) the Department of Justice treats wage-fixing and…

Employment Law Landscape

Cannabis Legislation in Key States: Montana Voters Approve Legalizing Marijuana for Recreational Use

By Chris Gerardi & Joel M. Wallace

January 13, 2021

In November 2020, Montana joined Arizona, New Jersey, and South Dakota in legalizing recreational cannabis use. Montana voters approved a pair of ballot initiatives on November 3, the Marijuana Legalization Initiative (“Montana I-190”) and the Allow for a Legal Age for Marijuana Amendment (“Montana CI-118”), both of which needed to pass for recreational use to become legal for adults 21 and older.…

Employment Law Landscape

Last Call: Illinois Employers Must Provide Sexual Harassment Training by Year End

By Michael P. Wissa & Derek Barella

November 30, 2020

Remember August 2019? Before COVID? Before masks? Before shutdowns, limited reopenings, resurgences, and renewed shutdowns? Before presidential election drama? Fifteen months seems like a lifetime ago. And for many of us, at least a few action items that were important at the time have since slipped to the back burner. That doesn’t make us bad people or even procrastinators; we’ve had a few emergent issues to address that have taken priority. But we’re now about…

Employment Law Landscape

We Have Enough Battlegrounds: Keep Employee Voting Leave Requests Civil by Following State Law

By Trevor M. Jorgensen & Lauren S. Novak

October 30, 2020

Election Day 2020 is days away. Early voting records have been shattered, with tens of millions of voters already casting their ballots by mail or in-person early voting. Despite these record early voting numbers, tens of millions more will still vote in person on November 3. Some of those Election Day voters are certain to be your employees.…

Employment Law Landscape

New Executive Order Prohibits “Divisive” Diversity and Inclusion Training for Federal Contractors

By Julie Furer Stahr

October 14, 2020

Under a new presidential executive order, employers may not provide any employee training that teaches employees “cannot and should not attempt to treat others without respect to race or sex” if the employer is a federal contractor. Following a September 4, 2020 White House memorandum reprimanding federal agencies for holding “divisive, un-American” instruction on systemic racism, on September 22 Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13950, “Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping,” which prohibits…

Employment Law Landscape

Providing Insight into the Ever-Changing Landscape of Labor & Employment Law

Blog Authors

OSHA Issues COVID-Related Emergency Rule and Recommendations

EEOC Updates Vaccine Guidance: Accommodation, Confidentiality, Employer Incentives, and More

What’s Old is New (For Now): DOL Rescinds Trump-Era Worker Classification Rulemaking, Eyes Adoption of ABC Standard

New COVID-19 Relief Package Provides Free COBRA Premiums Starting April 1: What Employers and Employees Need to Know

DOL Will Not Enforce ESG-Related Final Rule

New Indictments Raise Antitrust Issues in Employment Settings

Cannabis Legislation in Key States: Montana Voters Approve Legalizing Marijuana for Recreational Use

Last Call: Illinois Employers Must Provide Sexual Harassment Training by Year End

We Have Enough Battlegrounds: Keep Employee Voting Leave Requests Civil by Following State Law

New Executive Order Prohibits “Divisive” Diversity and Inclusion Training for Federal Contractors

Stay Connected

Company

Products

Support

New to the Network