Littler Workplace Policy Institute

Labor force participation is falling, the skills gap is widening, and certain industries are struggling to recover post-pandemic. In this podcast, Michael Lotito, co-chair of Littler Workplace Policy Institute (WPI) and Shannon Meade, executive director of WPI, discuss the historic transformation of the American workforce and what needs to be done on a national level to address the challenges employers and employees are facing.

Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute’s (WPI) annual Labor Day report examines the state of the American workforce. Prior WPI Labor Day reports focused on key employment developments and trends to provide employers with insight on the state of work and what to expect in the coming year. Employers need no reminder that 2020 is unlike any year they have ever experienced. The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed employment with employers and employees alike facing unprecedented challenges. Even when the coronavirus is finally behind us, many of these challenges will remain. Accordingly, this year’s Labor Day report necessarily focuses on the state of employment in the context of the global pandemic. In this podcast, Michael Lotito and Jim Paretti of WPI discuss the most recent employment numbers from the United States Department of Labor and give listeners a preview of what to expect in this year’s Labor Day report.

California’s landmark independent contractor law, AB 5, has only been in effect for eight months. But in that time frame, the law remains controversial and makes headlines every week. The law presents compliance challenges for businesses in the Golden State, and things aren’t getting any easier. In this podcast, members of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute will bring listeners up to date with what’s new with AB 5, including legislation that would further amend the law, court challenges, enforcement actions, and Proposition 22, which would revise the law for some gig economy employers.

You might not believe your ears at first, as Bruce Sarchet and Michael Lotito of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI) heap praise on the City of Los Angeles for adopting a worker “right to recall” ordinance. Regular listeners of WPI’s podcasts know that more traditionally its members are expressing concerns and reservations as new employment laws and regulations are adopted. But the City of Angels did something truly revolutionary in this new law – it afforded employers the “right to cure” before a lawsuit can be filed. WPI sees this as a positive development, a true win-win for businesses and their employees, and asserts in this podcast that the right to cure should be seriously considered and adopted in other employment and labor laws as well.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many states and cities have adopted new paid sick leave laws. In a curious intersection between paid leave laws and independent contractor status laws, some of these laws establish a new and completely different approach to defining whether a food delivery driver should be classified as an “independent contractor” or as an “employee.” Rather than focusing on the duties of the worker and the business of the employer (as is done in the “ABC” test), these laws focus solely on whether the worker is engaged in a particular industry – food delivery. In this podcast, Littler Workplace Policy Institute attorneys Bruce Sarchet and Sebastian Chilco discuss these new laws, this new approach, and consider whether this change in direction will have long-term impacts.

Bruce Sarchet and Emily Patajo with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute discuss proposed laws and regulations under consideration in California. The 2020 class of bills covers a lot of ground, from potential changes to the much-discussed worker classification test under AB 5, to antidiscrimination measures and leaves of absence amendments.

Littler’s Michael Lotito and Jim Paretti discuss the EEOC, how the lack of a quorum affected the agency, and what we might expect now that the agency’s quorum has been restored. They also discuss the agency’s litigation program and the controversial EEO-1 compensation data reporting due this September.

Littler’s Michael Lotito and Jim Paretti discuss new and expected developments at the U.S. Department of Labor. Topics include the nomination of Eugene “Gene” Scalia to be Secretary of Labor, current leadership in the Department and its regulatory agenda, and discussion of several significant rulemakings, including proposed DOL regulations regarding “joint employment” under the Fair Labor Standards Act; how to calculate the FLSA “regular rate” for purposes of overtime compensation; and pending changes to overtime regulations, all of which are expected to be published in final form before the end of the year.

Michael Lotito and Jim Paretti of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute discuss pending California legislation – Assembly Bill 5 or “AB 5” – which is fast-tracking its way through the state legislature. The bill would codify portions of last year’s California Supreme Court decision in Dynamex v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County, in which the court instituted the “ABC test” for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor under state law. The speakers explain how AB 5—if enacted in its current form—could dramatically alter the legal landscape of California’s employment classification law.

