Employment Law This Week

What employers should know about key developments this week: State and Local Laws: Rhode Island was the first state to pass a law requiring workplace protections for employees experiencing menopause, and Illinois and Philadelphia now have laws that take effect January 1, 2027. The Illinois law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for impacted employees. Vetoes in California and Virginia: California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed menopause-related legislation three times, saying he supported protecting workers from bias tied to menopause but feared the legislation would increase litigation risk. He also noted that existing state civil rights law already covers menopausal conditions. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger vetoed a menopause-related bill in May 2026. Federal Proposal: Existing federal laws do not recognize menopause as a distinct protected category, so employees have relied on overlapping protections based on sex, age, or disability. The Menopausal Workers' Fairness Act, introduced in July 2026, would create an explicit federal right to reasonable accommodation for symptoms related to menopause. In this episode of Employment Law This Week®, Epstein Becker Green attorney Courtney McFate discusses state and local menopause protections for employees, vetoes of menopause-related legislation in California and Virginia, and the proposed federal Menopausal Workers' Fairness Act. - Visit our site for this week's video edition and more news: https://www.ebglaw.com/eltw452 Sign up for notifications: https://www.ebglaw.com/eltw-subscribe Visit https://www.EmploymentLawThisWeek.com - Epstein Becker Green is a national law firm focused on health care and life sciences; employment, labor, and workforce management; and litigation and business disputes. This video is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Viewing this video does not create an attorney-client relationship. EMPLOYMENT LAW THIS WEEK® and #WorkforceWednesday® are registered trademarks of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. © Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. All Rights Reserved. Attorney Advertising.

What employers should know about key developments this week: Limits on Automated Decisions and Surveillance: Starting July 1, 2027, under California's "No Robo Bosses Act," employers cannot base disciplinary or termination decisions solely on an automated decision-making system's output, and they face new written notice and data access obligations. Separately, AB 1883, effective January 1, 2027, bars employers from using artificial intelligence in workplace surveillance tools to predict or infer an employee's emotional state or to collect neural data. Stay-or-Pay Law Delayed: Amendments to California's stay-or-pay law provide some relief to employers: Clawback restrictions now apply only to contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2027, although plaintiffs may still challenge existing agreements under other legal theories. The changes also add exemptions for certain employees in the financial services industry, permit recovery of some paid time off advances, and allow more flexibility in the timing of qualifying bonus clawbacks. Higher Pay Data Penalties: California's penalty for an employer's first failure to submit pay data remains capped at $100 per employee per pay period, but the penalty for subsequent violations will increase from $200 to $1,000 per employee. - Visit our site for this week's video edition and more news: https://www.ebglaw.com/eltw451 Sign up for notifications: https://www.ebglaw.com/eltw-subscribe Visit https://www.EmploymentLawThisWeek.com - Epstein Becker Green is a national law firm focused on health care and life sciences; employment, labor, and workforce management; and litigation and business disputes. This video is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Viewing this video does not create an attorney-client relationship. EMPLOYMENT LAW THIS WEEK® and #WorkforceWednesday® are registered trademarks of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. © Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. All Rights Reserved. Attorney Advertising.

What employers should know about key developments this week: Paid Leave Reductions: The District of Columbia (DC) reduced paid family leave from 12 to six weeks, paid medical leave from 12 to 10 weeks, and the maximum weekly benefit to $1,100, effective October 1, 2026, for claims filed before October 1, 2030. Employee Misconduct During Protected Activity: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will no longer use its 1979 Atlantic Steel standard and will return to its 2020 General Motors test, making it easier to discipline employees for misconduct during a strike or other protected activity. Accenture False Claims Act Settlement: Accenture agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations that it falsely certified compliance with federal law—a violation of the False Claims Act—despite maintaining diversity initiatives that relied on race and sex for hiring and promotion decisions. It is the third major settlement announced under the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Fraud Initiative. - Visit our site for this week's video edition and more news: https://www.ebglaw.com/eltw450 Sign up for notifications: https://www.ebglaw.com/eltw-subscribe Visit https://www.EmploymentLawThisWeek.com - Epstein Becker Green is a national law firm focused on health care and life sciences; employment, labor, and workforce management; and litigation and business disputes. This video is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Viewing this video does not create an attorney-client relationship. EMPLOYMENT LAW THIS WEEK® and #WorkforceWednesday® are registered trademarks of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. © Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. All Rights Reserved. Attorney Advertising.

What employers should know about key developments this week: New Employee Access Right: Starting November 8, 2026, New York employers must allow current and former employees to access their personnel files up to two times per calendar year, and employers must produce the files within five business days. Notification and Response Rights: An employer must notify an employee within 10 days of placing any negative information in the employee's personnel file. The employee has the right to respond, and that response will be included in the personnel file unless the employer and employee agree otherwise. Collective Bargaining Agreements and Compliance: The new law does not change existing collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) if they already provide employees the same level of access to personnel records as the statute requires. Employers with unionized workforces should review their CBAs against the new statutory floor. In this episode of Employment Law This Week®, Epstein Becker Green attorney Adam M. Tomiak discusses what the New York personnel file access law means for employers. - Visit our site for this week's video edition and more news: https://www.ebglaw.com/eltw449 Sign up for notifications: https://www.ebglaw.com/eltw-subscribe Visit https://www.EmploymentLawThisWeek.com - Epstein Becker Green is a national law firm focused on health care and life sciences; employment, labor, and workforce management; and litigation and business disputes. This video is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Viewing this video does not create an attorney-client relationship. EMPLOYMENT LAW THIS WEEK® and #WorkforceWednesday® are registered trademarks of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. © Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. All Rights Reserved. Attorney Advertising.

What employers should know about key developments this week: Candidate Fraud Escalating Globally: According to the research firm Gartner, by 2028, one in four candidate profiles could be fraudulent in some way. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools now make it easier to create false identities and fabricate credentials, and employers face the dual risk of hiring unqualified candidates or unknowingly bringing in individuals with fraudulent intent. North Korea's Remote Worker Operation: From 2020 to 2022, the U.S. government identified over 300 U.S. companies—including Fortune 500 firms—that unknowingly hired fraudulent remote workers operating as part of a coordinated North Korean state operation. Building an Insider Threat Program: Hiring fraudulent candidates can result in security threats, intellectual property theft, reputational damage, operational disruption, and potential Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions. Employers should implement a comprehensive insider threat program that identifies risk areas while complying with applicable background check laws and other federal, state, and local legal requirements. In this episode of Employment Law This Week®, Epstein Becker Green attorneys Brian G. Cesaratto and Genevieve M. Murphy-Bradacs examine how employers can safeguard their hiring processes against fraudulent candidates and state-sponsored threats in an AI-enabled environment. - Visit our site for this week's video edition and more news: https://www.ebglaw.com/eltw448 Sign up for notifications: https://www.ebglaw.com/eltw-subscribe Visit https://www.EmploymentLawThisWeek.com - Epstein Becker Green is a national law firm focused on health care and life sciences; employment, labor, and workforce management; and litigation and business disputes. This video is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Viewing this video does not create an attorney-client relationship. EMPLOYMENT LAW THIS WEEK® and #WorkforceWednesday® are registered trademarks of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. © Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. All Rights Reserved. Attorney Advertising.