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Inflation Reduction Act
IRS and Treasury Department Release Initial Guidance for Labor Requirements Under Inflation Reduction Act
On November 30, 2022, the IRS and the Treasury Department published Notice 2022-61 (the Notice) in the Federal Register. The Notice provides guidance regarding the prevailing wage requirements (the Prevailing Wage Requirements) and the apprenticeship requirements (the Apprenticeship Requirements and...
Federal Contractor COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements: Are Changes Coming?
Just over a year ago, President Biden issued an Executive Order requiring federal agencies to amend all contracts to mandate compliance with Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (the “Task Force”) guidance. The Task Force then issued guidance (the “November 2021...
Growing Regulation of Pay Information by States and Municipalities
On Thursday, July 28, Bob Nichols and Caroline Melo held a 30-minute webinar explaining the latest developments and offering practical strategies for managing compliance. Topics included: An increasing number of state and local pay transparency laws are requiring employers to...
A Surge in Unionization and Shifting Tides at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
Rebecca Baker and Amy Karff Halevy take an in-depth look at the recent surge in unionization efforts and potential NLRA impacts on employers, with and without unionized workforces. This webinar discusses why employers should monitor this resurgence of the labor...
Proliferation of Laws Providing Employment Protections for Marijuana Users Complicate Businesses’ Efforts to Maintain Occupational and Public Safety
On the afternoon of January 4, 1987, the crew of a Conrail locomotive traveling near Baltimore, Maryland failed to respond to stop signals and hit an Amtrak train traveling from Washington, DC, to Boston, Massachusetts. Fourteen passengers on the Amtrak...
DOL Stance on Cryptocurrency in 401(k) Plans Becomes a Political Football
A recent release by the DOL raising concerns about plan sponsors allowing cryptocurrency investments in 401(k) plans has gotten the attention of both sides of the Congressional aisle as well as industry groups. Some of the reactions to the release...
The New UAE Labour Law: An Evolution Rather Than a Revolution
February 2, 2022, saw the introduction of the new UAE Labour Law (Federal Law No. 33 of 2021) (“New Law”), replacing the previous 1980 legislation. The New Law was supplemented by a corresponding set of Executive Regulations dated February 3...
The 411 on 420: Can Employers Still Test for Marijuana?
Manufacturers understandably are concerned about how new laws protecting employee off-duty marijuana use may undermine their efforts to avoid workplace injuries and deaths. Understanding the changing legal landscape and the tools still available to employers to protect against safety risks...
Marijuana and Workplace Safety: Managing the Risk of Occupational Accidents as Cannabis Use Increases and Legal Prohibitions Are Relaxed
More Americans are smoking or ingesting marijuana in one form or another and the potency of the product in many instances is increasing. At the same time, many states are relaxing or repealing marijuana prohibitions. Additionally, more of these jurisdictions...
UAE Employment Law Update
2 February 2022 saw the introduction of a new UAE Labour Law in the form of UAE Federal Law No. 33 of 2021, Regulating Labour Relations (“ New Law ”), repealing the existing UAE Labour Law, UAE Federal Law No...
Mandatory Arbitrations Now Banned in Sexual Misconduct Disputes
Today, March 3, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 , which amends the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) by banning mandatory arbitration in sexual assault and sexual harassment...
Countering the Threat of Workplace Violence
Rebecca Baker , chair of Bracewell’s labor and employment group, Dr. Kostas A. Katsavdakis , one of the country’s leading experts on threat assessment, and Seth DuCharme , the former principal associate deputy attorney general of the United States who...
An Update on the EU Mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence Law – What You Need to Know
In March 2021, the European Parliament voted by an overwhelming majority for the adoption of a binding EU law that requires businesses to conduct environmental and human rights due diligence along their full value chain or face concrete fines, sanctions...
Federal Court of Appeals Allows OSHA's Vaccination/Testing Rule for Employers with 100+ Employees to Go Forward
Late this past Friday, December 17, a panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order dissolving the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' stay that had blocked implementation of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). In other words, the...
Given Deadlines Set by Sixth Circuit, ETS Likely Stayed Until at Least December 10, 2021
Earlier this month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued its “COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing; Emergency Temporary Standard” (the “ETS”) requiring employers of 100 or more employees to implement policies requiring employee vaccination or enhanced safety measures for unvaccinated...