Business, Management, Marketing, Money, Tax, Law, People

Quick Hits Female retail employees in the UK sued Next Retail Limited for paying them less than male warehouse workers for work of equal value. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) determined that recruiting and retention needs at warehouses were legitimate reasons for the pay differential. The EAT found the pay differential was a proportionate response to a legitimate aim. The UK’s Equality Act 2010 prohibits employment discrimination based on sex,…

Quick Hits SkillBridge provides employers with access to talented military members who are in the process of becoming civilians. These individuals continue to be paid by the military while placed with SkillBridge employers. To participate, employers can either register to serve as SkillBridge employers or work through approved intermediaries. For employers, human resource (HR) leaders, and talent acquisition teams, SkillBridge can be a practical way to connect with military talent…

Quick Hits The 9/11 Notice Act and regulations require employers to notify “where practicable” current and former employees who worked in affected areas of Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn of potential eligibility for federal compensation funds. The funds are not limited to first responders but apply to those helped with the clean-up and construction or lived, worked, or went to school in the affected areas during and after the attacks. A…

Quick Hits On September 8, 2026, the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) published an agreement in the Official Gazette of the Federation that approved the mandatory generation of the digital employers registration identification card (Digital TIP), which will supersede any previously issued physical TIPs. The agreement enters into force on September 23, 2026, and employers must enable access to the IMSS electronic notification portal, called Buzón IMSS, to generate…

Quick Hits The NLRB upheld an arbitration confidentiality provision to the extent it protected the confidentiality of the proceedings and the outcome, while found that the provision’s blanket prohibition on disclosing the existence of arbitration was unlawful. The NLRB also upheld an arbitration provision covering “any and all” employment-related claims, finding a prominent savings clause reasonably informed employees of their rights to file a charge with the NLRB. On August…

Quick Hits The Home Office is introducing mandatory Multi-Factor Authentication for all Sponsor Management System (SMS) users beginning 3 September 2026, requiring a one-time passcode in addition to existing login credentials to protect against unauthorised access. The Level 2 user role will be discontinued from 9 September 2026, and sponsors must upgrade eligible Level 2 users to Level 1 status or deactivate their accounts by 8 March 2027. Because sponsors…

Quick Hits Whether live, in-person teaching was an “essential function” was a fact question for the jury, particularly given that the job description did not distinguish live from virtual instruction and the college had used virtual classrooms during COVID-19 and inclement weather. Failing to communicate a decision on a requested accommodation, even while considering it internally, may constitute a denial sufficient to establish a prima facie failure-to-accommodate claim. Both parties…

Quick Hits NOM-035, published in 2018, established Mexico’s first explicit regulatory framework addressing psychosocial risk factors and employer obligations related to employees’ physical and mental well-being in the workplace. The standard catalyzed a series of labor reforms including expanded vacation entitlements, remote work regulations, recognition of mental health disorders as occupational diseases, the Chair Law requiring workplace seating, and the gradual reduction of the workweek to forty hours by 2030.…

Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the Summer 2026 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. This issue discusses the latest news from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the wake of a year-long period that the five-member Board lacked the statutorily required three-member quorum due to unfilled vacancies. Even following this extended period when the Board did not have the authority…

Quick Hits SEVP issued Broadcast Message 2608-01 on August 12, 2026, signaling heightened scrutiny of CPT authorizations that may not satisfy regulatory requirements. Broadcast Message 2608-02, issued August 24, 2026, provides additional Q&A guidance on when practical training is considered “integral” to an established curriculum. Both messages are directed at DSOs and SEVP-certified schools rather than employers, and they do not create new regulations or alter existing CPT requirements. On…

Quick Hits On June 5, 2026, FinCEN and several other federal agencies issued a joint advisory highlighting fraud typologies and suspicious activity linked to unlawful employment and employers, including immigration-related schemes. The Treasury Department is expected to propose revisions to the Bank Secrecy Act related to customer due diligence requirements, as well as updates to customer identification program rules to address foreign consular identification cards. On June 8, 2026, the…

Quick Hits The IRS unveiled a new set of detailed FAQs on August 6, 2026, that supersede FAQs that were posted on January 23, 2026, regarding taxation of tips and overtime pay under 2025’s omnibus spending bill. The new FAQs provide information concerning the definition of qualified overtime, eligibility for the deduction, tax withholding obligations, and reporting and correcting qualified overtime on year-end tax forms.   The “no tax on tips…

Quick Hits Because FAMLI allows an employer to choose to cover an employee’s portion of the contribution, a unionized employer that implements FAMLI’s default 50/50 contribution split without first providing the union with advance notice and an opportunity to request bargaining may risk an unfair labor practice charge. Since employers must already bargain over the contribution split, they could include notice of whether they will implement an Equivalent Private Insurance…

Quick Hits The State Department has paused immigrant visa interview appointments at consulates and embassies worldwide so that its officers can undergo training on new public charge screening guidance. Nonimmigrant visa categories—including tourist, student, and temporary work visas—are currently not impacted by the pause. The pause in appointments appears temporary, though a specific timeline has not been announced. The postponement of immigrant visa interviews comes after DHS policy changes affecting…