New year, new mechanism for US-EU data transfers?

Last October, President Joe Biden’s administration published an executive order regarding a new EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework – the replacement of the so-called Privacy Shield mechanism that previously allowed transfers of personal data from the EU to the United States. The executive order immediately sparked the European Commission’s process to assess the new U.S. regime and prepare a respective adequacy decision, which would bring considerable…

New protection against hair discrimination in Illinois

Illinois is set to join 13 other US states in introducing protection against discrimination based on hair styles and texture, particularly those associated with Black natural hair. On 9 April 2022, the Illinois Senate passed House Amendment 1 to SB 3616, joining the Illinois House, in unanimously passing legislation referred to as the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act. It…

US COVID-19 Action Plan includes mandatory vaccinations or weekly testing

On 9 September 2021, President Biden announced a US COVID-19 Action Plan comprised of six main components. This article focuses on the ‘Vaccinating the Unvaccinated’ component and its impact on employers. According to President Biden, almost 80 million Americans who are eligible to be vaccinated have not received their first shot. He has directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop a rule…

US employers get the green light to offer incentives for COVID-19 vaccinations: what are the rules?

New guidance from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission gives the go-ahead to employers to offer incentives to employees to get vaccinated and provide educational material to encourage vaccination, under certain conditions. The new guidance On 28 May 2021, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its guidance relating to employers’ obligations and limitations in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in the workplace. Most notably, the…

Paid leave for vaccination: New York’s new Vaccine Leave Law

From 12 March, employees in New York State are entitled to four hours’ paid leave to enable them to get a COVID-19 vaccination. Executive summary On 12 March 2021, New York State enacted an amendment to the New York Labor Law and the New York Civil Service Law, which provides for four hours of paid leave time, per injection, to obtain a COVID-19 vaccination. The…

A guide to hair discrimination laws and their impact on employer grooming codes in the US

This review of legislation and case law on hair and hair styling in the workplace in the US looks at recent state and federal anti-discrimination initiatives and gives guidance to employers on how to adapt their dress code and grooming policies. Executive summary Many have said that the workplace tends to be society’s battlefield, where culture wars play out and emerging trends go up against long-established…

Executive Order combatting discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community: what do US-employers need to know?

Within hours of his inauguration on 20 January 2021, President Biden signed his Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation. The Executive Order establishes the new administration’s policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, and directs federal agencies to take affirmative steps to secure these rights.   The Executive Order commits to enforcing the…

President Trump suspends entry to US for certain foreign workers until end of 2020

President Trump has extended the entry ban for individuals applying for green cards until 31 December 2020 and introduced a ban on foreign nationals seeking to enter the US on certain categories of work visa.  This updates our alert of 22 April 2020, which discussed President Trump’s 60-day suspension on the entry of individuals applying for immigrant visas (‘green cards’) outside of the United States….

LGBTQ+ workers are protected by the Civil Rights Act: a landmark decision from the US Supreme Court

On 15 June 2020, the US Supreme Court held that LGBTQ+ workers are protected at a national level from workplace discrimination by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.  June is Pride Month. This year’s Pride Month has extra meaning for the LGBTQ+ community, allies and advocates. On 15 June 2020, Justice Gorsuch, writing for the 6-3 majority of the United States Supreme Court, handed…

US: Department of Labor relaxes rules for tipped employees

Employers now have greater flexibility in how they remunerate tipped employees who also perform non-tipped duties as a result of a reissued opinion from the US Department of Labor. This article sets out details of the revised and clarified policy, which is already effective. Executive Summary The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has announced it will no longer apply the ‘80/20 rule’…