Workforce Bulletin

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and first daughter Ivanka Trump have teamed up to develop a paid parental leave program in the United States.  While the plan is in its infancy, Senator Rubio reportedly envisions a plan similar to a proposal from the Independent Women’s Forum, calling for a parental leave program funded by new parents’ future Social Security benefits.  Under that proposal, parents could receive up to 12 weeks of benefits to take paid leave at any time in the first year of their new child’s life in exchange for what the Independent Women’s Forum hopes would be six weeks of ...

The United States Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) recently sent 1,000 Corporate Scheduling Announcement Letters (“CSALs”) to 515 federal government contractors. The CSALs provide advance notice that contractor establishments may be audited by the OFCCP during the scheduling cycle, which ends September 30, 2018, to ensure compliance with the contractors’ non-discrimination/affirmative action obligations.

The CSALs were sent on February 1, 2018, to the attention of the Director of Human Resources of the ...

Our colleague Daniel R. Levy, at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility blog that will be of interest to our readers: "It’s a Brave New World: Protecting Trade Secrets When Traveling Abroad with Electronic Devices."

Following is an excerpt:

Consider the following scenario: your organization holds an annual meeting with all Research & Development employees for the purpose of having an open discussion between thought leaders and R&D regarding product-development capabilities. This year’s meeting is scheduled outside the United States and ...

Our colleagues Adam S. Forman and Kevin Sullivan, at Epstein Becker Green, have a post on the Wage and Hour Defense Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the hospitality industry: “Labor Issues in the Gig Economy: Federal Court Concludes That GrubHub Delivery Drivers are Independent Contractors under California Law.”

Following is an excerpt:

Recently, a number of proposed class and collective action lawsuits have been filed on behalf of so-called “gig economy” workers, alleging that such workers have been misclassified as independent contractors ...

What happened?

On January 17, 2018, a federal judge stayed enforcement of New York City’s (“City”) recently-enacted Fast Food Deductions Law (the “Deductions Law”). The order, entered by consent, was entered in a lawsuit challenging the law filed against the City by two leading foodservice advocacy organizations (Restaurant Law Center, et al. v. City of New York, et al., 1:17cv9128).  The stay is currently in place until the earlier of the determination of the parties’ dispositive motions or March 30, 2018.

What is the Fast Food Deductions Law?

The Deductions Law, which ...

On January 11, New York’s City Council passed Int. No. 1186-A, which amends the New York City Human Rights Law to expand the definition of the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender.”  Previously, the law defined sexual orientation as meaning “heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality.” The new definition takes a broader view and offers a more nuanced definition that recognizes a spectrum of sexual orientations, including asexuality and pansexuality.  As amended, the law defines sexual orientation as:

[A]n individual’s actual or perceived romantic ...

On January 30, in New York City, our colleague Michelle Capezza of Epstein Becker Green will be a panelist at the "2018 Technology Economic & Financial Outlook," hosted by the New Jersey Tech Council (NJTC).

From the “internet of things,” to the cloud, to autonomous cars, there is not a single industry segment that has not leveraged technology to develop better products and services for the benefit of their customers as well as their stakeholders.  As technology makes the world smaller, it also opens up endless opportunities for creativity and innovation. The panel will ...

Steven R. Blackburn, Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice will co-present a Practising Law Institute in-person event and webcast on January 25, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. PST titled “Tech Sector Employment Law Hot Topics for the California Lawyer.”

This event will address current California employment law issues, with the added focus of how the latest, state-specific legal developments impact the tech sector, in particular.

Steven R. Blackburn’s program is titled, “Sexual Harassment in the Tech Sector - Employer Duties, Investigations ...

On December 20, 2017, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a bi-partisan bill that effectively makes asking about expunged criminal records off-limits during the initial employment application process.

The law, an amendment to the New Jersey Opportunity to Compete Act (“OTCA”), generally referred to as the “Ban the Box” law, applies to employers with 15 or more employees over 20 calendar weeks who do business, employ persons, or take applications for employment within New Jersey. The OTCA generally prohibits employers from making any oral or written inquiry about an ...

As 2017 comes to a close, recent headlines have underscored the importance of compliance and training. In this Take 5, we review major workforce management issues in 2017, and their impact, and offer critical actions that employers should consider to minimize exposure:

1. Addressing Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Wake of #MeToo
2. A Busy 2017 Sets the Stage for Further Wage-Hour Developments
3. Your “Top Ten” Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities
4. 2017: The Year of the Comprehensive Paid Leave Laws
5. Efforts Continue to Strengthen Equal Pay Laws in 2017