Workforce Bulletin

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday:  This week on our special podcast series, Employers and the New Administration, we look at what President Biden’s support for unions throughout his political career might mean for labor management relations.

In this episode, Glenn Spencer, Senior Vice President of the Employment Policy Division at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and attorney Steve Swirsky discuss what employers can expect from the NLRB under the Biden administration. Attorney David Garland leads the conversation.

See below for the video edition and the extended ...

One of the changes included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “Act”) is a temporary increase to the annual limit on pre-tax contributions to a dependent care flexible spending account (“DCFSA”) that can be excluded from income. For single taxpayers and married couples filing jointly, the limit increases to $10,500 (from $5,000) and for married individuals filing separately, the limit increases to $5,250 (from $2,500).  This change is effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2020 and before January 1, 2022.

Employers who intend to amend their DCFSAs to ...

Today is “Equal Pay Day” in the United States, a symbolic date used to focus attention on gaps that exist between men’s and women’s wages.  Current estimates show that women still only earn 82 cents for every dollar a man makes.  While there are various opinions about the pay gap and what it means, today is not a day to celebrate; rather it is a day for honest reflection.  Ask the question: is your pay system equitable?

While reflecting on Equal Pay Day, also ask, what can employers do?  Treat pay equity as a business imperative and do a deep dive on pay systems and data.  Start with a ...

As we recently reported, as of March 12, 2021, all private employers in New York must provide their employees with up to four hours of paid leave to get each COVID-19 vaccination shot. The State has now released guidance on the new law (“Law”) in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”). Most importantly, the FAQs clarify that the Law does not create any retroactive benefit rights to paid vaccination leave. Accordingly, while an employer is free to apply the law retroactively if it wishes, the Law mandates that “only employees receiving vaccinations on or after March ...

President Biden’s January 21, 2021 Executive Order (EO) on COVID-19 tasked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to: launch a national enforcement program, review and correct any shortcomings in their prior enforcement strategies and to determine whether any Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) were necessary and, if so, to issue an ETS by March 15, 2021.  The prior Administration had not issued an ETS, and was severely criticized by the Congress and labor unions.

On March 12, 2021, OSHA fulfilled some of the EO directives by publishing two COVID-19 ...

On March 12, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that the EEO-1 Component 1 data collection period will open at the end of April 2021 and close in July 2021.  Submission of the EEO-1 Report is required for employers with 100 or more employees, and applicable Federal government contractors with 50 or more employees and contracts of $50,000. The agency has not announced an exact closing date, indicating:

The EEO-1 Component 1 data collection will open at the end of April 2021 and close in July 2021. The exact closing date will be posted when the data collection ...

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday:  This week, COVID-19 recovery and safety are top of mind as new stimulus funding, an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) directive, and paid leave requirements are put in place.

Video: YouTube, Vimeo.

Recruiting qualified applicants and hiring top talent have always been time-consuming endeavors that come with constant worry about making a wrong hire. Added to this, the COVID-19 pandemic effectively put a halt to employers’ ability to evaluate applicants in-person. These factors, and others, have led many employers to adopt or to, consider adopting, artificial intelligence (AI) tools to optimize recruitment by introducing efficiencies, reaching a broader pool of applicants, increasing consistency and uniformity in the evaluation of applicants, and, in some cases, helping employers meet diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Typically, employers opting to use AI, contract with third-party vendors that offer AI-powered algorithms, which perform a variety of functions, such as cognitive assessments, personality tests, and video interviews.

Enacted on December 4, 2020, the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020 (the “IoT Act”) is expected to dramatically improve the cybersecurity of the ubiquitous IoT devices.[1] With IoT devices on track to exceed 21.5 billion by 2025, the IoT Act mandates cybersecurity standards and guidelines for the acquisition and use by the federal government of IoT devices capable of connecting to the Internet. The IoT Act, and the accompanying standards and guidance being developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will directly affect ...

A critical component of a successful employer-employee relationship is the employer’s fair and equitable treatment of employees, often embodied in the employer’s employee engagement, retention, and compensation practices.  When it comes to compensation, U.S. employers must comply with federal and applicable state equal pay laws that prohibit discriminatory pay practices, and a myriad of state and local laws banning inquiries into, or the use of, prior salary history in setting pay.  Yet, compensation bias and discrimination still exist and continue to be the subject of ...