To help with your writing efforts, here’s what people are looking for in Employment Law online. Trending topics culled from JD Supra, search analytics, social media conversations, and other sources:
Consider writing about:
An April 14 conviction in a wage-fixing case; key allegations in the case; what stands out to you about the conviction and the U.S. Department of Justice’s pursuit of this case and other incidents of alleged wage-fixing; what else employers should know about the DOJ’s attention to wage-fixing claims.
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Noteworthy legal developments, trends, or tips involving employee meal breaks; common misunderstandings or confusion (on the part of either employees or employers) regarding meal breaks, compensation, state or federal labor laws, workplace policies, or employee or employer obligations; any interesting lawsuits, settlements, or verdicts over employee meal breaks, and what employers can learn from those.
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Retaliation in the labor law context. Among the points worth considering: employee rights and protections involving protection from retaliation; trends involving volume or type of retaliation incidents; state or federal enforcement trends; noteworthy allegations or penalties involving retaliation in the workplace; any new or worsening factors triggering recent retaliation claims; what else employers should know about retaliation incidents, their potential consequences, and related best practices.
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Your choice of pregnancy discrimination developments in the workplace, whether involving noteworthy lawsuits, EEOC actions, verdicts, or settlements, or evolving laws and emerging or shifting protections. Also offer practical guidance involving any of the following points: recurring mistakes or common questions on the part of employers regarding pregnancy bias and potential hires, new employees, or existing part- or full-time employees; additional issues regarding paid or unpaid time off, remote work, in vitro procedures, miscarriages, and/or the rights of spouses or unmarried partners to parental leave; how employers can avoid liability over pregnancy discrimination. Additionally or alternatively, consider whether to examine pregnancy discrimination issues in countries other than the United States, and what companies that are expanding to other countries or regions should know about local laws and rights on this point.
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Legal wrangling over President Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders; which litigation is most significant; what the status is of the lawsuits; what employers need to do to stay compliant with state and federal laws and related guidance; how employers can stay on top of rapidly changing developments and head off confusion or compliance missteps on the part of either themselves or their workforce.
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Harassment in the workplace; behaviors that managers or employers should be watching for; how employers can prevent or halt incidents of harassment; most common types of reported harassment; potential liability on the part of employers for not addressing the likelihood of harassment in their workplace; how the enforcement landscape regarding harassment may be changing under the second Trump administration.
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“Reverse discrimination” developments of note, whether U.S. Supreme Court cases, lower court rulings, interesting lawsuits, enforcement actions, or other matters. Do you anticipate a spike in reverse discrimination allegations as the second Trump administration continues to make known its priorities? Or are you already seeing a surge in such claims? What should employers be on the lookout for, and how should they be preparing for the possibility that they will be hit with reverse discrimination allegations of one type or another?
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Federal and state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act provisions, and, in particular, whether they apply to remote-based workers; what factors may trigger WARN obligations regarding remote workers; questions or confusion you may be seeing from employers regarding these issues; any noteworthy verdicts, lawsuits, or enforcement actions involving WARN rights and remote workers; what else employers should know about federal or state WARN laws’ reach to various classes and locations of workers.
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A judge’s order that former National Labor Relations Board chair Gwynne Wilcox be reinstated; when the reinstatement takes effect; what the judge’s ruling means for the NLRB, employers, workers, and potentially for President Trump’s power over the NLRB going forward; what else to know about the NLRB’s current makeup and status and whether other shakeups could be in store for the Board.
Related information:
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/06/judge-reinstates-nlrb-member-gwynne-wilcox-trump-fired.html
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Indications from the U.S. Department of Justice or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as to their enforcement posture regarding employers’ immigration-related missteps, especially (but not exclusively) as they pertain to hiring practices. What guidance or other developments stand out to you in terms of risks for employers under the second Trump administration? What potential civil or criminal penalties should employers be aware of? On a related note, what lessons can employers draw from past or ongoing litigation over the hiring of foreign workers “versus” American workers? How should employers be thinking about their hiring practices in the current political climate?
