Approximately a month after the Board issued McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB No. 58, which left employers scrambling to decipher its unclear impact on both unionized and non-unionized workplaces, Jennifer Abruzzo, the General Counsel (“GC”) of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) released guidance outlining her views on the decision’s implications and meaning in Memorandum GC 23-05 on March 22, 2023. The GC’s Memo contains an FAQ in response to inquiries the NLRB has received about the McLaren Macomb decision and outlines Abruzzo’s plans for enforcement of the decision.

Continue Reading NLRB GC’s McLaren Macomb Memo Provides Murky and Ominous Guidance on Board’s Prohibitions on Non-Disparagement and Non-Disclosure Provisions

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday:  This week, we bring you our special Spilling Secrets podcast series on the future of non-compete and trade secrets law:

The 2023 Academy Awards are over, but we’re keeping the awards season alive with our very own Trade Secrets Fail Awards, highlighting Hollywood’s biggest missteps in depicting trade secret issues on-screen.

Panelists Peter A. SteinmeyerKatherine G. RigbyA. Millie Warner, and Daniel R. Levy discuss their picks for the worst trade secret theft and misappropriation in the movies and on television.

Continue Reading Podcast: Trade Secrets on Film and TV – Employment Law This Week

On March 8, 2023, the Michigan Legislature passed Senate Bill 4, amending the Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), and adding protections for individuals based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.  Codifying the Michigan Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Rouch World v MI Department of Civil Rights, which held that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation constitutes a violation of ELCRA as currently written, the amendment makes Michigan the 24th state to incorporate provisions for safeguarding individuals based on sexual orientation.  The amendment, however, goes one step further to add protections for “gender identity or expression.”

Continue Reading Michigan Becomes 24th State to Protect LGBQT+ Employees Under Civil Rights Law

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently published updated guidance titled, “Hearing Disabilities in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act” (the Guidance), explaining how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to job applicants and employees with hearing disabilities.  The Guidance provides several new and updated examples regarding medical information employers may request and use, and reasonable accommodations for hearing disabilities that reflect technological and medical advancements since the EEOC issued its initial guidance in 2014.

Continue Reading Updated EEOC Guidance Highlights ADA’s Impact on Employees with Hearing Disabilities

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday This week, we’re highlighting the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB’s) crackdown on confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions in severance agreements, a U.S. Supreme Court decision opening overtime to high-earning daily-rate workers, and a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision in favor of mandatory arbitration in California.

Continue Reading Video: NLRB Focuses on Severance Agreements, Supreme Court Opens Overtime to HCEs, Ninth Circuit Rejects CA’s Mandatory Arbitration Ban – Employment Law This Week

Amendments to the pending New York State law requiring employers to advertise salary ranges were signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul on March 3, 2023.  The salary transparency law with the amendments (which we previously summarized here) will become effective on September 17, 2023.

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday This week, we’re mapping out how Local Law 144 applies to every employer with employees in New York City using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, or a similar computational process to screen candidates for employment or employees for promotion within the city.

Continue Reading Video: New York City Employers Prepare for AI Bias Law – Employment Law This Week

As we previously reported, the US Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) announced back in August 2022, that it had received a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request from the Center for Investigative Reporting (“CIR”), for any and all Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Reports for 2016-2020 (“Consolidated Reports”) filed by federal contractors (“Covered Contractors”).  In response to the request, OFCCP has provided Covered Contractors with the opportunity to object to the release of the Reports and on February 15 extended the deadline for objections to March 3, 2023.  

Continue Reading Disclosure List of Federal Contractor EEO-1 Reports Posted – Deadline to Object Extended to March 3, 2023, Including for First-Time Objectors

On February 21, 2023, the Seattle City Council passed a first of its kind ordinance that amends Seattle’s existing anti-discrimination laws to prohibit caste discrimination. The ordinance, CB 120511, prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals based on caste with respect to “hiring, tenure, promotion, terms, conditions, wages or privileges of employment, or with respect to any matter related to employment.” The amendment also bans discrimination based on caste with respect to public accommodations. Seattle employers should take note of the new amendment and update their policies to include caste as a protected category.

Continue Reading Seattle Becomes First U.S. City to Ban Caste Discrimination

On February 13, 2023, the New York State Legislature approved an amendment, S1326 (the “Amendment”), to the upcoming New York State Pay Transparency Law S9427A (the “Law”), clarifying that the Law’s requirement that employers to disclose a minimum and maximum salary range in advertisements and postings for job opportunities applies, with limited exception, to remote positions. In addition, the Amendment would also eliminate one of the Law’s recordkeeping obligations and define the term “advertisement.” If signed by the Governor, as is expected, the Amendment will be part of the Law when it takes effect this Fall.

Continue Reading Proposed Amendments Clarify Reach of Upcoming New York State Pay Transparency Law to Remote Workers