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The  UK government has announced that due to the continuing impact of the pandemic, the gender pay gap reporting deadline for the 2020/21 reporting period will be extended by six months to October 5, 2021 for qualifying employers in the private sector. Employers are, however, encouraged to report their figures before the deadline.

The reporting requirement for the 2019/20 period was suspended last year due to the pandemic and the government has confirmed that there is no requirement to report on those figures at all.

With thanks to James Brown, Rachel Farr and Mandy Li for this post.

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[T]he reason diversity and inclusion and equity of thought drives innovation and creativity is because innovation and creativity aren’t born out of sameness, they’re born out of differences; but people will not share their differences unless they experience belonging.”

Ritu Bhasin

In this video, Baker McKenzie’s Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, Anna Brown, moderates a discussion with Ritu Bhasin (author and globally-recognized expert in diversity and inclusion), Kimberly Kam (Director, Corporate Counsel, Starbucks) and Monica Kurnatowska (Baker McKenzie Employment Partner) examining how companies can expand initiatives to advance diversity and inclusion within their organization.

Click here to watch to the video.

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We recently published an update to our 50-state Shelter-In-Place / Reopening Tracker.

Please see HERE. This is updated weekly.

For your convenience, here is a summary of the major updates from around the country:

  • The following jurisdictions extended their state-wide orders and/or the duration of the current phase of their reopening plans: Alabama, Colorado, Illinois and Kentucky.
  • The following jurisdictions eased restrictions and/or advanced to the next phase of their reopening plan: Arizona, California, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania South Carolina and Texas.

For more information, please contact your Baker McKenzie attorney.

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The CDC has issued long-awaited guidance on what fully vaccinated individuals can and can’t do, in the workplace and elsewhere. On March 8, 2021, the CDC issued its Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People, its first set of public health recommendations for fully vaccinated people. On the same day, the CDC posted an accompanying webpage entitled “When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated,” detailing what has and hasn’t changed for people who are fully vaccinated.

What should employers keep top-of-mind given this new guidance?

  1. Fully vaccinated employees who have been exposed to COVID-19 do not need to quarantine if they are asymptomatic

According to the CDC, employees are considered fully vaccinated:

  • 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series (like the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines), or
  • 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine (like Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine).

Fully vaccinated employees who have been exposed to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 but who are asymptomatic do not need to quarantine or be tested for COVID-19 following the exposure, because risk of infection is low in a fully vaccinated person.

However, the CDC recommends fully vaccinated employees who do not quarantine still monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days following an exposure. If they experience symptoms, they should follow standard protocol: isolate themselves from others, be clinically evaluated for COVID-19 (including being tested for the virus, if indicated), and they should inform their health care provider of their vaccination status.

Continue Reading The CDC Issues Guidance for Fully Vaccinated People

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Special thanks to guest contributors John Evason and Monica Kurnatowska.

The pandemic instantly proved that remote work is possible for a large swath of workers, but also brought a sharp focus on issues such as mental well-being, team engagement, productivity, data privacy and cybersecurity risks, and much more.

Simultaneously, as businesses were trying to adapt to Covid-19 and the practical and economic challenges that came with it, the horrific killing of George Floyd triggered one of the most profound moments of the year, bringing the Black Lives Matter movement to the forefront, along with demands for universal justice and equality.

Given these dramatic changes, leading multinational organizations are rethinking the meaning of modern employment. In the fall of 2020, we surveyed 250 human resources directors and employment legal counsel to discover how Covid-19 is accelerating change for multinational employers.

Click here to continue reading this article.

Originally featured in Bloomberg Law.

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As vaccines become more readily available in the US, employers have lots of questions about how this changes the return to the workplace. Here, our Labor and Employment attorneys discuss the vaccine policies and procedures that multinational companies are adopting, as well as the legal and practical considerations to address.

Click here to watch the video.

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Special thanks to our guest contributor, Teresa Michaud.

In this Quick Chat video, our Employment and Litigation attorneys discuss Baker McKenzie’s US 50 State Shelter-in-Place/Reopening Tracker. This resource is updated weekly and identifies relevant state-wide and local orders and their related expiration dates, as well as reopening plans and a quick reference “What’s Open” table for each of the 50 states plus Washington, D.C. Our brochure highlights key areas of expertise where we can support your business’s tracking and reopening plans.

Click here to watch the video.

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Special thanks to our guest contributors Matthew Gorman and Cristina Messerschmidt.

In this Mobility Minute, our Immigration and Data Privacy lawyers will be looking at the issue of data privacy, or lack thereof, at US ports of entry, including international airports. We will review a recent court decision that appears to further minimize protections for travelers entering the United States, as well as consider what can be done to protect sensitive data, if anything, and how a potential COVID vaccination chip and app could play into the mix.

Click here to listen to the Mobility Minute on demand.

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Special thanks to our guest contributors David Serwer and Alessandra Faso.

In this Mobility Minute, our Global Immigration and Mobility attorneys discuss the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform given the introduction of the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, as well as the Biden Administration’s choice of immigration as its first major legislative battle after the COVID relief bill. The Act includes an eight year path to citizenship, relief for DREAMERS, and reforms to our asylum system which have made headlines, but the Act also proposes meaningful changes to the employment-based immigration system in the United States.

Click here to listen to the Mobility Minute on demand.

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Special thanks to our guest contributor Daniel Urdiain.

In this Mobility Minute, Daniel Urdiain of our Mexico Global Immigration and Mobility practice explores the continuing challenges for those submitting immigration filings in Mexico City, as well as the current alternatives to conclude the process in the shortest amount of time.

Click here to listen to the Mobility Minute on demand.