With the beginning of President Obama's second term in office, U.S. employers can expect a continued focus at the Federal and possibly state and local levels on compliance with fair employment laws. For example, the U.S. Department of Labor, and other federal agencies with regulatory authority over employment matters, have signaled that they will continue efforts to address pay equity. In addition, on December 18, 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it approved its Strategic Enforcement Plan, the culmination of a multi-pronged project aimed at enhancing enforcement across the broad spectrum of non-discrimination issues.
In this enforcement-oriented regulatory environment, employers should take pro-active measure to assess their workplace policies, compensation structures, and related pay practices. Even as the economy recovers and unemployment decreases, there is still sufficient pressure in the workforce to yield a continued stream of employee claims and law suits. Moreover, trends in recent case law suggest an expansion of who can sue whom and for what.
Andrews Kurth's Labor and Employment Team is led by Marc Katz and is comprised of attorneys with a diverse set of experience in the field of labor and employment law, including accomplished trial attorneys, former NLRB attorneys, attorneys specializing in statistical adverse impact and risk analysis, and attorneys focused on all aspects of labor and employment training and assessment of workplace policies and practices.
The group coordinates these diverse abilities to assist clients with the identification and management of labor and employment litigation risks for a wide range of companies throughout the United States. Marc and his team provide guidance on new employment regulations and help clients take preventive measures by advising on workplace policies and practices to ensure compliance and mitigate litigation risk.
In addition, our Partner and Chief Diversity Officer, Elizabeth Campbell, can assist employers in developing diversity and inclusion business strategies that may also positively impact compliance efforts and responses to employee claims.
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