The Biden Administration has issued the much-anticipated “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity” Executive Order (EO), setting certain standards and requirements to prevent cyberattacks for government agencies, federal contractors, and others.
Archives for May 18, 2021
Massachusetts to Lift COVID-19 Restrictions, Adopt CDC Face Covering Guidance on May 29, 2021
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has announced the state will lift its COVID-19 restrictions and adopt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) face covering guidance on May 29, 2021. The City of Boston announced it will align with this plan. Municipalities around the Commonwealth are free to adopt reopening plans slower than the state’s.
Top Five Labor Law Developments for April 2021
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) declined to modify its “contract bar” rule. Under NLRB procedure, once a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is executed, the Board will not process a request for a representation election concerning the employees in that bargaining unit unless the petition is filed within a 30-day “window period” (typically, between the last 60-90 days prior to the CBA expiration), or after the contract expires, or after the third anniversary of any CBA that is longer than three years.
Patrice C. Dixon Honored at Excellence in the Law Awards
Nationwide employment law firm Jackson Lewis P.C. is pleased to announce Patrice C. Dixon has been selected as an “Up & Coming Lawyer” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s Excellence in the Law Awards. The “Up & Coming Lawyers” category recognizes the rising stars of the Massachusetts legal community who have been members of the bar for 10 years or less, yet have already distinguished themselves in the practice of law.
Tracey Wallace Discusses Prospective Impact of PWFA
Tracey Wallace discusses the labor and employment implications of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in “Will The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Get To Biden’s Desk?” published by Law360.
New York Enacts HERO Act: Imposing Significant Requirements on Employers
On May 5, 2021, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed Assembly Bill A2681B, which has been coined as the New York HERO Act.
New CDC Mask Guidelines May Create Problems for California’s Employers
New CDC guidance that fully vaccinated persons may stop wearing masks and distancing in most settings is a welcome announcement after over a year of the COVID crisis. However, California employers should note that the new CDC guidance has an exception that largely swallows the guidance because masks and distancing should be maintained “where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.” Until such time as the California Department of Public Health, Cal/OSHA and local authorities update their guidance on mask use and physical distancing in the workplace, California’s employers should continue to enforce existing standards to stave off claims of workplace safety violations.
Defining “Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs” That Might Excuse Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination?
Whether or not a religious belief is sincerely held by an applicant or employee is rarely at issue in most religious discrimination lawsuits. With both the EEOC and DFEH guidance requiring employers to accommodate an employee who has a sincerely held religious belief that prevents an employee from receiving any of the COVID-19 vaccinations, the issue of what is a “sincerely held religious belief” has become more important in employment law. This is particularly true for those employers that decide to mandate the COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment or condition of receiving certain employment benefits.
Lori Brown Rejoins Littler; ComplianceHR Names Kimball Norup CEO
(May 17, 2021) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, today announced that Lori Brown has rejoined the firm as Office Managing Shareholder in Miami and as a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Brown previously served as Chief Executive Officer of ComplianceHR (CHR),
Radical Expansion of New Jersey WARN Act Nears
Sixteen months ago, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law Senate Bill 3170, which radically expands employers’ advance notice and severance pay obligations under the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act – otherwise known as NJ WARN. Originally scheduled to go into effect on July 17,
New Mandatory Retirement Plan Requirement for Certain New York City Employers
On May 11, 2021, the City Council of New York enacted a local law to establish a retirement savings program for certain employees of private entities.
What are the Details?
The new law creates a mandatory auto-enrollment payroll deduction individual retirement account (“IRA”) program for employees of private sector employers
Long working hours are leading to a rise in premature deaths, the W.H.O. says.
Long working hours are leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths per year, according to a new study by the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization.
Companies Battle Worker Burnout to Meet Diversity Pledges
Workplaces that have committed to boosting the ranks of Black workers are now facing a major hurdle to keeping them.
NLRB Finds Aggressive Bargaining Proposals Not Unlawful
An Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) findings that an employer engaged in bad faith bargaining and unlawfully withdrew recognition from the union has been overruled 2-1 by a panel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). District Hospital Partners, L.P. d/b/a The George Washington University Hosp., 370 NLRB No. 118 (Apr.
10 Ways To Reduce The Damaging Impact Of Unconscious Bias On Your Business
Recent studies show increasing numbers of women and people of color are choosing to leave their jobs in corporate America due to bias, lack of support, and stressors due to facing greater challenges than before.