Blogs

NLRB Says Broad Confidentiality Provisions in Existing Severance Agreements Illegal

By Greg Hoff posted 4 days ago
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The Board’s General Counsel issued a memo stating a recent NLRB case restricting the use of confidentiality provisions in severance agreements applies retroactively, meaning that already existing severance agreements could now be illegal under federal labor law. The memo’s guidance on what kinds of severance agreements are now lawful or unlawful hinges on how “narrowly tailored” they are to protect proprietary or trade secret information or prevent “malicious or defamatory” statements about the company. Background: Last month, the Board ruled in McLaren Macomb that severance agreements violate federal labor law if their provisions – including ...
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HR Policy Global’s Asia-Pacific Summit Highlights the Region's Challenges, Opportunities

By Henry Eickelberg posted 4 days ago
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Over 50 HR Policy Members met in Singapore this week for an event hosted by HR Policy Global’s Executive Director of Asia-Pacific, Michelle Swinden. The meeting marked HR Policy’s first event in the region since 2019 and provided valuable insight into and opportunities for peer discussion on the challenges facing HR leaders in the APAC region. The meeting kicked off with Karan Bajwa, Vice President of Google Cloud for the Asia-Pacific, who discussed the experience of managing a fast-growing company during COVID and its transition from pandemic to endemic. The conversation focused on people management and the value for companies in being authentic and vulnerable ...
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Senate Committee Advances PBM Transparency Bill Over Employer Concerns

By D. Mark Wilson posted 4 days ago
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The Senate Commerce Committee passed a bipartisan PBM reform bill this week, but GOP concerns over the power it gives to the FTC and employer concerns over the bill’s transparency provisions may limit its chances of becoming law. The Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act ( S. 127 ) would: Prohibit certain PBM practices including spread pricing (charging more for a drug than it reimburses the pharmacy) unless the PBM passes all drug discounts, known as rebates, to health plans and discloses certain information regarding the discounts, fees and payments they receive; and Require PBMs to file an annual report with the Federal Trade Commission ...
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House GOP Targets Ongoing NLRB Crusade

By Greg Hoff posted 4 days ago
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House Republicans are making use of their oversight authority to target the activities of the National Labor Relations Board, with the Chair of the Committee on Education and Workforce launching an investigation into alleged case handling misconduct at the Agency. Meanwhile, the Board’s General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo , continues her crusade to rewrite federal labor law with yet another memo outlining key issue areas where she is seeking precedent reversal. The investigation is primarily focused on union election activity at a Starbucks location , and the NLRB agency officials’ handling of the case. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Chair of the Committee ...
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Following Global Trend, Mexico Implements Forced Labor Import Ban Under USMCA

By Wenchao Dong posted 4 days ago
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Last month, Mexico’s Ministry of Economy published an administrative regulation prohibiting imports of goods produced with forced labor. The regulation will take effect on May 18, as part of the requirement by the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). Employers should be aware of this significant development and proactively evaluate and manage forced labor risks across their North American operations and global supply chain. The regulation is the newest development in a global trend aimed at addressing forced labor through public policy. A proposed EU due diligence law (Opens in a new window) would impose obligations on EU and non-EU ...
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Inclusion of Salary Information in Job Postings Skyrockets in Wake of New State Laws

By Greg Hoff posted 11 days ago
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Job postings that include salary information have drastically increased as several new laws requiring such information have gone into effect. Compliance with the New York City and California laws has driven the increase, but salary posting is significantly up nationwide in general. Meanwhile, the latest Racial and Gender Pay Scorecard released by Arjuna Capital and Proxy Impact showed several high-profile companies receiving failing grades on pay gap disclosures. Nearly half of U.S. job postings include salary information: Pay data site Comprehensive.io shows significant increases across the board for job postings including salary information. Roughly ...
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Roger King Joins the American Employment Law Council

