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On December 13, 2024, we wrote on several policies implemented by the Biden administration that were likely to be rolled back, qualified, or reversed entirely once Donald Trump officially took office. On January 20, 2025, the day of President Trump’s inauguration, the Trump Administration began doing just that, beginning with, among other things, an executive order that directly rebuffs guidance recently issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regarding harassment and misgendering in the workplace.Continue Reading Analyzing President Trump’s executive orders on harassment: Implications and reactions

Over the past several years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has made several attempts to regulate the U.S. workplace. This includes, perhaps most notably, the FTC’s May 2024 rule attempting to ban virtually all existing and future non-compete agreements nationwide (though, at least for now, that rule has been sidelined by the courts). Against that backdrop, on January 16, 2025, the FTC and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) jointly issued Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers.

The guidelines, which replace the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals, examine how the FTC and DOJ assess the legality, under federal antitrust laws, of certain business practices affecting U.S. workers. To that end, the guidelines highlight the following five examples of business practices that the FTC and DOJ consider “potential violations of the antitrust laws”:Continue Reading Labor mobility remains in the limelight – FTC and DOJ take another swing at regulating the U.S. workplace

On January 8, 2025, California received a Major Disaster Declaration for the ongoing Southern California wildfires. As the devastating wildfires continue to rage across the Los Angeles area, employers may be wondering how they can support their Southern California workforces while remaining compliant with employment laws. Employers must consider a host of factors, including compliance with tax regulations and wage and hour laws, worker safety, leaves of absence, and worksite closures.

Below are some key tips for businesses with a Southern California presence to consider as they navigate the challenging weeks and months ahead.Continue Reading How U.S. employers can support their workforces during the Southern California wildfires

While the end of a calendar quarter is a good time to review your business’s HR-related practices and procedures, the start of Q1 seems to be particularly popular. With that in mind, we have compiled the following checklist of potential action items for U.S. employers in Q1 2025:

Vet onboarding paperwork and procedures

Federal law, and in many areas state and local law as well, require that businesses provide new employees, including remote hires, with certain written notices and other materials upon hire. Many businesses also require new hires to sign additional documentation outlining the terms and conditions of employment. To that end, now is a good time to ensure that all new hires are:

  • Receiving any notices required by applicable law. This includes, for instance, any wage-related notices that identify whether the employee will be classified as exempt or non-exempt from overtime pay.
  • Signing any required offer letters, restrictive covenant/confidentiality/works for hire agreements, arbitration agreements, and/or other documents delineating the terms and conditions of employment.
  • Completing any required immigration and tax forms.

Employers should also confirm whether there have been changes to any applicable state and/or local laws relating to the hiring and onboarding process.Continue Reading HR checklist for U.S. employers to consider in 2025

Workers’ compensation claims are typically an issue about which employers think only in the context of physical workplace injuries. In New York State, however, that may soon be poised to change. On January 1, 2025, the states Workers’ Compensation Law will permit all workers to file claims for mental injury premised upon extraordinary work-related stress. Governor Hochul signed the amendment under A5745 (the Amendment) reiterating New York state’s ongoing effort to support mental health in the workplace.Continue Reading New York amends workers’ compensation law to include mental injury

On November 16, 2024, the New York Clean Slate Act went into effect. The Act provides for the automatic sealing of a broad swath of criminal convictions after a certain period of time and requires employers to comply with new disclosure obligations when obtaining criminal history information in connection with employment actions.

Sealed convictions

The Act requires the New York State Unified Court System to seal certain criminal convictions no later than November 16, 2027. These include misdemeanor and felony convictions under New York penal law (not federal law), which must be sealed three years and eight years, respectively, after a defendant’s release from incarceration or imposition of sentencing, whichever is later. 

Automatic sealing does not apply to any convictions for sex offenses or non-drug related Class A felony offenses. In addition, records cannot be sealed where a defendant has a subsequent criminal charge pending in New York or any other jurisdiction (with limited exceptions to out-of-state pending charges), or where the defendant is on parole or probation.Continue Reading New York Clean Slate Act and sealed convictions: what employers should know

As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems rapidly spreads throughout society, legislators across the U.S. are hustling to try and ensure that these systems are created and implemented in a safe and fair manner everywhere they are being used. The workplace is one such area that is starting to gain interest in this regard.

Legislators have begun considering, and in a few cases even passed, bills aimed at preventing so-called “algorithmic discrimination” in the workplace. This refers to biased outcomes that can happen when employers use AI systems, or “automated decision tools” (ADTs), as a substantial factor in making consequential decisions such as whether to hire, promote, or discipline. According to the White House, “Algorithmic discrimination occurs when automated systems contribute to unjustified different treatment or impacts disfavoring people based on their race, color, ethnicity, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, gender identity, intersex status, and sexual orientation), religion, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by law.”

We will summarize the status, applicability, and provisions of various U.S. state- and local-level bills proposing to regulate algorithmic discrimination that are actively pending or passed as of the date of this article’s publication below.Continue Reading Employers beware: AI-based workplace discrimination laws are coming to the U.S.

On August 20, 2024, Northern District of Texas Judge Ada Brown barred the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) rule banning non-competes from taking effect. The rule, which proposed to ban virtually all existing and future non-compete agreements across the U.S., and was scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024, is now effectively blocked.

Judge Brown reasoned that the FTC’s non-compete ban constituted an unlawful agency action, stating that the FTC lacks the authority to ban practices it deems unfair methods of competition by adopting substantive rules. Specifically, Judge Brown concluded that:

the FTC lacks statutory authority to promulgate the Non-Compete Rule, and that the Rule is arbitrary and capricious. Thus, the FTC’s promulgation of the Rule is an unlawful agency action . . .[The rule] is hereby SET ASIDE and shall not be enforced or otherwise take effect on September 4, 2024, or thereafter.”

Continue Reading Texas federal court strikes down FTC non-compete rule

On August 28, 2024, New York State’s new law governing workplace-related contracts with freelancer workers – known as the Freelance Isn’t Free Act (FIFA) – will take effect. FIFA is designed to protect freelancers, i.e., independent contractors, from non-payment, late payment, and retaliation by hiring parties. It also imposes new requirements on hiring parties to provide written contracts, timely payment, and recordkeeping for freelance workers.

Background

In 2016, New York City enacted its own Freelance Isn’t Free Act, which was one of the first laws in the country to provide protections and remedies for freelance workers (and which we detailed here). The state law largely mirrors the city law, but with some key differences. For example, the state law excludes certain categories of workers from its coverages, including sales representatives, attorneys, licensed medical professionals, and construction contractors.Continue Reading How to prepare for New York State’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act

On May 7, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a final regulatory rule that, if it takes effect as planned, which is currently scheduled for September 4, 2024, would invalidate and ban virtually all non-compete agreements in the U.S. Following publication of the rule in the Federal Register, legal challenges were promptly filed in Texas and Pennsylvania federal courts (another challenge was filed in Florida federal court in June). Motions seeking to preliminarily enjoin the final rule from taking effect followed, with the petitioners in each case arguing, among other things, that the FTC lacks authority to issue substantive rules concerning workplace non-compete agreements and, also, that the FTC did not sufficiently tailor the rule to the claimed purpose underlying it (by essentially issuing a blanket non-compete ban).Continue Reading What should U.S. businesses be doing right now concerning the FTC’s non-compete rule?