New England Biz Law Update

A bipartisan group has introduced legislation seeking to shore up protections for whistleblowers under the IRS Whistleblower Program. Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) are sponsoring the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act ...

Managing intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can be challenging for companies, especially if the employees requesting intermittent leave have fluctuating, unpredictable medical conditions. Recently, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clarified the use of ...

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced enforcement guidance changes that will make it easier for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to increase penalties against employers who repeatedly expose workers to life-threatening hazards or fail to comply ...

A bill that would essentially ban noncompete agreements has been introduced in both the House and Senate. The measure comes in the wake of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recently announced proposal to eliminate noncompetes except in limited situations. Under ...

The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a guide to help employers manage wage-and-hour laws for remote employees. The bulletin addresses the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), lactation accommodations, and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Break time for ...

Female detention officers are asking a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit over gender-based scheduling practices. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals convened en banc to review precedent that requires individuals alleging Title VII discrimination to show that ...

The Department of Labor (DOL) has unveiled its regulatory agenda for 2023. Among its priorities is exploring whether additional regulatory guidance is necessary to manage and boost participation in pooled employer plans (PEPs). PEPs are a type of retirement savings ...

Pay transparency laws are becoming increasingly common, and employers with workforces spread over multiple states are trying to figure out how to contend with a patchwork of similar — but not identical — provisions. The latest effort to close systemic ...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that noncitizen workers who claim that their rights as employees have been violated can now use a streamlined deferred action request process. Deferred action is intended to protect workers from threats of ...

The EEOC recently held a public hearing to examine the use of automated systems, including artificial intelligence (AI), in employment decisions. Increasingly, employers are using automated systems to make employment decisions, including the recruitment, hiring, monitoring, and firing of workers. ...