On November 17, 2023, Governor Kathy Hochul signed SB 4516, an amendment to N.Y. General Obligations Law §5-336 that prohibits liquidated damages clauses in nondisclosure provisions of settlement agreements involving discrimination, harassment or retaliation claims, and adds additional protections for individuals alleging such claims. The amendment applies to agreements signed on or after November 17, 2023.
Continue Reading New Law in New York State Impacts Settlement Agreements
The Supreme Court has released its decision in the case of Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland v Agnew. The Court decided that, with respect to a series of unlawful deductions, a gap of more than three months, or a correct payment, will not automatically break the chain in a series of deductions.
Continue Reading UK Supreme Court Ruling: A Look at the Changes to a Series of Unlawful Deductions
Hot on the heels of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) proposal for a complete ban on non-competes, the UK Government has announced its intention to limit the length of non-compete clauses to three months.
Continue Reading Major Changes Proposed to Non-Competes in the UK
Starting January 1, 2024, a new Illinois law will require employers in the greater Chicago metropolitan area with 50 or more covered employees within one mile of a fixed-route public transit service to provide their full-time employees with pre-tax public transit benefits. This type of benefit program allows eligible employees to elect pre-tax reductions from their pay to purchase transit passes for use in commuting to and from work. Transit passes covered by the program include fare cards and passes for public transportation.
Continue Reading New Law Requires Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area Employers to Provide Pre-Tax Transit Benefits
In 2023, New York State and New York City amended several labor and employment laws about which employers should be aware to ensure that their policies and procedures remain compliant. For more detailed information, check out the article here.
Continue Reading New York State and City Labor and Employment Updates
On October 4, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 616, amending California’s statewide paid sick and safe leave law. Effective January 1, 2024, this amendment increases paid leave hours for employees and accrual amounts and provides some protections for employees covered by certain collective bargaining agreements.
Continue Reading California Increases Requirements for Paid Sick Leave
On October 13, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 525, codifying Labor Code sections 1182.14 and 1182.15. The new law establishes five separate minimum wage schedules for all health care employees that will become effective June 1, 2024. The wage schedule departs from the general statewide $15.00 per hour minimum wage applicable to other hourly paid employees, except for restaurant workers who also recently received a minimum wage increase.
Continue Reading California Approves Minimum Wage Increase for Health Care Employees
With the assistance of California governor Gavin Newsom, fast food companies that supported a referendum to reverse the 2022 Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (“AB 257”) struck a deal with several labor unions, including the Service Employees International Union, to revise some of AB 257’s most controversial provisions. In exchange for an agreement on this new bill (“AB 1228”), fast food companies agreed to withdraw the referendum that was set for a vote in 2024.
Continue Reading California Fast Food Workers Look Forward to Pay Increases
Under UK data protection legislation, individuals, also called “data subjects”, have the right to make a data subject access request (DSAR) to organisations that “process” their personal data. Similar rights are required by both the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act. Amongst other things, as part of a DSAR, data subjects can expect to receive a copy of their personal data.
Continue Reading A Rise in DSARs: Why Can Data Subject Access Requests Be Such a Burden?
On Wednesday, August 30, 2023, the National Labor Board (“NLRB” or “the Board”) issued a pair of decisions—Wendt Corp., 372 NLRB No. 135, and Tecnocap LLC, 372 NLRB No. 136—that highlight the Board’s continued focus on increasing the power of organized labor and limiting employer authority. The Wendt and Tenocap decisions overturn Raytheon Network Centric Systems, 365 NLRB No. 161, and Mike-Sell Potato Chip Co., 368 NLRB No. 145, which allowed employers to unilaterally change employees’ working conditions (during an initial contract negotiating period or while a new contract is being negotiated) so long as such changes were “similar in kind and degree” to the employer’s past practice (i.e., one that happened with “such regularity and frequency” that workers could expect it to happen again).
Continue Reading NLRB Continues to Rewrite the Rules to Limit Employers’ Authority