On average, the timeline for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement averages around 461 days. Employers that are facing or anticipating organizing campaigns should be ready to evaluate their labor relations strategies in light of this development, as enactment would dramatically compress the window available to negotiate first contracts.
Continue reading “House Advances Bill to Impose 90 Day Deadline to Reach First Labor Contracts”
New York City enacted two new pay data reporting laws for the purposes of collecting demographic and occupational information to use for pay equity studies of the private workforce to identify potential pay disparities. That annual reporting obligation could commence as early as 2027, and could conceivably require reporting of 2026 pay data. New York City’s pay data collection and audits follows similar efforts already in place in California, Illinois, Massachusetts and adopted by the EU Pay Transparency Directive.
Continue reading “New Pay Reporting Requirements for New York City Employers”
On March 24, 2026, Australia’s Fair Work Commission (FWC or Commission) moved to formalize its stance on the use of artificial intelligence by publishing an exposure draft of its proposed Guidance Note: Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Commission Cases.
The draft guidance note acknowledges that GenAI tools may be used to assist litigants to produce applications, responses, submissions, witness statements, and other documents for submission to the Commission. However, it also warns that information generated by these tools may be incomplete, inaccurate, or fabricated. President Justice A Hatcher’s statement accompanying the guidance note explains that the draft aims to address the increase in the Commission’s workload due to the use of GenAI tools by potential litigants.
Continue reading “Australia’s Fair Work Commission Guidance for Use of Generative AI”
On March 3, 2026, Mexico published a decree reforming its constitution to gradually reduce the workweek from 48 hours to 40 hours. The reform seeks to reduce employee fatigue and occupational accidents by increasing rest time.
As of January 1, 2027, the work schedule will be gradually reduced by two hours, eventually reaching a maximum of 40 hours per week in 2030. The reduction in workweek hours will be implemented as follows:
Continue reading “Key Developments in Mexico: Updates to the Workweek and Overtime”
Ten years after initial passage of California’s Fair Pay Act, California continues to fine tune existing pay equity and pay transparency laws. As of January 1, 2026, job postings must include the “good faith estimate” of the salary or wage range an employer expects to pay for the advertised position at the time of the candidate’s hiring. 2026 also brings longer statutes of limitation periods for employee wage discrimination claims, requires employers to separate pay data report information from employee personnel records, and mandates substantial court-imposed civil penalties for an employer’s failure to file an annual pay data report.
Current California law requires employers to provide pay scale information to applicants and current employees, upon request, and requires certain employers to include a pay scale in job postings. As previously reported, those requirements became effective on January 1, 2023.
Continue reading “California Enacts Stronger Pay Transparency Obligations for 2026 and Beyond”
Commissioner Brittany Panuccio’s confirmation on October 7, 2025 restored the EEOC’s quorum, removing the constraints that limited Chair Andrea Lucas during the eight-month period when the Commission operated with just two members. The Commission can now formally adopt new guidance, rescind prior guidance and policies, authorize litigation, approve amicus briefs, and modify its Strategic Enforcement Plan —actions that were not possible without three commissioners.
Based on Chair Lucas’ stated priorities and enforcement actions already underway, employers face 5 critical enforcement shifts.
Continue reading “EEOC Quorum Restored: Five Critical Enforcement Shifts for Employers”