Listen to this post

We’re excited to announce a new article authored by Jim Baker that was published in the Summer 2019 issue of the Benefits Law Journal.

In this article, Jim covers how the dramatic increase in the number of workers who are classified as independent contractors is changing how employers and workers interact, specifically the implications on employee benefit plans that are subject to ERISA.

To read the article, click here.

Listen to this post

Ian Goldin, Oxford University Professor and Director of the Oxford Martin Programme, discusses with Baker McKenzie’s Guenther Heckelmann how companies can adapt to rapid globalization and thrive in the age of discovery.

Watch the 5-minute video HERE.

Listen to this post

You may have been waiting with bated breath after we reported last month on the possible amendment to the Illinois Equal Pay Act. Well, at last Governor Pritzker put pen to paper, and the IEPA amendment will officially go into effect on September 29, 2019.

Continue Reading Illinois Becomes Latest To Ban Salary History Inquiries

Listen to this post

As detailed in prior posts, in January, the Illinois Supreme Court held that a plaintiff need not plead an actual injury beyond a per se statutory violation to state a claim for statutory liquidated damages or injunctive relief under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). While recent decisions applying BIPA have been largely Illinois-based, the Ninth Circuit recently applied BIPA in Patel v. Facebook to affirm a lower court’s ruling that plaintiffs in the ongoing Facebook BIPA class action alleged a concrete injury-in-fact to confer Article III standing and that the class was properly certified.

The Ninth Circuit is the first federal circuit court to conclude that a plaintiff alleging a BIPA violation has standing for purposes of Article III of the US Constitution. The ruling makes it easier for plaintiffs to certify BIPA class actions, within and outside of Illinois.  Continue Reading The Ninth Circuit Clears The Way For BIPA Class Actions

Listen to this post

The NLRB recently determined that merely discrediting an employer’s justification for a union activist’s termination (a pretext finding) could be insufficient to demonstrate the termination was unlawful. Electrolux Home Products, 368 NLRB No. 34 (2019). This outcome was preordained by the NLRB’s decision in Wright Line, 251 NLRB 1083 (1980) and was reinforced as an acceptable legal analysis by the Supreme Court in a decision under Title VII, St. Mary’s Honor Center v. Hicks, 509 US 502 (1993). The logic of the rule found its voice in ABF Freight Systems v. NLRB, 510 US 317 (1994) in which the Court determined it was permissible for the NLRB to order the reinstatement of an employee even after the employee lied under oath during the NLRB hearing, as to do otherwise, would “distract the Board” with collateral credibility disputes.

Continue Reading NLRB Holds Pretext Finding Standing Alone Insufficient

Listen to this post

We’re pleased to share a recent Bloomberg article authored by our colleagues, Benjamin Ho and Caroline Pham. Ben and Caroline examine what the next generation of workers, Generation Z, expect from and can offer employers.

To get ahead of the curve in preparing for the change that this new generation will bring, check out their informative article here.

Listen to this post

In June, Theresa May resigned as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, saying it was in the “best interests of the country for a new prime minister” to lead Britain through the Brexit process.

In July, Boris Johnson won the Conservative Party’s leadership and he became the Prime Minister of the UK on July 24, 2019. Johnson pledged that the UK will leave the EU on  October 31, “do or die,” accepting that a no-deal Brexit will happen if an agreement cannot be reached by then.

Johnson’s leadership is expected to have wide implications for how the United Kingdom will exit the European Union and the United Kingdom’s future immigration policy.

Following his appointment, Johnson appointed key cabinet members who will be responsible for driving forward his new Government’s policy on immigration. The Prime Minister will be asking the Migration Advisory Committee to create a plan based on the Australian points based model wherein the immigration criteria are set according to the wider needs of the economy.

For more detail, please see the alert from our UK Immigration & Mobility colleagues HERE.

Also:

Listen to this post

As of August 1, companies doing business in Mexico can anticipate that unions will move quickly to legitimize existing collective agreements under a new government-issued protocol. Among other steps, the process includes a vote by covered employees to determine whether they approve the terms of the agreement. Collective agreements must be legitimized by May 1, 2023 or they will be terminated.

For more detail about employer obligations, please read the alert HERE.

With thanks to our colleagues Salvador Pasquel, Liliana Hernandez and Carlos Martin del Campo Carrasco for this important update.

Listen to this post

In May, we gathered nearly 100 inspiring leaders and thinkers from the business and academic world to predict and plan for the future of work. We are delighted to share key messages and insights from our fourth Global Employer Forum in the link below.

However, in case you’re short on time, here’s the tldr:

We are in a period of unprecedented transformation, driven by technological development, globalization and significant demographic changes. Our world is hyper-connected, and the pace of change is rapid, bringing social and political transformation and creating profound global shifts in expectations. Global employers must evolve at speed to meet these disruptive forces head-on and to thrive in this future of work.

Continue Reading The Future Of Work: Insights From Our 2019 Global Employer Forum

Listen to this post

This article was originally published on Law360.com

Developed countries across the globe are increasingly adopting and augmenting paid family leave laws, seeing such laws as a “win-win” for both employers and employees. For employees, paid family leave laws allow new parents to bond with and care for their children in the stressful and crucial initial months of a child’s life. For employers, the theory goes, such leave allows employees to return to work recuperated from that same stressful period, in turn enhancing employee productivity and work satisfaction.

Click here to read more about:

  • New state and local paid family leave laws;
  • Proposed legislation for federal paid family leave in the US; and
  • Updates to paid family leave outside the US.

Don’t have time to read the article? Here’s the TLDR for multinational employers:

  • By way of reminder, the US still does not require employers to provide paid family leave after the birth or adoption of a child and is the only OECD country which does not provide such benefits, even for mothers. BUT – note that support for paid family leave on the federal level is quickly gaining steam. Stay tuned.
  • In the absence of a US federal system for paid family leave, in recent years, many states and municipalities have taken matters into their own hands and passed their own family leave laws. Complicating matters for multi-state employers, the laws typically have varying entitlements, obligations, employer contribution levels and funding mechanisms. The patchwork of state laws is obscured further by the passage of sick leave ordinances in municipalities across the country.
  • Many legislative changes outside the US in the past year are focused on increasing father and partner time away from work in effort to encourage families to more equally share child care duties between men and women.

Takeaways

  1. Legal and HR teams should partner to ensure their policies align with country, state and local laws applicable to where the company has headcount. Schedule periodic and regular reviews of company leave policies to ensure all changes are captured.
  2. Communicate any changes to all stakeholders, including HR, benefits and compensation, payroll, tax, etc.
  3. Audit timekeeping practices to ensure the company’s practice of tracking leave complies with all statutory or municipal requirements.
  4. Partner with outside counsel with a wide geographic footprint in order to be confident that you are receiving all local updates and will have support implementing some of the more complex changes.
  5. While it can be tempting to roll out global, one-size-fits-all policies in this area, the various jurisdiction-specific idiosyncrasies and cross-over with other functions within in the company, may mean that, in reality, jurisdiction-specific policies may actually be most efficient and compliant.

Contact your Baker McKenzie lawyer for more.