Combining the views of 600 senior in-house lawyers at multinational companies across four continents with the insights of Baker McKenzie experts in tax, employment and antitrust, the 7th Edition of our Global Disputes Forecast helps in-house counsel see around corners as they prepare for 2024. The forecast includes detailed predictions for disputes involving ESG, cybersecurity

Tracking and complying with federal, state, and local wage and hour requirements has long been top of mind for employer as wage and hour liability continues to be one of the most expense employment law risks. Indeed, in 2022, the 10 largest reported settlements for wage and hour actions totaled $574 million.

Currently, in

In this 75-minute “quick hits” style session, our team reviewed the challenges we helped California employers overcome in 2023 and the key legislative changes coming in 2024.

Among other topics, we discussed:

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  • 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

    Our colleagues in Latin America prepared a succinct briefing of the most impactful recent employment law changes in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru. From changes to teleworking rules to greater obligations related to family leave, outsourcing and more, there’s a lot to keep up with.

    Click here to access our heat map

    Together we navigated operational challenges caused by the pandemic, and together we will weather this. What follows is information and practical advice for employers concerned with satisfying their payroll obligations in the near term in the face of their bank falling into receivership.

    • Identify the “universe” of employment-related expenses. This will include payroll, benefits, bonus and commission comp, insurance, and severance obligations.
    • Understand that liability for unpaid wages can be significant. For example, liability in California includes:
      • Back payment of any unpaid wage amounts that employees prove they were legally entitled to.
      • Interest of up to 10% of the unpaid wages.
      • Penalties for late payment of wages equal to: (i) $100 for the first violation; and (ii) for each subsequent violation, $200 plus 25% of the amount unlawfully withheld. Penalties may apply for each pay period that wages remain unpaid.
      • If any employees leave the company after the payday date, the company can be liable for waiting time penalties for late payment of final wages. Waiting time penalties are equal to 1 day’s wages for each day an employee’s final wages are unpaid, up to a maximum penalty of 30 days’ wages.
      • Companies may be required to pay employees’ attorney’s fees if the employees prevail in litigation.
      • Criminal liability for wage theft if the act is “intentional.” Felony cases are punishable by up to 3 years in prison.  

    Continue Reading Navigating Fallout From a Bank Receivership | Practical Tips for US Employers

    California employers may soon need to rethink and revise their time-rounding policies–even if they’re neutral. In Camp v. Home Depot, USA, the California Supreme Court is set to weigh in on whether, under California law, employers may use neutral time-rounding practices to calculate employees’ work time for purposes of paying wages. A decision limiting or prohibiting the practice could require major changes to common timekeeping practices for payroll purposes, so employers–especially those engaging in time rounding–will want to keep a close eye on developments.

    Here’s what’s happened so far, and what employers should do now.Continue Reading Is Time Rounding Over for California Employers? The California Supreme Court Will Weigh In

    Join us for an in-person event with special guest, EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling

    Commissioner Sonderling is recognized for his thought leadership on inclusive AI. He is at the forefront of advocating for rational AI enforcement that meets the mandate of equality without disrupting innovation. He has noted the value of learning the perspectives of innovators

    California employers will need to review and confirm their employees’ exempt status and non-exempt hourly wage rates before the start of the new year because of an unusual change in the statewide minimum wage applicable to all California employees.

    On July 27, 2022, the California Director of the Finance Department sent a letter to Governor

    Summer in Chicago always brings welcome change, but the end of the Illinois legislative session in the spring can mean a flurry of new obligations in the summer for Illinois employers. This year is no exception. We highlight five changes Illinois employers should be aware of as they prepare their workforce for this summer and beyond.

    1. The Illinois CROWN Act makes workplace hair discrimination illegal

    On June 29, 2022, Governor Pritzker signed the Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair Act (“CROWN Act”) into law, banning race-based hair discrimination by employers in Illinois. Specifically, the CROWN Act, which is effective January 1, 2023, expands the definition of “race” under the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) to include “traits associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists.” Though a similar law, Illinois SB 817, was signed into law in August 2021, it only prohibited schools from issuing policies on hairstyles historically associated with race or ethnicity. The CROWN Act, expands the protection by prohibiting race-based hair discrimination in employment, housing, financial transactions and public accommodations.

