Perspectives on Labor, Employment & OSHA

When an employer “discharges” an employee, California Labor Code section 201(a) provides that “the wages earned and unpaid at the time of discharge are due and payable immediately.”

On September 29, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued Proposed Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, which presents a legal analysis of the standards for harassment and employer liability applicable to claims of harassment under the statutes enforced by the EEOC. The proposal is open to public comment until November 1, 2023.

Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to encourage enhanced law enforcement and greater coordination through agency information sharing.

Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) overruled a landmark case that gave unionized employers broad latitude to make discretionary changes to employment terms and conditions during a contractual hiatus or negotiations for a first contract.

On August 30, 2023, the US Department of Labor announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which would increase the white-collar exemption salary threshold for employees to qualify as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Last Friday, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) overturned decades of precedent and continued in its march to ease labor union efforts to organize new workforces. In its decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific LLC, 31-CA-238239, the Board overruled 1971’s Linden Lumber.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that San Francisco Partner Rob Carrol has again been named among the 2023 “Top Labor & Employment Attorneys in California” by Daily Journal, the state’s premier legal publication.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act (IEPA) that will require most Illinois employers to provide pay scales and benefits in job postings, and amendments to the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act (IDTLSA).

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 130 attorneys have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2024, with an additional four attorneys highlighted as “Lawyers of the Year” and 69 attorneys listed as “Ones to Watch.”

Increasingly, employers are utilizing automated systems, including artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning, to target job advertisements, recruit applicants, and make hiring decisions.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce the addition of partners Morgan Forsey, Daniel McQueen, and Nora Stilestein to its Labor & Employment practice in the Los Angeles office.

On August 7, 2023, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a proposed rule to implement the Pregnancy Workers Fairness Act, which went into effect on June 27, 2023.

Last week, in a setback for employers, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted a new legal standard to determine whether facially neutral policies, handbook provisions, and work rules are nevertheless unlawful under Section 8(a)(1).

In a much-anticipated decision, the California Supreme Court in Adolph v. Uber Technologies unanimously held that a plaintiff, compelled to arbitrate individual claims under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), does not forfeit standing to litigate non-individual claims in court.

California’s Labor Code section 2802 requires employers to reimburse employees for necessary expenses or losses incurred in the discharge of their duties.

Ruling on a lingering legal issue from the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Supreme Court held that an employer is not liable for cases of “take-home” COVID-19 — that is, where a household member allegedly caught the virus after an employee became infected at work and brought it home.

Signed into law on July 13, 2022, the District of Columbia Cannabis Employment Protections Act, provides major new workplace protections for marijuana users.

Title VII requires employers to accommodate their employees’ religious practices unless it would impose an “undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.”

Enacted last year, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) went into effect on June 27, 2023. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) began accepting PWFA charges on that date.

ArentFox Schiff is proud to announce that Partner Derek Barella has been elected a Fellow of the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers, a lifetime election for attorneys who have demonstrated outstanding performance and integrity, excellence, and dedication to the profession.

The pendulum has swung again in the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) continued effort to distinguish employees from independent contractors.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 93 attorneys and 21 practices have been ranked by The Legal 500 United States 2023 guide, a nationwide analysis of law firms that provide cutting-edge and innovative advice.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 70 attorneys were recognized as leaders in their field and 24 practices spanning the firm’s litigation, regulatory, and transactional capabilities were ranked in the 2023 edition of Chambers USA.

A panel of the DC Circuit ruled in a split decision that a provision that required a non-profit simply to “direct” certain executives not to disparage a former employee could be held liable for negative remarks made about the departed employee by the CEO.

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) longstanding policy strongly favored manual representation elections. With the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset, the Board began permitting mail-ballot elections under the “extraordinary circumstances” exception to its manual ballot preference.