Does your holiday wish list include CLE credit and a quick tutorial on what to expect in California labor and employment law next year?
Excellent!
2023 has been a year of dramatic change for California employers, but have
Effective February 6, 2024, all private employers in Texas will be prohibited from imposing or enforcing COVID-19 vaccine mandates as a condition of employment. While the practical impact of this new law may be limited, employers should still take note.
Newly-enacted SB 7 prohibits employers from adopting or enforcing a mandate requiring an employee
In 2023, we helped US employers overcome a host of new challenges across the employment law landscape. Many companies started the year with difficult cost-cutting decisions and hybrid work challenges. More recently, employers faced challenges around intense political discourse boiling over in the workplace. We’ve worked hard to keep our clients ahead of the curve on these
Happy Halloween from the EEOC! The federal agency’s 2022 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection is now open.
By way of reminder
Special thanks to co-authors Andrew Shaw, Dave Bushuev and our articling student Ravneet Minhas for sharing this update from Canada.
In the United States, there have been many union-friendly changes at the NLRB and a number of high profile strikes making headlines in 2023. Our neighbors to the north are also experiencing an uptick in union activity.
With pervasive inflation and an uncertain job market, many Canadians are emerging from the pandemic with bolder workforce demands. For example, in the spring of 2023, federal public servants made headlines with the largest strike in Canadian history. More recently, 3,000 Metro grocery store workers went on strike across Toronto, demanding higher wages. In mid-October 2023, GM narrowly averted significant disruptions to its operations by reaching a deal with Unifor, which represents 4,300 workers in Ontario.
Employers are rightly concerned about the potential for increased union activity, which can cause significant disruptions to operations. There are many things employers can do to stay union free, but it requires treading carefully because labour laws offer extensive protections to employees’ right to unionize. One wrong step by an employer can lead to penalties, fines, and potentially automatic certification.
The certification process formalizes the collective bargaining relationship. And, understanding how this process works and appreciating how quickly it can move forward is essential for developing an effective union avoidance strategy.
Generally speaking, the process for certification in Ontario involves three steps:
1. The Organizing Drive
In this first step, to the extent possible, the union will try to keep the organizing drive a secret. During this period, the union will typically attempt to gauge employee interest by having union representatives approach them inside or outside the workplace, as well as online, talking to them about any issues they may have with the workplace, and sharing union information with them. Most union organizing campaigns involve signing up employees as union members and collecting union membership cards. One way that unions target employers for a union drive is by obtaining the names, contact information, and/or home addresses of the employees of a certain workforce, which they use to send them propaganda.
Employers are often unaware that this step is occurring even though a union organizing drive can last for months (or, in some cases, even longer). It is important for management to have reliable sources in the workforce to advise them when a union drive is happening. Timing is critical here.Continue Reading Best Practices for Employers Amidst Signs of a Labor Union Resurgence in Canada
Employee handbooks are at the top of employers’ key priorities.
Why? The NLRB’s recent decision in Stericycle adopted a retroactive “employee friendly” standard for workplace rules, including those often included in handbooks. In addition, the new year often rings in new laws requiring changes to workplace policies often included in handbooks. And, the US Supreme
Recent and rapid artificial intelligence developments have captured public attention and much has been discussed around how organizations will need to prepare.
From an employment standpoint, the increasingly sophisticated potential for AI applications spans the entire employee lifecycle, from recruitment to onboarding, training and more.
In the second report in our Workforce Redesign: Outlooks
This August, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published proposed regulations to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which became effective June 27.
The new law requires covered employers to “provide reasonable accommodations to a qualified employee’s or applicant’s known limitation related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions,”
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently published proposed regulations to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (which became effective June 27, 2023). We covered the new law here, explaining how it requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to a qualified employee’s or applicant’s known limitation related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship.
The proposed regulations are open for public comment through October 10, 2023, and must be finalized and implemented by December 29, 2023. Although the proposed regulations could change after the commenting period, their current form offers perspective on how the EEOC believes the PWFA should be interpreted.
Effective September 17, employers with four or more employees in New York state must include a compensation range in all advertisements for new jobs, promotions and transfer opportunities. A pay transparency fact sheet and FAQ document are available on the NYSDOL website with additional information and guidance on the new law.