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New developments on the diversity, equity and inclusion front. Among the questions to consider exploring: What new developments from recent weeks stand out to you, in terms of liability risks, compliance priorities, or other concerns on the part of employers? Are employers expressing confusion over the status of DEI-related pitfalls and obligations amid Trump administration actions, lawsuits in response to those actions, and the courts’ handling of those suits? Do employers risk pulling back prematurely on DEI efforts and violating federal or state laws in the process? Does the situation differ significantly for government contractors and private employers? And what about employers who operate in multiple countries? How do they navigate different governments’ clashing expectations?
Related information:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/13/starbucks-missouri-dei-lawsuit
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The U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission’s decision to drop at least six of its own cases that the agency filed on behalf of workers alleging gender identity discrimination; basis for the EEOC’s shift in direction; where the EEOC’s announcement leaves the workers who were at the center of those cases; how unusual the EEOC’s dismissal is; what employers should know about federal vs. state enforcement stances on gender identity and related discrimination risks.
Related information:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eeoc-transgender-discrimination-cases
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Noteworthy developments involving the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace; implemented laws or pending legislation (in the jurisdiction of your choice) regarding employers’ use of AI to make employment-related decisions; concerns addressed by the measures; related obligations on the part of employers; how employers can avoid liability in connection with their use of AI systems.
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Best practices and potential pitfalls for employers when contemplating whether to undertake layoffs, furloughs, or reductions in force; comparison of these options; related employer obligations under the United States’ Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act or comparable laws in other countries or on the state level; common liability risks involving discrimination claims; emerging risks involving artificial intelligence; potential complications related to remote workers. Alternatively or additionally, consider whether to create a list of do’s and don’ts, or whether to provide lessons from a real-life company layoff that resulted in significant legal problems or reputational damage.
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Employees’ observance of Ramadan; what employers should know about related religious practices, and their obligations as employers; reasonable accommodation requirements and discrimination risks to keep in mind.
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President Trump’s firing of members of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board; how this action compares to changes of personnel undergone by those bodies during prior shifts in presidential administrations; what stands out to you about Trump’s actions regarding the EEOC and the NLRB; basis for possible legal challenges to Trump’s maneuvers; where the dismissals leave the two entities in terms of personnel, successors, philosophical makeup, and current powers, functions, and ability to operate.
Related information:
https://www.npr.org/2025/01/28/nx-s1-5277103/nlrb-trump-wilcox-abruzzo-democrats-labor
Consider writing about:
The second Trump administration’s early attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion; what strikes you as the most significant of the early actions on that front; answers to questions you may be getting (or misconceptions you may be hearing) from clients about the force, scope, and implications of those presidential actions; how employers should be navigating the DEI landscape amid this heightened attention to the issue; what employers can do if they want to continue previous DEI efforts but don’t want to incur blowback over that goal.
Consider writing about:
An opinion letter released on Jan. 14 by the U.S. Department of Labor regarding the Family Medical and Leave Act; what the opinion letter addresses regarding the inter-relationship among state and federal paid leave laws and related rights; common sources of confusion over these points, on the part of either employers or employees; whether the DOL opinion letter does a sufficient job of clearing up confusion over paid leave; what employers should know about the evolution of employee leave rights around the United States.
Related information:
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/2025_1_14_1_FMLA.pdf
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Employment law matters and workplace policies related to the Los Angeles wildfires. Among the possible points to explore, either in a single article or in a series of articles: What employers should keep in mind regarding local, state, or federal laws involving payroll obligations, employee compensation, paid or unpaid sick time or other forms of leave; additional issues regarding displaced workers, handling remote-work requests, the condition of worksites in fire zones or areas affected by wildfire smoke, related health risks for employees, and, longer-term, possible impacts from post-traumatic stress disorder, and related accommodation obligations. Additionally, consider whether to explore optional benefits, services, or programs that employers may want to provide to employees affected by the wildfires, in terms of disaster relief, leave donation programs, or other assistance.
