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On April 9, 2018, the Ninth Circuit issued its decision in Rizo v. Yovino and affirmed that prior salary, alone or in combination with other factors, cannot justify a wage differential between male and female employees. Judge Stephen Reinhardt, who died unexpectedly in late March, authored the  ruling. Known as the “Liberal Lion” of the federal judiciary in California, Judge Reinhardt also overturned bans on same-sex marriage and physician-assisted suicide and declared prison overcrowding unconstitutional.

Continue Reading The “Liberal Lion’s” Last Opinion Says Salary History Can’t Justify Wage Differentials

We are pleased to present The Global Employer Magazine 2018 Horizon Scanner. Our easy-to-digest overview of global and regional trends and developments in global employer and labor law is designed to help equip you for the year ahead.

In this issue, we feature:

  • A global overview of the key trends and developments impacting global employers including nationalism and mobility, the gender pay gap, the rise of the modern workforce
  • Regional checklists for the year ahead and data privacy compliance
  • Regional outlooks looking at how the trending global employment law issues are playing out across Asia Pacific, EMEA, Latin America and North America

Click here to download.

Join us for a breakfast briefing on March 27 in Palo Alto for an update on the latest trends and regulations impacting multinational employers in Latin America. Hear from leading practitioners in five key LATAM jurisdictions – Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela – as we address hot topics that employers are facing right now including:

  • Managing a modern workforce, from contingent workers to outsourcing service models
  • Addressing the gender pay gap, including gender pay legislation and expectations
  • Complying with changes in termination and anti-harassment legislation
  • Predicting the impact of new leadership in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela
  • Preparing for significant labor reform in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico
  • and more!

Click here more details, including how to register.

Jordan Kirkness and Susan MacMillan in our Toronto office report that the government of Ontario announced yesterday that it will introduce new legislation to require certain employers to track and publish their compensation information.

The proposed legislation is part of the province’s initiative to advance women’s economic status and create more equitable workplaces (the initiative is titled “Then Now Next: Ontario’s Strategy for Women’s Economic Empowerment”). Yesterday’s announcement comes on the heels of last week’s budget plan in which the Canadian federal government outlined proposed proactive pay equity legislation that would apply to federally regulated employers — see here for our article on the proposed federal legislation.

For more on Ontario’s new pay transparency legislation, see here.

In our latest podcast, Baker McKenzie partner Carole Spink introduces Lois Rodriguez from Madrid to talk about employment laws in Spain and give an overview of what changed in 2017 as well as what we can expect for the year ahead.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Continued debate on the treatment of permanent versus temporary workers, including the issue of severance entitlements
  2. Debate on requirement to track hours – different obligations for part-and full-time employees
  3. Increased attention to gender pay issues and more generally equal pay rights
  4. EU trade secret directive offers greater opportunities to protect trade secret + the importance of being proactive to benefit from this protection
  5. Implementation of GDPR which goes into effect in May 2018 – companies should make sure they comply with the new data privacy obligations

Download now on iTunes | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn | Google Play.

In our latest podcast, Baker McKenzie partner Ben Ho introduces Monica Kurnatowska to talk about employment laws in the UK and give an overview of what changed in 2017 as well as what we can expect for the year ahead.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Brexit – UK employment rights will generally be unaffected in the short term, but there is concern from nationals from other EU states about their right to remain, despite attempt to re-assure them by the government
  2. Gig economy – closer scrutiny on misclassification of workers
  3. Gender pay gap – companies with 250 or more employee in GB, are required to publish key data points relating to the difference in pay between men and women

Download now on iTunes | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn | Google Play.

We put our heads together to come up with some predictions for 2018.

Read the Horizon Scanner for more details but, in a nutshell, we predict:

  1. Multiplying statutory obligations aimed at closing the gender pay gap
  2. A push to become data-privacy compliant before GDPR is effective May 25, 2018
  3. Growing paid leave benefits for families around the globe
  4. A renewed focus to protect company assets globally
  5. Consistent deal growth with a particular bent towards “insourcing” arrangements

Click HERE to get the full picture!

Our Baker McKenzie colleagues in our London office just shared their January 2018 Employment Law Update. Find it HERE.

Highlights include:

  • Increases to statutory payments for time off work
  • Tribunal claims: volume of claims increasing following abolition of tribunal fees
  • Brexit: proposed technical changes to employment laws published
  • Gender pay gap reporting: pressure on employers increases as government indicates that it will publish details of employers who have not yet registered on the government website

For more information, please contact your Baker McKenzie lawyer.

You’re invited to our live Annual California Employer Update on December 14 in Millbrae, California to discuss the adventures ahead for California employers.

Join us as we sit around the proverbial campfire to discuss the most significant legal developments in 2017 and how to prepare for 2018.

Covered topics will include:

  • New wage and hour updates
  • California’s new salary history ban and what it means for recruiting
  • New transgender protections and guidelines for preventing workplace harassment
  • California’s new statewide ban-the-box law
  • Immigration changes affecting California employers
  • And much more!

We will also share a few international trends, such as:

  • The spread of global gender pay gap reporting regulations
  • New data privacy regulations in the EU effective in 2018
  • Pitfalls to avoid in outsourcing projects
  • What to know about protecting company trade secrets globally

See the invite and RSVP HERE!

On October 12, 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a landmark new law barring California employers — and their agents — from inquiring about applicants’ previous salaries and benefits.

The law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2018.

Here are 3 steps to take now to prepare:

  1. Remove all salary questions from hiring forms (including job applications, candidate questionnaires and background check forms)
  2. Update interviewing and negotiating policies and procedures
  3. Train recruiting, hiring managers and interviewers on the new law to include instructions regarding the importance of ensuring that candidates are not pressured (even indirectly) to disclose salary history and how to respond to requests for pay scale information

Read more here and reach out to your Baker McKenzie lawyer for more details.