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In “Brazil’s new equal pay law: closing the gap,” partners Clarissa Lehmen and Leticia Ribeiro discuss how Brazil’s new law on equal pay puts pressure on local employers to proactively address gender equality issues within their organizations.

Read on to see how the new law introduces stricter penalties for discrimination, establishes a reporting obligation for companies with 100 or more employees, and will likely result in increased inspections from labor authorities.

Click here to continue reading; the article was originally published in the Latin Lawyer.

*Trench Rossi Watanabe and Baker McKenzie have executed a strategic cooperation agreement for consulting on foreign law.

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With special thanks to co-presenters Daniel Urdiain, Pamela Mafuz and Ludmilla Maurer.

In our latest Global Immigration and Mobility Video chat, our on-the-ground immigration and mobility attorneys in the US, Mexico, Spain and Germany explore digital nomad visas by providing a brief overview of the requirements, process, tax and social security consequences, what should employers watch out for, and other considerations and options.  

Click here to view the video.

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The global economic environment has resulted in many multinational companies turning to cross-border carve-out transactions as they refocus on their core business competencies and dispose of non-strategic product and service lines. These transactions, particularly those involving separating an integrated business division from the rest of a global company across dozens of jurisdictions, are complex and difficult and require careful planning and execution.

In Series 3 of our Cross-Border Transaction Insights video series, we discuss the critical considerations and issues companies engaged in carve-out transactions need to address before, during and post-closing. Employment & Compensation Partner Liz Ebersole explores the key employment and benefits considerations buyers and sellers should proactively address during the transaction lifecycle.

To watch the latest episode and learn more about the full series, click here.

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The current increase in market volatility and heightened regulatory scrutiny has made for a treacherous landscape for multinational employers, and we’re here to help. Join us on October 18th in our New York office to connect on cutting-edge Employment & Compensation issues with a series of panel discussions, presentations and peer roundtables discussing the most pressing issues for multinational employers—including the evolving landscape of restrictive covenants, the importance of equity in ensuring pay equity, and the fluctuating state of M&A.

Join us after for a networking reception and an exclusive tour of the iconic New York Public Library that is not to be missed!

Review the session lineup and register here.

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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.

Here are five significant ways the proposed regulations could change how US employers accommodate pregnant workers and those with “related medical conditions”:

Continue Reading 5 Ways the Proposed Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Regs Might Catch US Employers By Surprise
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In Raines v. U.S. Healthworks Medical Group, the California Supreme Court expanded the definition of an “employer” under the state’s discrimination statute to include certain third-party business entities that perform employment-related functions on behalf of employers. These agents may now be deemed “employers” such that they can be directly liable for employment discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act for certain activities that they carry out on behalf of employers.

Overview of Raines

The Raines‘ plaintiffs were job applicants who received offers of employment that were conditioned on the successful completion of pre-employment medical screenings conducted by a third-party company that used automated decision-making. Plaintiffs alleged that the screening form contained intrusive questions regarding their medical history that violated FEHA. They brought claims against their employers, as well as the third-party provider that conducted the medical screening. The question for the Court was whether business entities acting as agents of an employer, can be considered “employers” under FEHA and held directly liable for FEHA violations caused by their actions.

The Court examined the plain language in FEHA’s definition of “employer” and concluded that the definition did indeed encompass third-party corporate agents like the medical provider in his case. FEHA defines an employer as “any person regularly employing five or more persons, or any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly.” Here, the Court reasoned, recognizing the medical provider as an agent of the employer extended liability to the company most directly responsible for the FEHA violation.

Continue Reading Automated Decision-Making and AI: California Expands FEHA Liability to Include Third-Party Business Agents of Employers
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Special thanks to our Baker McKenzie speakers Danielle Benecke and Ben Allgrove, and Industry Experts Ashley Pantuliano, Associate General Counsel, OpenAI, Julian Tsisin, Global Legal & Compliance Technology, Meta, Janel Thamkul, Deputy General Counsel, Anthropic, and Suneil Thomas, Managing Counsel, Google Cloud AI.

Baker McKenzie is pleased to invite you to an afternoon exploring the legal ramifications of the AI Revolution on October 10.
  
Following an interactive keynote discussion with our in-house panelists, leading Baker McKenzie AI lawyers will address the cutting edge legal and regulatory issues impacting companies now. 

After our substantive discussions, we invite you to join us for a cocktail reception on the patio from 5:00 – 6:00 pm.

Date:

Tuesday, October 10

Time:
Program 3:00 to 5:00 pm
Cocktails 5:00 to 6:00 pm

NEW Location:
El Prado Hotel
520 Cowper St
Palo Alto, CA

View the invitation and click here to register.

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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. 

Overlap and City vs. State

Since November 1, 2022, per Local Law 32, New York City employers with four or more employees have been required to disclose in job postings – including those for promotion or transfer opportunities – the minimum and maximum salary offered for any position located within New York City or that “can or will be performed, in whole or in part, in New York City.”

The New York state law differs from the existing city law in several ways.

  • With the state law, companies are required to include a job description in the advertisement, if such a description exists. If a position will be paid solely in commissions, the advertisement must include a general statement to that effect.
  • The state law has a further reach, and applies to jobs that will “physically be performed” in New York as well as jobs performed outside of the state “report[ing] to a supervisor, office, or other work site in New York.” Thus, unlike the city law, the state law sweeps remote roles reporting into the state into its coverage.

Staying on Top of the Pay Transparency Trend

New York joins Colorado, Washington, California and Hawaii in requiring pay transparency. Illinois will join in 2025. A number of US cities and counties also have pay transparency legislation, and federal legislation is pending.

Outside the US, members states of the European Union must implement the EU Pay Transparency Directive by 2026, and we are tracking development on this significant obligation closely.

For a quick and easy way to stay on top of pay transparency obligations globally, we offer a fixed fee Global Pay Equity Compliance Compendium that monitors the legal pay equity requirements and forthcoming developments across 70+ jurisdictions (of which over 40 currently have transparency or reporting requirements). Please contact a member of our team for more information.

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On September 8, 2023, the Department of Labor announced publication of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees.

The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division is proposing to update and revise the Fair Labor Standards Act regulations implementing the minimum wage and overtime pay exemptions for executive, administrative, and professional employees. The proposed revisions include increasing the minimum salaries required to meet the “salary basis” and the highly compensated employee thresholds, as well as providing for automatic increases tied to national earnings data. Specifically, the proposed rules will increase the minimum salary for white collar exemptions from $35,568 to $55,068, and from $107,432 to $143,988 for the highly compensated employee exemption. 

The DOL believes these changes will make an additional 3.6 million workers eligible for overtime.

Timing and Next Steps

Publication of the Notice triggered the start of a 60-day public comment period. When the comment period ends on November 7, the DOL will take any comments received into account and publish final rules that should become effective 60-days after publication. As with the last proposed DOL rule implementing similar increases, we anticipate the DOL’s proposed rule will be challenged in court by business groups.

While the road to a Final Rule will take several months and faces the uncertainty of litigation, employers are nevertheless advised to evaluate the impact of the proposed changes on their US workforce and pay practices. In the meantime, we will continue to monitor developments and issue further updates on the proposed rule.

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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 of the regional regulatory landscape.

Special thanks to Carlos Felce, Tatiana Garces, Alberto Jose Gonzalez Torres, Rosario Lombera, Monica Pizarro, Leticia Ribeiro* and Andres Valdes for this information.

*Trench Rossi Watanabe and Baker McKenzie have executed a strategic cooperation agreement for consulting on foreign law.