Much of corporate America is all-in on environmental, social and governance (ESG). Many companies voluntarily report their greenhouse gas emissions and set long-term sustainability goals to please shareholders and customers. Ongoing litigation could slow down the ESG trend. Climate change activists and investors are keeping a close eye on a class-action lawsuit brought by New […]
The largest and most profitable companies in competitive markets apparently meant it when they promised to interview and hire a lot more minority job applicants. Hiring data from 2020-21 of 88 companies on Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 100 list bears that out. An eye-opening report from Bloomberg shows these companies increased their workforces by 323,000-plus […]
Could it be time for a review of your employee severance agreements? Right now Twitter’s experiencing major pitfalls from having them, thanks to a class action lawsuit accusing it of violating its own severance policy. Laid-off workers are claiming the company’s severance agreement plan is a benefit protected under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. […]
Companies’ ability to restrict an exiting employee’s job opportunities is in danger. A federal rule is already in the works to eliminate noncompete clauses in workers’ contracts. And there’s pressure growing from states to end the practice. Case in point: New York state legislators just sent a bill that bans noncompete clauses to Governor Kathy […]
A big reason employers are still allowing hybrid work is business benefits like reduced operating costs. But it’s also harder to ensure employment laws are being followed by your entire team. Compliance missteps with federal employment laws are especially costly right now. A good example: the new higher penalties for violating the Employee Retirement Income […]
The last thing any CFO looks forward to is laying off employees, but it’s an unfortunate reality for many folks in finance these days. Protecting the company is always priority No. 1 and often that involves letting go of people. Just be careful: Mass layoffs can lead to discrimination lawsuits by ex-employees. All it takes […]
Heads up: Companies can avoid criminal prosecution and million-dollar payouts for serious violations and mistakes by taking advantage of the Justice Department’s self-reporting policy. Justice recently revised the parameters for self-reporting so that it’s applied evenly in all districts. All of the conditions are crystal-clear, which is great news for execs and company lawyers that […]
In 2022 about a dozen states put law changes – some at the constitutional level – directly into the hands of the voters on Election Day. Here are some of the major measures that passed that may require you to adjust your payroll practices or rewrite your organization’s policies. Employment law changes In Washington DC, […]
Since remote and hybrid work became normal for many companies, some workers are complaining that their employers should pay for work-from-home expenses, such as internet and electricity costs, printers and office supplies. A few employees are even suing their employers to recover what they’re spending on work-from-home expenses. Bank of America, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Oracle, […]