By Margaret Faso posted 11 days ago
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The American Employment Law Council (AELC) is the nation’s premier organization of highly accomplished labor and employment attorneys practicing on the management side. Founded in 1993, its members include both in-house and outside counsel. As a non-profit organization, the Council serves as a meeting ground for employment lawyers and fosters continued education to promote the highest standards in the field of labor and employment law. HR Policy President and CEO, Tim Bartl, said “Roger has distinguished himself as one of the most thoughtful, effective and innovative labor and employment lawyers throughout his accomplished career, whether representing ...
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Standards for AI Audits Coming

By Greg Hoff posted 11 days ago
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Widespread use of AI in the workplace, little oversight: A recent survey of employers showed that nearly 80% use artificial intelligence in employment decisions such as recruitment and hiring. Despite such prevalence, and despite recognized risks of bias involved with such uses of AI, “there is no standard for AI audits currently,” according to Mona Sloane, an AI expert at the New York University Center for Responsible AI. Regulation on the horizon: New York City will become the first U.S. jurisdiction to require notice and audit requirements for AI decision-making tools, with such requirements going into effect this spring. Meanwhile, the European Union ...
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Independent Contractor Status for CA Platform Drivers Restored – For Now

By Greg Hoff posted 11 days ago
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A California appeals court issued a ruling mostly restoring the Proposition 22 ballot measure, which allows Uber and Lyft to classify its drivers as contractors. A lower court ruling had previously invalidated the ballot measure as unconstitutional, and the decision is likely to be appealed to the state’s supreme court. Background: In 2019, California passed the infamous A.B. 5 law which created the nation’s strictest test for independent contractor status (the ABC test), under which thousands of California contractors – including Uber and Lyft drivers – would become classified as employees. In response, Uber and Lyft championed a ballot measure in 2020 ...
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ESG Outlook Across the Globe

By Megan Wolf posted 11 days ago
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Board quality, CEO succession and the advancement of ESG reporting standards top out as the most important international themes in the 2023 Russell Reynolds Global Corporate Governance report. The study reveals the trends and regulatory changes shaping the ESG activities in each global region and what to expect moving forward. Some interesting insights related to these themes are worth noting: United States Expect an increased focus on board quality, particularly with declining director support levels and the establishment of universal proxy rules. Investors will scrutinize everything from board composition and director skill sets to overall effectiveness. ...
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HR Policy Urges Congress to Increase the Health Care Workforce

By D. Mark Wilson posted 11 days ago
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HR Policy Association provided input to Congress on bipartisan ways to alleviate the current shortage of health care workers and specific ways to improve access to mental health care services. The letter was sent to Senators Sanders (I-VT) and Cassidy (R-LA), who lead the HELP Committee, in response to a request for input from stakeholders on what is driving the workforce shortage and potential solutions. The Association’s letter highlighted several actions Congress should take to increase the health care workforce, including: Expanding funding for clinical training opportunities and supporting partnerships between universities and community health ...
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New Bill Would Change the Tax Treatment of Lawful Union Avoidance Costs

By D. Mark Wilson posted 11 days ago
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Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) recently introduced two bills to make the tax code “fairer” for workers and to end the deduction for lawful employee engagement costs during union organizing campaigns. The No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act would classify lawful union avoidance costs and National Labor Relations Act violations as not tax deductible, similar to how corporate political speech or lobbying is currently treated in the tax code. The bill would also create an IRS reporting requirement for employers regarding the consultants they retain. The Tax Fairness for Workers Act would allow workers to deduct from their income tax union dues and ...
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Australia Prepares to Legislate Gender Pay Gap Transparency

By Wenchao Dong posted 11 days ago
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With recent data showing that efforts to achieve pay parity have stalled, the Australian Labor Government has introduced a bill into parliament which will require companies with more than 100 employees to publish gender pay gaps by 2024. In the 2022 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report , Australia ranked 57/146 for ‘Wage Equality for Similar Work’. In a statement from Katy Gallagher , Minister for Women, the government highlighted that women earned 14.1% less per week than men, and it would take 26 years to close the gap at the current rate. She cited the worldwide trend towards transparency as another factor motivating the government to put ...
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Stock Buybacks on Trial