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A recent federal appeals court ruling over the firing of two Starbucks baristas; key points in the 3rd Circuit ruling; what the ruling means for Starbucks, its workers, and current or potential labor unionization drives at the company, and, more broadly speaking, what the ruling could mean for other employers, for the National Labor Relations Board’s powers, and for legal challenges to the NLRB’s enforcement powers.
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President-elect Donald Trump’s claim that he will use the U.S. military to assist in carrying out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants after he is inaugurated; legal authority that may or may not exist for such a scenario; potential grounds for challenging the military’s role in such an endeavor; how the mobilization of military personnel for wide-scale deportations could impact employers; what employers should know about the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act of 1994, employer obligations under USERRA, and employee rights under the Act.
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A discrimination lawsuit against Google over layoffs conducted by the tech giant; what this case may illustrate regarding potential pitfalls involving any or all of the following: pregnancy discrimination and protections, family leave rights, employers’ compliance obligations under state and federal laws, procedures for conducting layoffs and/or company reorganizations. Also consider whether to add some wider-angle perspective on legal trends involving any of these points or involving discrimination lawsuits against the tech industry.
Related information:
https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/google-layoffs-accused-illegal-lawsuit-19974133.php
Consider writing about:
A federal appeals court ruling in a Fair Labor Standards Act case; basis for the 3rd Circuit’s ruling; practical takeaways for other employers regarding wage-and-hour laws and related compliance obligations; related legal trends involving compensation for required processes undertaken by workers before or after their shifts.
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Your choice of three or more noteworthy employment law-related issues or trends from 2024. Feel free to either stick to a particular industry or one specific subset of topics or entities (examples: non-compete agreements, DEI trends, employment-related AI risks, the NLRB, the EEOC, the U.S. Department of Labor), or go wider in focus and draw from a spectrum of issues.
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President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Lori Chavez-DeRemer to be the next head of the U.S. Department of Labor; what to know about Chavez-DeRemer’s current status, her history, her record on labor issues, and her potential path to confirmation.
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Recent accusations by the National Labor Relations Board that Apple has illegally suppressed employee discussions (among employees and between employees and the news media) regarding such issues as sex bias and pay discrimination; how the company allegedly quashed these conversations; what other employers should know about workers’ rights in this regard, applicable labor law, and what employers can and can not do regarding internal or external employee communications on workplace policies or other matters.
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The use of productivity monitoring tools and other employee surveillance systems; employers’ legal obligations regarding notification to employees of the use of monitoring systems; any noteworthy lawsuits, labor actions, or enforcement actions involving the use of such tech tools; added legal or ethical complications that may arise from the impact of employee monitoring tools on private home environments or other sites that are separate from the office and an employer’s ownership or control; other issues that employers should consider when deciding whether to use employee-tracking systems; what employers should know about employees’ or contractors’ simulation of work activity; how to combat these types of actions (whether through tech tools or otherwise); how to measure or evaluate worker activity, output, and overall performance without overstepping on individual privacy; practical pointers on related disciplinary action or termination procedures.
Related information:
https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/wells-fargo-fires-fake-online-19513397.php
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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s fiscal year 2024 financial report, released on Nov. 15; top takeaways from the report as regards the EEOC’s focus, accomplishments, emerging or heightened issues of concern, or other noteworthy details; how the latest report compares to those from prior fiscal years.
Related information:
https://www.eeoc.gov/fiscal-year-2024-agency-financial-report#h_78668255911211731598460656
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A Texas federal judge’s Nov. 15 decision striking down the Department of Labor’s overtime rule; basis for the judge’s ruling; to whom the court’s decision applies; what the ruling means for employee compensation; practical considerations for employers regarding their pay practices.
Related information:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-judge-blocks-overtime-pay-212709546.html
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Potential changes ahead for the National Labor Relations Board, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the U.S. Department of Labor under the new Trump administration. Consider whether to cover all three entities, or focus on a single one, in discussing likely changes in leadership, direction, priorities, enforcement, and more.