Every year, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has a lottery for H-1B visas. These nonimmigrant visas are available to foreign workers in highly skilled positions in specialized occupations....
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued a final rule banning non-competes for the vast majority of the workforce in the U.S. Many states already discourage the use of non-competes, limiting the duration, geographic...
On April 15, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released its final rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The rule clarifies employer obligations to provide reasonable...
New York State recently became the first state to give pregnant employees paid time off to obtain prenatal medical care. As part of the budget passed on April 20, 2024, the state expanded its paid sick leave law. Employers...
Disputes involving employee free speech rights in the workplace are becoming an increasingly significant concern for employers. As demonstrated in a recent ruling of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), employers...
On March 1, 2024, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) released the text of the new “Workers’ Bill of Rights” on its website along with the poster that employers will have to use...
Federal and state laws protect whistleblowers from retaliation by employers under the rationale that such laws combat fraud and/or abuse. One of these protective laws is the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX”). The U.S....
At the end of 2023, New York State followed New York City’s lead by broadening the rights of freelancers and enacting the “Freelance Isn’t Free Act.” In many respects, New York State’s law is even broader than New...
The U.S. Department of Labor released its final rule on January 9, 2024, regarding the test for determining when a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. While the rule will likely be challenged in the courts,...
Effective March 12, 2024, employers in New York cannot request or require employees or applicants to disclose their personal account logins as a condition of hiring or employment or for use in a disciplinary action. The law...