Employment Law and Labour Law

In a significant decision that narrows the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements under its Recordkeeping regulation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that OSHA lacked statutory authority to require employers to record employee work-related mental illnesses on OSHA injury and illness logs.

The EPA has extended compliance deadlines for workplace chemical protection requirements under risk management rules for perchloroethylene (PCE) and carbon tetrachloride (CTC), pushing key dates into 2027 while the agency continues its substantive reconsideration of these controversial regulations. As legal challenges remain paused and stakeholders await proposed rule updates expected in 2026, questions persist about whether the existing chemical exposure limits will withstand scientific scrutiny under TSCA

Employers often approach workplace accidents and resulting OSHA citations as discrete regulatory events — managed by safety teams, resolved through settlement or litigation, and ultimately closed.

Memorial Hermann Health System, a Texas nonprofit hospital system, has settled a suit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) relating to 401(k) plan fees and fund choices.

As the SECURE 2.0 Act deadline for mandatory catch-up contributions for some plan participants looms, many retirement plan sponsors are beginning to amend their plan documents to meet its requirements.

Employers face strategic decisions about whether to adopt Trump Account Contribution Programs (TACPs) following new DOL guidance clarifying their ERISA status. This analysis examines how TACPs compare against existing family-friendly benefits like dependent care FSAs, 529 plans, HSAs, and student loan assistance, providing a framework for total rewards committees to evaluate demographic fit, competitive positioning, and budget trade-offs.

British Columbia employers do not need to provide reasons when terminating employment without cause, and in most cases should refrain from doing so. A recent Supreme Court of British Columbia decision confirms that failing to provide reasons for a without cause termination does not breach the duty of good faith in the manner of dismissal.

The Supreme Court of British Columbia examined the termination of a long-serving investment advisor in a case that addressed worker classification, termination clauses, and the discovery of misconduct after dismissal.

In manufacturing acquisitions, workforce issues can significantly impact deal value and integration success. Understanding employment obligations, termination exposure, and retention strategies before closing is essential to protecting transaction economics and operational continuity.

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.

As companies like Cisco, Amazon, and Meta announce layoffs while simultaneously reporting record profits, a troubling pattern emerges: are these workforce reductions truly driven by AI automation, or is something else at play? This analysis examines the phenomenon of "AI-washing" and explores whether artificial intelligence is genuinely replacing workers or simply serving as a convenient justification for cost-cutting measures that free up capital for future technology investments.

Welcome to our July update, where we highlight some of the latest developments in employment law. In this edition, we consider two recent cases. We also summarise recent and forthcoming changes in employment legislation...