Expert Analysis

• Flashpoints In Focus: Navigating EEOC's Religious Bias Push

  

  The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has placed a heightened focus on religious accommodation requests, as illustrated by a recent suit and agency report, but with modest investments in time and planning, employers can reduce the chance of litigation and provide strong defenses against it, say attorneys at Seyfarth Shaw.

• Employer Tips As Calif. Law Rewrites Retention Pay Rules

  

  California's recent enactment of A.B. 692 disrupts how employers structure sign-on bonuses, retention payments and other incentives tied to continued employment, but employers that adjust their compensation strategies can attract and retain talent while managing their compliance risks, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• Gender-Expansive Calif. Equal Pay Laws Widen Employer Risk

  

  California's recent amendments to strengthen its Equal Pay Act and Pay Transparency Act aim to shrink the wage gap, not only for women, but also for nonbinary and transgender employees, creating new compliance obligations for employers and increasing their potential exposure, say attorneys at the Jhaveri-Weeks Firm.

• Chicago Suits Highlight Struggle Over Piercing Corporate Veil

  

  A union's latest lawsuit against the owners of a storied Chicago bar and restaurant that closed in 2023 illustrates how doing business via a limited liability company does not necessarily protect owners' personal assets — but also that obtaining a judgment does not mean that collection is automatic, says James Trail at Ginsberg Jacobs.

• Telehealth Suit May Redraw Rules For Physician Classification

  

  A new class action in California federal court, Cioppettini v. Mochi Medical, alleging a telehealth company misclassified providers as independent contractors, suggests that traditional markers of physician independence may not apply to telehealth, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• How Justices' GEO Ruling Resets Gov't Contractor Litigation

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent GEO Group v. Menocal decision, holding that government contractors cannot immediately exit cases via interlocutory appeals, may increase litigation costs, strengthen plaintiffs' leverage in settlement negotiations and dampen the government's ability to attract bids on high-risk or sensitive projects, say attorneys at Wiley.

• Preparing For New Calif. Pay Data Reporting Requirements

  

  California's S.B. 464 overhauls the state's pay data reporting framework by requiring employers to use job categories that are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, increasing both the potential visibility of pay disparities and the complexity of compliance, say attorneys at Kaufman Dolowich.

• Justices May Hesitate To Limit Courts' Arbitration Review

  

  Based on Monday's argument in Jules v. Andre Balazs, the U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to preserve federal jurisdiction over arbitral award enforcement stemming from actions originated in federal court, a holding that would markedly limit the court's 2022 Walters v. Badgerow decision, says Ashwini Jayaratnam at DarrowEverett.

• Motorola Case Shows Reach Of NLRA Dishonesty Protections

  

  A recent National Labor Relations Board case, involving a Motorola employee who was terminated for lying about discussing wages, illustrates the broad reach of National Labor Relations Act protections for concerted activity, which may take on new significance as the agency shifts toward more restrained enforcement, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

• Flashpoints In Focus: Harassment At Work After Epstein Files

  

  The recent release of millions of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking scheme has renewed a movement to hold perpetrators of sexual assault and harassment responsible, making it a perfect time for employers to ensure they have a strong system for preventing and addressing workplace harassment, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

• 3rd Circ. Must Reject EEOC's Flawed Equal Pay Theory

  

  To avoid illogical outcomes, the Third Circuit, in Cartee-Haring and Marinello v. Central Bucks School District, should refute the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s recently filed amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs’ bias claims based on pay compared with one single co-worker, say Allan King at Littler and Stephen Bronars at Edgeworth Economics.

• Justices' GEO Ruling Sets Gov't Contractor Immunity Limits

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in GEO Group v. Menocal will affect virtually every case in which a government contractor faces liability because they can no longer routinely assert their immunity under the government contract and must instead make a showing on the merits, says Terry Collingsworth at International Rights Advocates.

• How NY Stay-Or-Pay Law Shifts Leverage Dynamics

  

  The recent passage of New York's Trapped at Work Act reflects increasing scrutiny of stay-or-pay arrangements, but its lack of a private right of action represents a meaningful departure from other employment laws, dramatically shifting leverage from the courtroom to a state agency, says James Valentino at Clayman Rosenberg.