Labor force participation is falling, the skills gap is widening, and certain industries are struggling to recover post-pandemic. In this podcast, Michael Lotito, co-chair of Littler Workplace Policy Institute (WPI) and Shannon Meade, executive director of WPI, discuss the historic transformation of the American workforce and what needs to be done on a national level to address the challenges employers and employees are facing ..read more

Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute’s (WPI) annual Labor Day report examines the state of the American workforce. Prior WPI Labor Day reports focused on key employment developments and trends to provide employers with insight on the state of work and what to expect in the coming year. Employers need no reminder that 2020 is unlike any year they have ever experienced. The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed employment with employers and employees alike facing unprecedented challenges. Even when the coronavirus is finally behind us, many of these challenges will remain. Accordingly, thi ..read more

Like many other multiemployer pension plans, the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund was hit very hard by the financial crisis in 2008. In response, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, was amended to allow Central States and other critically underfunded plans to remain solvent through the approval of a so-called “rescue plan.” On May 6, 2016, Central States’ proposed Rescue Plan was rejected by the IRS. This would have huge implications not just for the employers who contribute to the plan, but also for the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC ..read more

With the ongoing deadlock in Washington, D.C., an increasing amount of policy change is taking place at the state level. Nowhere is this more evident than in the states of New York and California, which have recently made substantial changes to their wage and hour laws. The governors of both states have signed legislation that will raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour, and at the same time California is expanding their paid sick leave law. These and other issues will have huge impacts on any groups doing business in those states. WPI Co-Chair Ilyse Schuman interviewed Littler shareholders B ..read more

Littler’s David Goldstein, Allan King and Kevin offer an examination of the proposed changes to the Employer Information Report (EEO-1) put out by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The proposal would require employers with 100 or more employees to provide data on employee compensation and hours. Smaller employers would have new reporting obligations as well. We also discuss the EEOC’s call for public comment on a new retaliation enforcement guidance. That 76-page proposal appears to expand the definition of "protected activity," and broaden the basis for proving the causal li ..read more

Mary Kissel, Member of Editorial Board and Host of OpinionJournal, The Wall Street Journal, talks about the U.S. economy and immigration reform ..read more

California’s landmark independent contractor law, AB 5, has only been in effect for eight months. But in that time frame, the law remains controversial and makes headlines every week. The law presents compliance challenges for businesses in the Golden State, and things aren’t getting any easier. In this podcast, members of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute will bring listeners up to date with what’s new with AB 5, including legislation that would further amend the law, court challenges, enforcement actions, and Proposition 22, which would revise the law for some gig economy employers ..read more

You might not believe your ears at first, as Bruce Sarchet and Michael Lotito of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI) heap praise on the City of Los Angeles for adopting a worker “right to recall” ordinance. Regular listeners of WPI’s podcasts know that more traditionally its members are expressing concerns and reservations as new employment laws and regulations are adopted. But the City of Angels did something truly revolutionary in this new law – it afforded employers the “right to cure” before a lawsuit can be filed. WPI sees this as a positive development, a true win-win for business ..read more

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many states and cities have adopted new paid sick leave laws. In a curious intersection between paid leave laws and independent contractor status laws, some of these laws establish a new and completely different approach to defining whether a food delivery driver should be classified as an “independent contractor” or as an “employee.” Rather than focusing on the duties of the worker and the business of the employer (as is done in the “ABC” test), these laws focus solely on whether the worker is engaged in a particular industry – food delivery. In this podc ..read more

Bruce Sarchet and Emily Patajo with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute discuss proposed laws and regulations under consideration in California. The 2020 class of bills covers a lot of ground, from potential changes to the much-discussed worker classification test under AB 5, to antidiscrimination measures and leaves of absence amendments ..read more