With 2023 coming to an end, now is the optimal time for employers to update their employee handbooks, policies, and procedures applicable to California workforces for the upcoming year. Here’s a roundup of several recently enacted California laws, with the
HR Defense
Akerman Insights on the Latest Developments in Labor and Employment Law
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A Modern Approach: USCIS Proposes to Update the H-1B Program
USCIS is proposing to modernize the H-1B visa program by streamlining eligibility requirements, improving program efficiency, providing greater benefits and flexibilities for employers and workers, and strengthening integrity measures related to the lottery. Employers are invited to participate in the…
Jingle All the Way to the SEC: Employers (Even Privately Held) Under Scrutiny for Language in Separation Agreements Impeding SEC Whistleblower Rule 21F-17
While jingle bells have only just begun to ring, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement bells have been ringing steadily throughout year. In recent months, the SEC announced significant settlements with employers for violations of Rule 21F-17 —…
Pain and a Half: How DOL’s New Overtime Proposal Could Drastically Change Your Business
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently rocked the business world when it announced a Proposed Rule that, if implemented in its current form, would force employers around the country to increase salaries for millions of currently exempt workers or…
What’s Mine is Yours and What’s Yours is Mine: The NLRB’s New Joint Employer Rule Vastly Expands Joint Employer Status
Do you know who your employees are? It seems pretty simple – those individuals on your payroll whose employment you control and supervise, right? Not so fast, says the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board). Under the NLRB’s new…
Looking for Skeletons in the Closet? Avoid These Background Check Mistakes
A scary surprise is fun to encounter when you are in a haunted house at a Halloween event, but not so much fun when you are performing a background check on a potential employee. Even worse is finding out after…
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! No, It’s Domestic Visa Renewal!
Every few years, employees working in the United States on nonimmigrant visas such as the H-1B and L-1 are forced to undertake the arduous journey to renew their visas at a consular post abroad. A valid visa is needed to…
LGBTQ+ Protections, Virtual Harassment, and Social Media Posts: The EEOC Updates Its Harassment Guidance for the 21st Century
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published draft enforcement guidance regarding workplace harassment, entitled “Proposed Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace.” The proposed guidance sets forth the legal standards applicable to harassment claims under federal law and provides…
Fifth Circuit Inches Adverse Employment Action Marker Closer to Title VII Goalpost, But Potentially Punts to Supreme Court for the Ultimate Decision
Title VII prohibits discrimination against an individual with respect to their compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, based on certain protected characteristics, but how material must an adverse action or change in status be? Title VII does not define…
Alert: The 2022 EEO-1 Collection Period Will Begin October 31
EEO-1 reporting season will soon be upon us. As we previously wrote, the 2022 EEO-1 reporting deadline has been a moving target. Almost since its founding in the 1960’s, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has collected data from employers…