    Illinois and 16 other states (including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington) and several municipalities have enacted similar CROWN laws. In addition, the US House of Representatives passed a federal CROWN Act in March of this year which would make hair discrimination illegal in all 50 states if passed, but the bill has not yet been approved by the Senate.

    What should Illinois employers do now?

    Illinois employers should:

    • Revise employee handbooks, with a particular focus on grooming policies, to ensure they emphasize compliance under the CROWN Act.
    • Train managers / supervisors, HR and employees on the CROWN Act to mitigate the possibility of race-based hair or trait discrimination under the CROWN Act and other applicable anti-discrimination laws.
    1. New sexual harassment prevention obligations for Chicago employers

    On April 27, 2022, the Chicago City Council passed Substitute Ordinance 2022-665, amending the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance and creating new obligations for Chicago employers relating to sexual harassment prevention. The amendments became effective July 1, 2022.

    Here are the key changes Chicago employers need to know:

    New written policy requirements

    Employers must have a written policy prohibiting sexual harassment as of July 1, 2022. The written policy must include:

    • The definition of sexual harassment in Section 6-10-020, which has been revised to specifically include sexual misconduct: “any (i) unwelcome sexual advances or unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature; or (ii) requests for sexual favors or conduct of a sexual nature when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment, or (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for any employment decision affecting the individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment; or (iii) sexual misconduct, which means any behavior of a sexual nature which also involves coercion, abuse of authority, or misuse of an individual’s employment position.”
    • A statement that sexual harassment is illegal in Chicago, as well as a statement that retaliation for reporting sexual harassment is illegal in Chicago.
    • Examples of sexual harassment.
    • Details on how an employee can report an allegation of sexual harassment, including, as appropriate, instructions on how to make confidential reports (with an internal complaint form) to managers, corporate headquarters, human resources, or other internal reporting processes.
    • Information about legal services, including governmental agencies, available to employees who may be victims of sexual harassment.

    The written policy must be made available to employees within their first calendar week of starting employment, in the employee’s primary language.

    The Chicago Commission on Human Relations (the “Commission”) has provided model sexual harassment policies in several languages on its website.

    New training requirements

    The written policy also must include a requirement that all employees participate in annual sexual harassment prevention training–and employers are required to mandate their employees participate in the trainings beginning July 1, 2022, meaning that by June 30, 2023 all employees must receive their first round of required annual training. Specifically:

    • All employees must participate in a minimum of one hour of sexual harassment prevention training annually
    • Supervisors / managers must participate in a minimum of two hours of sexual harassment prevention training annually
    • All employees must also participate in a minimum of one hour of bystander training annually

    The State of Illinois model sexual harassment prevention training program, which provides one hour of training, is sufficient for the sexual harassment prevention training for employees. In addition, training templates and materials for the additional hour of training (for supervisors / managers) and for the hour of bystander training have been made available to employers on the Commission’s website.

    New notice requirements

    Effective July 1, 2022, all employers are required to conspicuously display–in at least one location where employees commonly gather–posters, both in English and in Spanish, designed by the Commission about the prohibitions on sexual harassment. The posters are available for download on the Commission’s website.

    Recordkeeping requirements

    Employers must keep a record of the employer’s written policy prohibiting sexual harassment, trainings given to each employee, and records demonstrating compliance for at least five years–or for the duration of any claim, civil action, or pending investigation relating to the law, whichever is longer. If employers fail to maintain the records, a presumption is created that the employer is in violation of the law (rebuttable only by clear and convincing evidence).

    Longer statute of limitations, longer notification period for the Commission, and penalties

    Employees now have a 365 day statute of limitations (instead of 300 days) to report all forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment. In addition, after receiving a report of an alleged violation, the Commission has 30 days to notify a respondent (increased from 10 days)–which, according to outreach materials on the amendments, is intended to mitigate retaliation such as denial of a reasonable accommodation request.

    Any employer who violates the written policy, training or notice requirements is subject to a fine of between $500-$1000 per day, per offense.

    What should Chicago employers should do now?

    • Review sexual harassment prevention training programs for timing and content to ensure they comply with the new law.
    • Determine rollout procedures to ensure all employees receive training before June 30, 2023.
    • Train HR on the new amendments, including recordkeeping requirements.
    • Visit the Commission’s website for helpful model materials.

    Continue Reading Illinois Employer Summer Checklist: 5 Recent Changes You Should Know