Over the past several weeks, there has been very significant activity with regard to rulemakings and court decisions concerning the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). In this podcast, WPI will discuss what to expect next on: • The status of the EEOC's revised EEO-1, and whether employers will be required to file compensation data • The overtime and regular rate notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) • The DOL and NLRB joint employment rulemakings • OFCCP’s recently released FY2019 Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL)

Alka Ramchandani-Raj and Corinn Jackson with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute dive into the numerous regulations and bills pending in California concerning workplace safety and health. Alka offers both background of existing law and analysis of the safety measures, including proposals about lead poisoning prevention, Valley Fever training requirements, and an indoor heat illness prevention program.

Bruce Sarchet, of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, and Marissa Dragoo with the Littler Learning Group, take a look at a new type of workplace training – bystander intervention training – that is now encouraged for California employers. This optional training teaches employees how to evaluate and respond to problematic behaviors in the workplace, empowering them to interrupt difficult situations, such as sexual harassment.

Bruce Sarchet and Corinn Jackson with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute review the key labor and employment measures introduced this year in the California legislature. Lawmakers have filed bills on a wide range of topics, from independent contractor classification to hairstyle discrimination – and beyond! Bruce and Corinn break down the most significant pending bills, identifying practical ramifications for employers and offering insights into the legislative history and process.

Bruce Sarchet, Corinn Jackson, and Eli Freedberg with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute explore a recent trend pitting progressive city councils against more conservative state legislatures. They discuss the proliferation of local ordinances regulating workplace issues (such as “fair workweek” requirements) and the resistance from some state lawmakers to these municipal assertions of power. The WPI team surveys the various state preemption laws, which are used to preclude cities and counties from adopting and enforcing certain types of ordinances, and addresses how litigation can come into play in resolving these disputes.

Effective January 1, 2019, California SB 1343 greatly expanded Golden State employers' anti-harassment training requirements. The law not only extends coverage to employers with as few as five employees, but it also mandates that employers provide anti-harassment training to all employees – not just supervisors – every two years. But what if an employer provided this training in 2018? Can the next training cycle wait until 2020? No, according to recent guidance from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). In this podcast, Marissa Dragoo from the Littler Learning Group discusses potential SB 1343 compliance challenges with Littler Workplace Policy Institute members Bruce Sarchet and Corinn Jackson.

Bruce Sarchet and Corinn Jackson, both with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, survey numerous wide-sweeping changes affecting California employers in 2019. They review several legislative highlights, three recent significant decisions issued by the California Supreme Court, and shifts in the composition of that court. Join Bruce and Corinn as they peer into their crystal ball to predict whether incoming Governor Gavin Newsom will rubberstamp employee-friendly bills presented by the legislature, which is now comprised of a super-majority of Democratic lawmakers, and what economic and other factors may influence his decision-making.

Bruce Sarchet and Corinn Jackson, with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, chat with Betsy Cammarata of the firm’s Knowledge Management team about major upcoming changes to California laws governing employee release and confidentiality agreements. Bruce and Corinn explore three new laws (AB 3109, SB 820, and SB 1300) that nullify certain common contractual terms. SB 820, for example, generally outlaws provisions in settlement agreements that would prevent the disclosure of facts related to claims of sexual harassment. Bruce and Corinn discuss steps that employers can take now to prepare for compliance with these laws by the January 1, 2019 effective date.

Bruce Sarchet and Corinn Jackson of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute discuss recently-adopted amendments to the California salary history ban. Although the ban took effect this past January, the original statute left open numerous important questions. Bruce and Corinn review the new definitions included in the amendments, which clarify when employers must provide pay scale information to applicants and when the wage history of internal candidates may be considered. They also address how these amendments, effective January 1, 2019, fit in with the Golden State’s existing equal pay laws.

In this podcast, Bruce Sarchet and Corinn Jackson, both with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, consider the compliance twists and turns of California’s salary history ban, which took effect on January 1, 2018. They look at if and how employers can consider salary history when making employment and salary decisions, even when that pay history has been voluntarily disclosed by applicants. Bruce and Corinn also discuss how the law impacts employers that do not maintain physical locations in the Golden State, and how employers may need to adjust their application and hiring protocols to comply with the new restrictions.

Bruce Sarchet and Corinn Jackson, both with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, discuss a noticeable trend developing in the hotel industry. They review the burgeoning popularity of laws requiring hotel employers to provide certain workers – primarily guestroom cleaning staff – with panic buttons to be used in emergencies, including instances of sexual harassment by guests. Bruce and Corinn survey panic button ordinances enacted in Seattle, Sacramento, and Chicago. They also consider a bill pending in California that would impose similar obligations statewide.