Littler Workplace Policy Institute

Bruce Sarchet and Corinn Jackson, both with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, discuss developments from the ongoing California state legislative session. Bruce and Corinn review key labor and employment measures under consideration in Sacramento, including a spate of bills aimed at curbing sexual harassment. They highlight numerous noteworthy measures on a range of topics, covering wage and hour proposals, potential updates to the Private Attorneys General Act, and assorted anti-discrimination bills.

Originally posted, December 18, 2017. Updated, January 29, 2018. Bruce Sarchet and Corinn Jackson, both with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, review the status of the California Private Attorney Generals Act, which authorizes employees to recover penalties for many Labor Code violations. They discuss how PAGA currently operates, explore open questions concerning the law, and summarize the recent employee-friendly Lopez v. Friant & Associates appellate court decision. Bruce and Corinn also look ahead, addressing possible legislative clarification of PAGA as well as ballot initiatives that might put PAGA amendments to a vote in 2018.

Bruce Sarchet and Corinn Jackson, both with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, discuss how the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act affects the terms of settlement agreements used for sexual harassment claims. They address how the new law alters business expense tax deductions related to such settlements. They also review several additional federal and state initiatives that would curtail the use of nondisclosure or arbitration agreements in the harassment context.

Bruce Sarchet and Corinn Jackson, both with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, explore the nitty-gritty details of California’s new salary history inquiry ban. The new law – which takes effect January 1, 2018 – prohibits employers from relying on, or seeking out, pay history information about job applicants. Bruce and Corinn discuss the evolution of California’s salary history inquiry ban, the compliance challenges it creates, and how California employers can prepare for this sea-change in hiring practices.

In this podcast, WPI Co-Chairs Ilyse Schuman and Michael Lotito review the status of several labor and employment issues, as the Trump Administration closes out its first nine months. Ilyse and Michael discuss pending nominations to fill numerous key positions within the Department of Labor, EEOC, and National Labor Relations Board. They address anticipated changes to the EEO-1 report and the overtime rule, both of which are under reconsideration by the new leadership. Join Ilyse and Michael as they explore regulatory and legislative developments at the federal and state levels, including potential clarification on what it means to be a joint employer.

Under current California law, employers may ask job applicants about their wages in current or former jobs. A new ordinance in San Francisco, however, will make such inquiries illegal. Corinn Jackson with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI) and Sacramento Shareholder Bruce Sarchet, also a member of the WPI team, discuss how this ordinance will drastically change the hiring practices of San Francisco employers. They review the purpose and the terms of the new law, which prohibits employers both from asking candidates about their salary history and from disclosing pay history to other prospective employers. While the ordinance does not take effect until next July, Corinn and Bruce encourage employers to familiarize themselves now with its requirements and to begin preparing for compliance.

As workplace regulations spread among California cities, employers confront a tangled web of local rules – particularly those companies with operations in multiple locations. Addressing this compliance challenge with practical suggestions, Corinn Jackson with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI) and Sacramento Shareholder Bruce Sarchet, also a member of the WPI team explore new regulations in Emeryville, San Jose, and San Francisco that mandate advance notice of work schedules and require offering additional work hours to part-time employees before hiring from the outside. Corinn and Bruce encourage employers to carefully evaluate whether the laws apply to their operations and, if so, provide training and guidance to supervisors and managers who will need to implement the requirements. Additionally, Bruce and Corinn note that ongoing monitoring of compliance will be critical, along with legal consultation.

Ilyse Schuman, Co-Chair of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, talks with Sacramento Shareholder Bruce Sarchet about two new bills pending in the California legislature dealing with the concept of equal pay for equal work. One would prohibit employers from asking about salary history during the job application process, and another would require large employers to file reports regarding pay for men vs. pay for women. Bruce provides background on California’s current equal pay law, discusses national - as well as California state and local - legislative trends surrounding equal pay, and outlines potential future legal challenges.

Most organizations would agree that their people are among their most important assets. So why is it that so few organizations believe that their HR department is one of their most important divisions? At a time when the President of the United States is calling for building America again, buying American again, and creating those great-paying American jobs again, Michael Lotito, co-chair of Littler's Workplace Policy Institute and a Littler shareholder, explores many of the reasons why HR is not just critical to this endeavor, but will be the driving force behind it. From engagement, to retention, to compensation strategies, to safety issues, and even to the protection of corporate values and morality, Michael affirms that it is HR professionals who have the experience and ability to provide insight and to develop strategies to address these issues, and therefore their voices must be heard.