By Charles Tharp posted 18 days ago
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A recent Wall Street Journal article highlights the results of an academic study analyzing claims that share repurchases are (1) a form of manipulation to increase stock price and earnings per share, (2) a way to increase CEO pay, and (3) crowding out investment while sacrificing innovation and long-term growth. The study, by professors Nicholas Guest of Cornell University, S.P. Kothari of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Parth Venkat of the University of Alabama, analyzed thousands of share repurchases by U.S. exchange-listed firms over the period 1988 to 2020. The research found “there is no widespread evidence that share repurchases ...
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EU Due Diligence Directive: Proposal Would Elevate Trade Union, NGO Involvement

By Tom Hayes posted 18 days ago
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Last week, members of the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee (EMPL) voted through their opinion on the proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. While the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) has the responsibility for drafting the parliament’s position, the opinion of the EMPL has to be taken into consideration when Parliament votes on the issue in plenary session. The EMPL wants to see strengthened trade union involvement in corporate due diligence processes. When it comes to lodging complaints with multinational businesses about alleged human rights shortfalls, EMPL proposes that “Organisations who could submit such ...
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Starbucks CEO to Testify Before Senate HELP Committee

By Greg Hoff posted 18 days ago
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Howard Schultz, Starbucks founder and interim CEO, agreed to testify before the Senate HELP Committee on March 29, after being threatened with a subpoena. Schultz is likely to face intense questioning regarding union organizing campaigns against Starbucks and the slew of unfair labor practice allegations it currently faces. Background: Starbucks has faced an extensive and highly-publicized union organizing campaign over the last year. The company has also been the subject of a number of unfair labor practice allegations - some involving comments made by CEO Schultz – at the NLRB, with some involving court-ordered injunctions against the company. Sen. Sanders, ...
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Democrats Tee Up Workplace Legislation in Senate Hearing

By Greg Hoff posted 18 days ago
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In a hearing on union organizing, Democratic Members of the Senate HELP Committee pushed for passage of a trio of high-impact workplace bills that collectively would tip federal labor laws in favor of unions, facilitate more class action equal pay lawsuits, and restrict employer uses of employee data. In contrast, Republican Members used the hearing to assail recent proposed rules on independent contractor status and joint employer liability. The hearing featured testimony from three union leaders and the former Chair of the National Labor Relations Board, John Ring. While nominally about worker representation and union organizing, in practice, the ...
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NLRB, CFPB Partner Up on Worker Privacy Issues

By Greg Hoff posted 18 days ago
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The National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a new partnership “to better protect American workers and address practices of employer surveillance, monitoring, and data collection.” The collaboration is the fourth enforcement partnership between the NLRB and an agency traditionally outside of the labor and employment space, once again reflecting the Biden Administration’s “all of government approach” to labor and employment law and policy enforcement. Enhanced information sharing and enforcement: The partnership between the two agencies includes close collaboration on investigative and enforcement efforts related ...
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Solid Job Growth Continues Led by Hospitality, Retail, and Health Care

By Margaret Faso posted 18 days ago
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The pace of job growth slowed in February (+311,000), the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.6%, and the labor participation rate remained steady as they have since January 2022. Leisure and hospitality added 105,000 jobs in February, followed by retail trade (+50,000), government (+46,000), professional and business services (+45,000), health care (+45,000), and construction (+24,000). The information industry lost 25,000 jobs while transportation and warehousing lost 22,000 jobs. Average hourly earnings for all employees increased modestly at 0.2% in February, with the average workweek for all employees edging down by 0.1 hour and slightly more ...
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When It Comes to Child Care, Biden Administration Holds All the CHIPS

By Chatrane Birbal posted 26 days ago
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Tasked with allocating more than $50 billion, including $39 billion in semiconductor incentives, the Commerce Department announced its application process for obtaining funding available through the CHIPS and Science Act, which passed Congress last August. Companies seeking more than $150 million in government funding must submit a workforce plan for the workers who will operate their facilities and construction workers as part of the application process. The workforce plan must include how they will provide affordable and accessible child care for their workers, among other requirements. Background: As part of his Build Back Better domestic ...
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