With the 2023 winter work party season upon us, company, location, or team level seasonal gatherings provide a chance for employers to thank staff for their hard work and for everyone to relax, socialise and have some fun with their colleagues. Yet without careful thought and planning, they can be problematic for employers who can
Employment & Labor
Work-Life Balance: A Blueprint for Employee Happiness
In our modern, fast-paced world, work-life balance has become crucial in ensuring employee happiness, satisfaction, and overall well-being. A recent study from the National Library of Medicine shows how striking the right balance between professional responsibilities and personal life is not just an employee aspiration—it’s a critical aspect of productivity, engagement, and mental health. This…
2023 Legislative Session Wrap-Up: New California Workplace Laws for 2024 and Beyond
By Carolyn Rashby & Nori Lu
As we enter the final months of 2023, California employers should turn their attention to the employment-related bills that Governor Newsom recently signed into law, many of which take effect on January 1, 2024. Summaries of key developments are below.…
Game of Tomes: A Guide to the DOL’s Retirement Security Rule Proposal
The new “retirement security rule” package, issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on October 31, 2023, is the latest chapter in an almost 15-year effort by the DOL to amend the five-part test in its 1975 regulation for determining whether a person is a “fiduciary” by reason of providing “investment advice” for…
Doug Lipsky Talks To Bloomberg News About Google Gender Bias Verdict
Doug Lipsky, founding partner at Lipsky Lowe LLP, recently shared his insights with Bloomberg Law regarding a recent gender bias case that has captured the attention of the legal community. In Rowe v. Google, a New York federal jury ordered Google LLC to pay $1.15 million in damages to resolve a former female executive’s gender…
Massachusetts Employees May Now Top Off Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits with Vacation, PTO, and Sick Time
The Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”) law now permits employees to “top off” benefits received through the state Department of Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) with employer-provided accrued paid time off (e.g., vacation, PTO, or sick time). This new change allows employees to elect whether to supplement their PFML benefits with paid time…
Blurred Boundaries: Rescuing Workers’ Privacy in the Process of Searching Data and Devices – by Virginia Mantouvalou and Michael Veale
1. Introduction
In the context of the UK Covid inquiry, employment law barrister, Jason Braier, commented on social media:
Employees are often told that when they draft emails they should keep in mind that they could be read out in court any day.
The Covid Inquiry hopefully highlights that…
Managing the risks of concussions in contact sports: a Senate inquiry
This article was co-authored by Hattie Wilson
In recent years, evidence of the link between concussions and repeated head trauma sustained in contact sports, and the short and long-term impacts of such injuries on an individual’s health, has gained increasing awareness and concern, both in Australia and internationally.
Consequently, on 1 December 2022, the Senate…
Increased regulation and a potential ban on engineered stone
The status of silica regulation across Australia
This article was co-authored by Hattie Wilson
In recent years, Australia has seen a significant increase in the number of cases of silicosis and other crystalline silica (silica) related diseases in the workplace. Silica is a naturally occurring mineral which is used in many products such as asphalt,…
In Matter of First Impression, Second Circuit Adopts Pleading Standard for Prohibited Transaction Claims under ERISA
In Cunningham v. Cornell Univ., No. 21-114-CV, __F.4th__, 2023 WL 7504142 (2d Cir. Nov. 14, 2023), the Second Circuit decided a matter of first impression in one of several similarly filed lawsuits against fiduciaries of university 403(b) plans alleging various ERISA violations concerning the management of plan assets. Plaintiffs in this class action case…