January 2, 2024 By: Leah Lively and Alexandra Shulman It is a new year, which means new employment laws for employers in the Pacific Northwest. The following is a brief overview of significant new laws and changes for Washington and Oregon employers (all effective January 1, 2024). Washington Increased Minimum Wage: The Washington state minimum wage is now $16.28 per hour. Local minimum wage rates are higher: The Seattle minimum wage is now $19 ...
Enhanced obligations for the employer in reorganizations and redundancies From January 1, 2024, certain employer obligations that previously applied to each separate company will now extend to all companies within a corporate group. The legislative changes mandate that the employer is obliged to consider (and offer to the employee) other suitable work throughout the group, even if the employee is not formally employed in any of the other companies within the group ...
Employment Tribunals have a duty to make reasonable adjustments where a participant is disadvantaged, for example due to disability, to ensure fairness in proceedings. We share our recent experiences of how the Tribunals apply this duty in practice ...
On December 13th, 2023, the Chilean Congress approved a bill that modifies the Labor Code regarding prevention, investigations and sanctioning of sexual harassment, workplace harassment and violence in the workplace (hereinafter, the “Law”). Companies subject to the new regulations The Law is applicable to all companies, regardless of their size. The Law also includes regulations applicable to the State Administration and its multiple agencies ...
The Home Office have released a Statement of Changes which includes changes to be made to the rules for visitors coming to the UK, particularly in relation to their permitted activities. On 7 December 2023, the Home Office released Statement of Changes HC 246 with various changes to the Immigration Rules to be implemented prior to the end of January 2024 ...
In an increasingly unpredictable climate, adverse weather can prevent employees from attending the workplace on time, or at all. Here, we discuss what employers can do to mitigate the effect of adverse weather on their business ...
The government has produced draft regulations which will make further changes to holiday laws in Great Britain. We look at what is planned and what it means for employers. The government has been reviewing which European Union laws to retain and has taken that opportunity to consult about changes to holiday pay, resulting in the publication of draft regulations. We look at what is planned and what it means for employers ...
It is highly documented that the transport sector is heavily male dominated. Indeed, reports suggest that while women account for 47% of the general UK workforce, within the transport sector women only account for 20% of the workforce and only 3% of HGV drivers in the UK. Many employers are aware of the work that needs to be done in this sector in terms of addressing and challenging behaviours, changing mindsets and creating inclusive cultures ...
Over the last three years, the U.S. Department of Justice has pursued its first-ever criminal antitrust cases targeting alleged deals between companies to avoid poaching each other's employees and to fix wages. In total, the DOJ has brought six cases. Four resulted in acquittals, while just one case yielded guilty pleas. Last month, the DOJ voluntarily dismissed its sixth and last case without explanation. A number of lessons can be drawn from this wave of labor-market prosecutions ...
This article explores the reasons why sickness absence and mental health issues may rise among employees during the festive period and what employers can do to support their employees during this time. Christmas is traditionally an exciting time of year, but the colder weather and shorter nights can cause lower mood for a lot of people. When feeling low, people can also be more susceptible to illness, picking up unwanted coughs and colds which leaves them feeling even lower ...
Winter can be a hectic time of year, with stress levels heightened by frantic planning for the festive season and employers may be overwhelmed by annual leave requests. How can employers keep employees happy while balancing the needs of the workplace? Annual leave requests Most employees are likely to request time off during the winter months to spend time with family and friends, especially where this aligns with school holiday periods, religious festivals and national bank holidays ...
The new Home Secretary, James Cleverly, announced a five-point plan aimed at reducing the recently announced record high net-migration figures. The planned changes will have a big impact on many employers’ ability to sponsor workers from overseas. The changes will be brought into force in the Spring, although an exact date has yet to be confirmed. The Government estimate that these changes will reduce net migration by 300,000 (based on estimations of new entrants to the UK last year) ...
The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 (“Act”) was enacted to encourage private employers in Haryana to boost local employment. The Act was called upon for application from January 15, 2022, for a period of 10 years. The constitutionality of the Act was challenged in multiple writ petitions before the Punjab & Haryana High Court (“Court”). The Court stayed the implementation of the Act on February 3, 2022 ...
December 1, 2023 By: Leah Lively California Business and Professional Code sections 16600 to 16607 already invalidate agreements restricting California employees from pursuing any lawful profession, trade, or business, with limited exceptions mainly in the sale of businesses. Starting January 1, 2024, things are going to get more difficult (and potentially costly) for employers ...
Workplace Christmas parties are just around the corner. While such celebrations are a great opportunity to strengthen team spirit and acknowledge everyone?s hard work, it is important to remember that it is not only up to employers to make sure they run smoothly?their entire workforces, managers and employees alike, are also responsible. Just think of potential situations of harassment where alcohol and fun times are combined ...
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently published revised figures showing that net migration figures for the year ending 2022 were in fact much higher than initially expected. You may remember our previous article published in June 2023 regarding increases to net migration figures released by the ONS; Net migration figures continue to increase, according to ONS ...
