Earlier today, for the first time in over 25 years, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its enforcement guidance on unlawful workplace harassment. Though not legally binding, this new guidance makes clear how the EEOC will enforce federal anti-harassment laws under the current administration. The…
As a result of SB 553, which we blogged about here, on June 1, 2024 most California employers will be required to establish and implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan that includes several new mandates. A Written Workplace Violence Plan That plan must be in writing and…
New Laws That Take Effect on January 1, 2024 SB 616 (Paid Sick Leave) SB 616 significantly expands California’s existing state paid sick leave law and provide more generous paid sick leave terms to employees. Under SB 616, an employee is now entitled to a minimum of 5…
In July of this year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced a new version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The new version of Form I-9 is meant to streamline the employment eligibility verification for both the employer and the employee. As of November 1, 2023, all…
Today’s New York Times contains an excellent article on the increasing use of so-called “stay or pay” clauses in employment agreements. Once an employee signs a contract with a “stay or pay” clause, if that employee quits before X months/years (each contract is different), the employee will have…
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled, in Groff v. DeJoy, that employers have a heightened duty to accommodate their employees’ religious practices.
California law requires employers with 100 or more U.S. employees to annually submit data on the pay, hours worked, and demographics of all employees who either work within California or who are assigned to a California establishment, even if they reside or telework from another state. This data…
As employers across the country consider and implement layoffs, Harvard Business School Professor Sandra Sucher writes that “[R]esearch shows that layoffs continue to have detrimental long-term effects on individuals and companies.” In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Professor Sucher and her colleague, Dr. Marilyn Morgan Westner, explain how…
The following bills were recently signed into law by Governor Newsom. California employers will need to be in compliance with each of these new laws on January 1, 2023 unless otherwise stated in the summaries below. AB 257 – improve working conditions and wages for fast-food employees AB…
On August 16, 2022, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Williams v. Kincaid that transgender people who experience gender dysphoria are protected from discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Gender dysphoria is a “discomfort or distress that is caused by a discrepancy between a…