On Wednesday, October 5, 2016, the WPI gave a one-hour review of the year’s major California employment laws affecting private sector employers. Major new laws include: • Increasing and indexing the state minimum wage (including for many agricultural workers) • Expanded paid sick leave requirements • Expanded equal pay requirements • Smoking in the workplace • Those new laws affecting only some California employers, or those only in certain cities or counties WPI Co-Chair Ilyse Schuman interviewed Littler attorneys Chris Cobey and Cooper Spinelli, who have extensive California legislation experience including on these and other new laws, related political developments, and anticipated legislative action in 2017 in the Golden State.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the government agency tasked with setting and enforcing workplace safety standards. As part of the Department of Labor, OSHA has recently seen a great deal of regulatory activity. WPI Co-Chair Ilyse Schuman interviews Ben Huggett, a shareholder at Littler’ Philadelphia office, and discusses the developments at OSHA and how they impact almost all areas of employment. Topics include: • Reporting of severe injuries • Electronic injury and illness tracking requirements, including the impact on drug testing and safety incentive programs • Increases in penalties for all violations • Whistleblower protections • The Zika virus

Like many other multiemployer pension plans, the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund was hit very hard by the financial crisis in 2008. In response, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, was amended to allow Central States and other critically underfunded plans to remain solvent through the approval of a so-called “rescue plan.” On May 6, 2016, Central States’ proposed Rescue Plan was rejected by the IRS. This would have huge implications not just for the employers who contribute to the plan, but also for the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) and for participants and retires. Joining the WPI to examine the implications of the rejection of Central State’s plan was Littler shareholder Mike Congiu.

In early April, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule to re-define who is rendered a "fiduciary" of an employee benefit plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by providing investment advice to a plan or its participants or beneficiaries. More than five years in the making, issuance of a final rule to address conflicts-of-interest in retirement advice has been a priority for the White House and DOL to advance its “middle-class economics” agenda in the face of criticism in Congress and by a number of stakeholders. The final rule replaces 1975 regulations on fiduciary investment advice with a definition that, according to the DOL, “better reflects the broad scope of the statutory text and its purposes and better protects plans, participants, beneficiaries, and IRA owners from conflicts of interest, imprudence, and disloyalty.” WPI Co-Chair Ilyse Schuman interviewed Littler shareholders and Co-Chairs of the Employee Benefits Practice Group Melissa Kurtzman and Steven Friedman

With the ongoing deadlock in Washington, D.C., an increasing amount of policy change is taking place at the state level. Nowhere is this more evident than in the states of New York and California, which have recently made substantial changes to their wage and hour laws. The governors of both states have signed legislation that will raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour, and at the same time California is expanding their paid sick leave law. These and other issues will have huge impacts on any groups doing business in those states. WPI Co-Chair Ilyse Schuman interviewed Littler shareholders Bruce Millman and Bruce Sarchet along with Mike Whatley, director of state and local affairs at the National Restaurant Association. Together they explained the initiatives you should be aware of in these two states, what they mean for businesses operating there and how these efforts fit in to the national picture. Also discussed was how these measures reflect larger trends across the country in other states and localiti

This month WPI Co-Chair Ilyse Schuman, along with Littler expert and EEO & Diversity Group Co-Chair Barry Hartstein, examin the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and what employers can expect from the Commission during the last year of the Obama Administration. The EEOC has been extremely active of late, and Barry looks ahead to important developments likely in the coming year both at the Agency and in the courts, including the important EEOC v. Bass Pro Outdoor World LLC case. Barry also discussed highlights of Littler’s Annual Report on EEOC Developments for FY 2015.

Littler’s David Goldstein, Allan King and Kevin offer an examination of the proposed changes to the Employer Information Report (EEO-1) put out by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The proposal would require employers with 100 or more employees to provide data on employee compensation and hours. Smaller employers would have new reporting obligations as well. We also discuss the EEOC’s call for public comment on a new retaliation enforcement guidance. That 76-page proposal appears to expand the definition of "protected activity," and broaden the basis for proving the causal link between the protected activity and the contested employer action.

State and Local Paid Leave Laws, Libby Henninger, 5.15.15 by Littler

Mary Kissel, Member of Editorial Board and Host of OpinionJournal, The Wall Street Journal, talks about the U.S. economy and immigration reform

Barry Hartstein, shareholder @ Littler, talks about EEOC enforcement guidance on pregnancy discrimination