The election is over and a second Trump administration will begin in January 2025 (“Trump Administration”). Numerous changes to the employment law landscape will come with it. And if past is prologue, many of these changes will roll back various Biden-era initiatives and priorities at the various federal agencies tasked with implementing and administering federal law governing the employer/employee relationship. Below is a summary of just some of the changes employers could expect at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC” or “Commission”), Department of Labor (“DOL”), and National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) during the Trump Administration, as well as what…
Continue Reading In With the “Old,” Out With the “New”: Second Trump Administration Will Usher in Significant Changes at the EEOC, DOL and NLRB

Many employers are already familiar with California’s Fair Chance Act (“FCA”), which went into effect in 2018 and governs how employers may consider an applicant’s criminal history in hiring decisions. Effective October 10, 2024, San Diego County adopted its own Fair Chance Ordinance (“SDFCO”). Covered employers in the County must now comply with both the county’s SDFCO in addition to the state’s FCA.
Continue Reading San Diego County Adds Local Restrictions for Covered Employers to Comply with in Addition to California’s Fair Chance Act

On October 11, 2024, in the matter of Ephriam Rodriquez v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (“SEPTA”), the Third Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the legal standards for establishing a “serious health condition” under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). This decision highlights what constitutes a “serious health condition” under the FMLA, and the standards that should be applied in assessing such claims.
Continue Reading What a Headache: The Third Circuit Finds That a Plaintiff’s Migraines Were Not a Serious Health Condition Under the FMLA

Two recent decisions from the California Courts of Appeal could have massive ramifications for employers seeking to enforce arbitration agreements. Specifically, each court each held that the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act (“EFAA”) prohibits separating and arbitrating wage and hour claims that are part of the same suit as a sexual harassment claim. These holdings give plaintiffs’ lawyers a new tool try and defeat arbitration agreements and keep cases in litigation. Accordingly, California employers should be prepared for an influx of sexual harassment claims being tacked on to otherwise unrelated wage and hour lawsuits.
Continue Reading California Courts Greatly Expand Scope of “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act”

On September 30, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 399. Starting January 1, employers are officially banned from holding captive audience meetings—mandatory employer-sponsored meetings that discuss religious or political matters—which are a common and accepted defense against union organizing.
Continue Reading Mandatory Captive Audience Meetings Are Banned in California in 2025

On the heels of California’s new indoor heat illness prevention standard becoming effective, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) announced a proposed national heat and injury illness prevention standard (“Proposed Rule”). The Proposed Rule covers indoor and outdoor workplaces where the heat index reaches 80°F or higher. Employers who wish to submit comments on the Proposed Rule have until December 30, 2024 to do so. …
Continue Reading Comment Period Now Open for OSHA’s Proposed National Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Standard

On July 31, 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed into law a bill that makes Massachusetts the 11th state to mandate pay transparency, joining California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington.
Continue Reading Massachusetts Joins the Pay Transparency Game and Ups the Ante with New Reporting Requirements

In an effort to mitigate the risk of violence at work, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the New York Retail Worker Safety Act (RWSA) on September 5, 2024. The law introduces stringent workplace violence prevention measures for retail employers, including the establishment of a workplace violence prevention plan, training program, and the installation of a panic button.
Continue Reading Safety First for Retailers — New York Boosts Retail Safety with Mandatory Workplace Violence Prevention Plans, Annual Training Requirements and Panic Buttons

As we have previously reported, from the time President Biden took office, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) began systematically reversing Trump-era policy, and shifting toward pro-union and pro-employee policies. On August 22, 2024, the Board continued that push. This time taking steps to significantly impede the ability of employers to avoid unfair labor practice (“ULP”) charges without resorting to litigation. …
Continue Reading NLRB Will No Longer Approve Employer Proposed Consent Orders

On August 15, 2024, the Appropriations Committee of the California State Assembly passed SB 399 by a vote of 10–3. The bill had passed the Senate in 2023 and has been with the Assembly since, waiting for action and a vote. …
Continue Reading California Assembly Committee Revives State’s Captive Audience Meeting Ban

On July 26, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) issued its Fair Choice – Employee Voice Final Rule (“Final Rule”), which rescinds a trio of April 2020 amendments to the Board’s Rules and Regulations[1] affecting the Board’s processing of petitions that ultimately make it easier for unions to maintain recognition and stifles employee choice in whether to be represented by a union. With the final rule, the Board once again revives many pre-2020 Board policies.
Continue Reading The NLRB Implements Its Fair Choice – Employee Voice Final Rule – Effective September 30, 2024

Companies usually hire a foreign national who requires visa sponsorship because they cannot find a U.S. worker with those skill sets, which is frequently in the STEM fields. However, visa sponsorship comes with significant costs to the employer. Employers may be able to recover a portion of the immigration sponsorship fees by implementing what are called “clawback” provisions into their employment agreements. Clawback provisions are terms in the employment agreements that, in the event of a resignation by the employee before a certain date, require the employee to reimburse the employer for a portion of the costs or fees associated with his or…
Continue Reading You Are Sponsoring a Foreign National Employee for Permanent Residency, Can You Clawback Some of the Fees?

As we previously reported here, nearly all health care facilities in California will soon be required to increase the minimum wage paid to health care workers, ranging anywhere from $18 per hour up to $23 per hour depending on the type of health care facility. The increased health care minimum wage was set to go into effect on June 1, 2024; however, on May 31, 2024, Governor Newsom signed SB 828, which provided for a one month delay, to July 1, 2024. Now, there is a further delay after Governor Newsom and state legislators came to an agreement to…
Continue Reading Delay In California’s Minimum Wage Increase for Health Care Workers