Employment Law and Labour Law

The Fifth Circuit's landmark decision in East Fork Enterprises v. EPA fundamentally reshapes how the agency must conduct chemical risk evaluations under TSCA, requiring condition-of-use-specific determinations and consideration of actual workplace protections. The ruling vacates EPA's methylene chloride risk management rule and establishes new standards for evaluating unreasonable risk that reject precautionary approaches and demand stronger evidentiary support. These holdings will force EPA to revise its p

California's Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has approved significant revisions to workplace first aid requirements, eliminating the longstanding physician approval mandate for general industry employers. Will these changes simplify compliance, or do workplace-specific hazards still demand customized solutions beyond standard first aid kits?

California's Assembly Bill 1883 targets AI-powered workplace surveillance by prohibiting employers from using such tools to recognize employees' emotional states or collect neural data. While the bill includes a safety exception and limited federal-compliance exemption, it establishes a private right of action with significant penalties, raising critical questions about enforcement scope and practical implementation for employers using emerging workplace monitoring technologies.

The SEC whistleblower program offers individuals a confidential pathway to report securities law violations while protecting their identity and employment. Understanding what qualifies as original information, how to properly submit a tip, and the legal protections available can determine whether a whistleblower receives substantial monetary awards ranging from 10% to 30% of sanctions collected.

Against a backdrop of job insecurity and fear of retaliation, anonymous whistleblower reporting has surged to alarming levels, reversing years of progress toward named reporting. This troubling trend signals deeper issues in workplace culture that compliance professionals must address urgently. What concrete measures can organizations implement to rebuild trust and encourage employees to report misconduct without hiding behind anonymity?

The Department of Justice secured a $2 million settlement with Honeywell Aerospace for allegedly failing to comply with NIST SP 800-171 cybersecurity requirements under a Department of War contract. This case demonstrates how cybersecurity compliance failures can trigger False Claims Act liability even without an actual data breach or cyberattack, and highlights the growing role of whistleblowers in exposing contractors' gaps between contractual obligations and actual security practices.

A recent California lawsuit alleges that AI-based employee selection tools discriminated against workers on protected leave and those with disabilities during a reduction in force. The case highlights critical legal risks for employers deploying AI in high-stakes employment decisions, particularly around how AI systems handle productivity metrics for employees who are absent or working under accommodations.

When workforce reductions happen in multiple waves across related corporate entities, how does federal law treat them in the aggregate? The recent Ubisoft layoffs at Red Storm Entertainment in North Carolina illustrate critical compliance questions under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act that every employer must understand before implementing workforce changes.

A federal district court ruling in Tennessee has determined that fully remote employees do not establish a "single site of employment" under the federal WARN Act, creating uncertainty for employers navigating workforce reductions in an increasingly remote-first business environment. With lower courts divided on this issue and no appellate guidance yet available, the legal landscape for WARN Act compliance in distributed workforces remains unsettled and fact-dependent.

The Labor Department faces a regulatory dilemma as it moves to restrict ESG considerations in 401(k) plans while simultaneously seeking to expand access to private-market investments. This tension creates uncertainty for plan sponsors who must navigate conflicting policy objectives, particularly as many private investment strategies inherently incorporate both financial returns and social or environmental goals.

Twenty-two multiemployer pension plans (MEPPs), representing more than 25,000 participants, have filed suit against the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that the agency improperly denied them access to billions of dollars in emergency retirement funding.

No retroactive refund required. FAQ Part 74 confirms that employers are not required to provide retroactive rewards or remove tobacco surcharges for the period before a participant completes...