The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has issued a final rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”). The final rule, which aims to provide clarity regarding the protections afforded to employees and duties imposed upon employers under the PWFA, is set to be published in the Federal Registrar on April 19, 2024. It will thereafter become effective on June 18, 2024, 60 days after its publication ...
18 – 24 March 2024 marked Neurodiversity Celebration Week, a week held annually which aims to challenge misconceptions regarding neurological differences. We look at what employers can do to improve neurodiversity support in the workplace going forward. Neurodiversity is an umbrella term which is used to describe alternative ways of thinking and learning and it includes conditions such as autism, dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) ...
The Sexism in the City inquiry was set up to establish what progress has been made in tackling sexism in the financial services sector. We discuss the findings and offer advice for those in the sector trying to navigate the current regulatory landscape. The financial services industry is crucial to the UK economy. It employs more than 2 ...
The Online Safety Act 2023 (the "OSA") became law on 26 October 2023 and will affect over 100,000 organisations. Here, we focus specifically on the overlaps between the OSA and data protection legislation, outlining the synergies (and differences) in key areas, together with some practical tips. This firm has been a consistent source of commentary and practical guidance on the new Online Safety Act 2023 (the ‘OSA’) ...
In recent years, a growing number of construc- tion companies have established employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs).1 The interest in an ESOP is often generated by the need for an exit strat- egy for one or more of the owners of a closely held business, a common scenario in the construction industry ...
2024 By: Melody Mohammadi Since their inception, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (“FIFA”) in 1904 and the Union of European Football Associations (“UEFA”) in 1955, football’s most important governing bodies, have aimed to promote fairness and act as representative democracies over arguably the most international sport to date ...
April 12, 2024 By: Charles Whiteman and Daniel C. Silva Friendship only goes so far, at least in the case of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani (“Ohtani”), and his former interpreter and de facto personal manger, Ippei Mizuhara (“Mizuhara”). On April 11, 2024, the U.S ...
We would like to remind you about ****important changes in migration legislation**** that affect the ****legal status of foreign nationals**** in the Russian Federation, including highly qualified specialists (“HQS”) ...
The Belgian Act on precontractual information obligations in commercial cooperation agreements included in Book X of the Belgian Code of Economic Law (“CEL”) requires that at least one month before entering into any commercial cooperation agreements (which includes franchise agreements) a pre-contractual information document (“PID”) and a draft of the agreement must be provided ...
The Bitcoin ‘halving’ event is rapidly approaching, anticipated to occur around the 19th or 20th of April. Currently, there’s an unprecedented level of attention on Bitcoin due to this event. So, what exactly does ‘halving’ entail, and why is there such a buzz surrounding it? The term itself evokes the intrigue of a suspenseful horror film, one that could be straight out of a Stephen King story ...
Watch the webinar video and study our key takeaway points from our latest webinar focused on avoiding illegal working and managing risk. Our 2024 webinar programme is focused on supporting HR teams to protect the employee brand proposition of the organisations they work for. Presented by our leading team of employment lawyers these sessions will equip you on how best to handle key risks that could undermine the organisation’s employee brand ...
The Government is consulting on legislative changes to introduce greater flexibility to access surplus funds in defined benefit pension schemes. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) opened consultation further to publishing a paper entitled “Options for defined benefit schemes” on 23 February 2024 ...
On April 1, 2024, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that its initial registration selection process, commonly known as the H-1B lottery, is complete. This means the USCIS has selected enough initial registrations to meet its numerical limit for both the standard H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemption, often referred to as the “master’s cap ...
Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (“PLESAs”) are a special retirement plan feature created under SECURE ACT 2.0. PLESAs were first permitted to be made available to participants as of January 1, 2024. PLESAs, which provide a flexible savings opportunity for non-highly compensated employees, can be added to certain defined contribution plans. New guidance regarding this option has been released, which may be of interest to employers and plan sponsors ...
Our third article in the series focusing on discrimination in the workplace, covers the protected characteristic of sex (gender). We discuss the current legal position, planned changes and suggested best practice for employers. What is sex discrimination? Sex discrimination occurs when someone is treated unfairly due to their gender. In the UK, it has been illegal for some time (subject to certain exceptions) with the law now incorporated into the Equality Act 2010 ...
Serco Leisure have been issued with an enforcement notice by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for unlawfully processing their employees’ biometric data through facial recognition technology and fingerprint scanning. What can we learn from this? With a rise in remote working as the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, there has been a proliferation of workplace monitoring ...
On December 4, 2023, New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed into law the New York City Council’s bill, Int 0569-2022 (the “City Law”). The bill, known as the “Workers’ Bill of Rights,” will require New York City employers to abide by certain notice and distribution requirements by July 1, 2024. The notice and distribution requirements will inform employees and independent contractors of their rights under federal, state, and local law ...
A new era for workers in the cultural sector 2024’s start has marked a decisive stage in the arts world. At the start of December 2023, the Commission du Travail des Arts/Arts Labour Commission (“Commission”) met for the first time at the Royal Flemish Theatre; this was vitally important for the sector’s workers as it marked the start of a new era with the long-awaited issue of “arts work certificates” from 1 January 2024 ...
April 2, 2024 By: Leah Lively and Alexandra Shulman On June 6, 2024, new amendments to Washington State’s noncompetition statute (RCW 49.62) will go into effect, which place further limitations on the use of noncompetition agreements in Washington. Substitute Senate Bill 5935 introduces several modifications to RCW 49.62 that Washington employers (and employers with Washington employees) should be aware of: Broader definition of “noncompetition covenant ...
From 1 April 2024, an employer establishing the termination of an employment contract for ‘medical force majeure’ will have to notify a new‘Back to Work Fund’ (Fund) set up within the National Institute for Sickness and Disability Insurance (RIZIV/INAMI)and pay a contribution of EUR 1,800 to this Fund. The incapacitated ex-employee can then call upon the Fund to receive a ‘voucher’ for specialised and customised services (e.g ...
Ministry of Labour: Employers may discipline employees for disclosing a colleague’s salary Earlier, we informed about the position of the GIT of the Nizhny Novgorod Region that if the employer’s ****local policy**** prohibits the ****disclosure**** of the ****salary**** of other employees, then employees who view another employee’s pay slip and disclose his/her salary may be ****disciplined**** ...
