Employment Law Watch

Analysis and commentary by Reed Smith attorneys on developments in employment and labor law

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Lori Armstrong Halber

David Ashmore

Latest from Employment Law Watch

Employment Law Watch

Overview of the governments’ ‘Consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace: government response’

By Carl De Cicco & Jonathan Lord

August 4, 2021

The UK government’s long awaited response to its 2018 consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace has now been published. In this update, we look at the findings made and what may be coming down the line for employers as a result. Introduction The 2018 Women and Equalities Select Committee (WESC) report on sexual harassment in the workplace revealed clearly that it was a persistent and important issue, despite the existence of current legal protections.…

Employment Law Watch

CDC releases new guidance for fully vaccinated individuals as COVID-19 rates continue to climb nationwide

By Paulo McKeeby, Amanda Brown, Michael Lombardino & Oluwaseyi Odunaiya

August 3, 2021

On July 27, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its COVID-19 guidance. The revised guidance, which has significant implications in the employment context, recommends that fully-vaccinated individuals wear masks in “public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission.” The guidance further recommends that vaccinated persons be tested after a known or suspected COVID-19 exposure. The CDC’s guidance reverses its May 2021 guidance, which advised that fully-vaccinated individuals could…

Employment Law Watch

Sweeping amendments to New York City’s “Ban the Box” law are now in effect

By Mark S. Goldstein, Alexandra Manfredi & Talia N. Fiano

July 29, 2021

Back in 2015, New York City joined the “Ban the Box” bandwagon and passed a law that delays when criminal background checks can be run on most Big Apple job applicants. Specifically, the Fair Chance Act (FCA) prohibits NYC employers from inquiring about a job applicant’s criminal conviction history until after a conditional offer of employment is extended and requires that employers undertake a multi-step process if they want to rescind a job offer based…

Employment Law Watch

What’s all this talk about federal regulation of non-compete agreements?

By Mark S. Goldstein, Edward Schwartz & Michael Lombardino

July 19, 2021

On July 9, 2021, the Biden Administration issued a sweeping Executive Order called Promoting Competition in the American Economy (Order). Although it does not immediately change the current legal landscape governing non-compete agreements (or any other aspects of U.S. antitrust enforcement), the Order encourages the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “curtail the unfair use of non-compete clauses and other clauses or agreements that may unfairly limit worker mobility”. In the wake of the Order and…

Employment Law Watch

California Supreme Court: Meal and rest break premiums must be paid at regular rate of pay; applies retroactively

By Mark Phillips & Ronnie Shou

July 19, 2021

In Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, the California Supreme Court departed from the longstanding view that non-exempt employees’ meal and rest break premiums are paid at the employee’s base hourly rate, rather than the employee’s regular rate of pay used to calculate overtime pay. Instead, the Court held that the phrase “regular rate of compensation” used in Labor Code section 226.7 (requiring employers to pay meal and rest break penalties) is synonymous with…

Employment Law Watch

Preparing for a return to the workplace in the UK after 19 July 2021

By David Ashmore & Alison Heaton

July 19, 2021

With the lifting of COVID-19 legal restrictions in England on 19 July 2021, David Ashmore (Partner) and Alison Heaton (Knowledge Management Lawyer) from the Reed Smith employment team comment on the key issues/hot topics for employers. What is changing on 19 July for employers? The instruction to work from home if you can is being lifted from 19 July 2021. From this date it will be up to employers to decide whether employees should return…

Employment Law Watch

Texas employers now shielded from most COVID-19 liability

By Paulo McKeeby, Michael Lombardino & Joseph J. Mammone Jr.

July 15, 2021

Texas recently enacted the Pandemic Liability Protection Act (PLPA) joining a number of other states that have passed statutory liability protections for businesses against claims arising during a pandemic including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The new law, which has been signed into effect by Governor Abbott, grants retroactive liability protections for both small and large businesses. Under the PLPA, businesses of all sizes are protected from nearly all claims of injury or death from exposure…

Employment Law Watch

New Jersey continues its war on worker misclassification

By John T. McDonald & Saranne Weimer

July 9, 2021

In early 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a series of bills aimed at identifying and penalizing entities for misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Yesterday, Governor Murphy signed four additional laws into effect to build upon and expand these efforts: A5890, A5892, A5891, and A1171. These laws build upon prior efforts, with a notable focus on the expanded information sharing and inter-agency coordination to identify and combat misclassification of…

Employment Law Watch

BREAKING: New York Labor Department unveils guidance on HERO Act, starting the clock for all Empire State employers to adopt airborne infectious disease exposure plans

By Mark S. Goldstein

July 7, 2021

Earlier this year, New York lawmakers passed a novel, sweeping overhaul of the State’s workplace health and safety laws. Known as the HERO Act, the law is intended to “to protect employees against exposure and disease during a future airborne infectious disease outbreak.” Among other things, the HERO Act requires that the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) create written model airborne infectious disease exposure prevention standards to cover Empire State workplaces. More particularly,…

Employment Law Watch

Attention Texas employers: Starting September 1, 2021, companies with just one employee—as well as individual supervisors and coworkers—can be liable for sexual harassment

By Paulo McKeeby, Michael Lombardino & Amanda Brown

July 6, 2021

The effects of the #MeToo movement for employers continue with Governor Abbott recently signing two new bills into law (effective September 1, 2021) that greatly amplify legal protections against sexual harassment. One bill extends the statute of limitations for sexual harassment claims from 180 days to 300 days. The other opens the door for small employers, and even individual supervisors and coworkers, to be held liable for sexual harassment. Also, Texas employers must now take…

Employment Law Watch

Analysis and commentary by Reed Smith attorneys on developments in employment and labor law

Blog Authors

Overview of the governments’ ‘Consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace: government response’

CDC releases new guidance for fully vaccinated individuals as COVID-19 rates continue to climb nationwide

Sweeping amendments to New York City’s “Ban the Box” law are now in effect

What’s all this talk about federal regulation of non-compete agreements?

California Supreme Court: Meal and rest break premiums must be paid at regular rate of pay; applies retroactively

Preparing for a return to the workplace in the UK after 19 July 2021

Texas employers now shielded from most COVID-19 liability

New Jersey continues its war on worker misclassification

BREAKING: New York Labor Department unveils guidance on HERO Act, starting the clock for all Empire State employers to adopt airborne infectious disease exposure plans

Attention Texas employers: Starting September 1, 2021, companies with just one employee—as well as individual supervisors and coworkers—can be liable for sexual harassment

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