by Carolyn Jones - EdSource
Wilfred Adu-Beng was already grappling with a mountain of hardships after his father and stepmother died. Getting his younger brother — for whom he was suddenly responsible — to middle school every day proved to be one of the biggest hurdles of all.
In essence, it was impossible. Adu-Beng, a psychiatric tech at a hospital near San Bernardino, often worked swing or early morning shifts.
by Greta Ravitsky, Mason Garner - Epstein Becker Green
The State of Texas infrequently regulates the workplace. This summer, however, Texas enacted two notable workplace laws about which employers should be aware.
On June 13, 2023, Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 2127, the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act (the “Act” or “H.B. 2127”), which amends various Texas statutory codes, including the Labor Code, and preempts local lawmaking in various statutorily governed areas to assert Texas’s “sovereign regulatory powers.” Referred to by its opponents as the “Death Star Bill,” the Act is slated to take effect on September 1, 2023, and effectively prevents cities and counties from passing local ordinances beyond the scope of existing state laws in numerous fields of regulation, including labor and employment, agriculture, and finance.
by Evandro C Gigante, Joseph C O’Keefe - The National Law Review
The second webinar in our series, “Employment Issues in Generative AI,” explored the evolving impact of generative AI (or “GAI”) on the workplace and how employers can work to ensure the ethical and responsible use of AI applications and recognize and navigate potential legal issues from existing anti-discrimination and other laws and regulations. The presenters also offered a list of do’s and don’ts and outlined how employers should develop an AI strategy and policy and how to avoid common pitfalls in AI implementation.
Read more: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/employment-issues-generative-ai
by Charmian Aw - The National Law Review
On May 18, 2023, South Korea’s privacy regulator, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), released for public consultation a draft decree[1] under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). The key changes proposed in the draft decree are as follows.
Consent
The draft decree seeks to enhance the right under the PIPA of citizens who are data subjects, to determine how their personal data may be processed. This is done by specifying that, where consent is the appropriate basis for processing personal data, such consent must be freely given by each data subject after it has been made explicitly clear to them that they can choose whether or not to consent. This includes ensuring that any personal data processing policy is implemented and disclosed in an easy-to-understand manner.
by Duane Morris
Writing for a unanimous Supreme Court of the United States, on June 1, 2023, Justice Clarence Thomas issued a decision clarifying the knowledge requirement for cases brought pursuant to the False Claims Act (FCA). In overturning the consolidated cases of United States ex rel. Schutte et al. v. SuperValu Inc., et al. and United States ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc., the Supreme Court rejected the Seventh Circuit’s focus on the objectively reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous rule or regulation. Instead, the Court held that the FCA’s scienter requirement refers to the defendant’s subjective knowledge and belief at the time the claim is submitted.
by Hunton Andrews Kurth
On May 30, 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) issued the Guideline for Filing the Standard Contract for Cross-border Transfer of Personal Information (“SC”). On June 1, 2023, the SC became an effective mechanism for transferring personal data outside of China. When using the SC as a transfer mechanism, it must be filed with the CAC and the new Guideline provides guidance for doing so. The key elements of the Guideline are summarized below.
by Morgan Lewis, Chloe Keating Leigh, Mikaela Shaw Masoudpout, Anna Perocchi, Stephanie Sweitzer - JD Supra
Chicago’s newly elected mayor, Brandon Johnson, signed amendments on April 24 to Chicago’s “ban the box” ordinance, which became effective immediately and applies to all Chicago employers. Mirroring updates the Illinois legislature made to the Illinois Human Rights Act in 2021, the amendments require Chicago employers to perform an individualized assessment before basing an adverse employment action on an individual’s criminal history, and impose pre-adverse action and final adverse action notice requirements when such decisions are made.
Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/chicago-enhances-ban-the-box-2183390/
by Charles Dauthier, Sabine Smith-Vidal - Lexology
An extract from Lexology Getting the Deal Through
Background information on applicants
Background checks
Are there any restrictions or prohibitions against background checks on applicants? Does it make a difference if an employer conducts its own checks or hires a third party?
The employer may ask an applicant to provide information directly or through a third party to the extent that such information is necessary to assess the applicant’s professional capacities that have a direct link with the position and the applicant’s skills (article L1221-6 of the Labour Code). Except where the information is relevant in the specific context of the position, the employer may not collect private background information (eg, whether the applicant has a criminal or credit record, or a driver’s licence).
by Evan Popp - Beacon
In response to the state’s dire affordable housing crisis, advocates urged lawmakers Monday to pass a bill to stabilize rent prices and reform tenant termination laws along with a measure to prevent landlords from using a criminal record to deny housing to someone at the beginning of an application process.
The measures — part of a litany of housing-related bills being pushed this session to better protect tenants, address chronic homelessness and spur the development of affordable housing — come as the crisis in Maine threatens to spiral out of control. Rental prices are skyrocketing and evictions are spiking. Furthermore, there are around 15,000 people on waitlists for housing vouchers in the state, 40% of Maine renters are considered cost-burdened, homelessness is on the rise and there is a shortage of about 20,000 affordable housing units.
Read more: https://mainebeacon.com/hearing-draws-support-for-rent-stabilization-and-ban-the-box-for-housing/
by Andrew Gray, Rod M. Fliegel - Littler
For nearly a decade, Chicago has maintained a “ban-the-box” ordinance restricting employer’s use of criminal records in employment screening. This ordinance largely mirrored the requirements of Illinois’ state-wide Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act (JOQAA), albeit with some important differences.
Illinois law on this subject has since been amended substantially, and on April 24, 2023, the City of Chicago followed suit by publishing an amended ban-the-box ordinance that takes immediate effect. Chicago’s new ordinance: (1) creates a new individualized assessment requirement; (2) requires a pre-adverse and final adverse action notice when employers are assessing criminal records; and (3) requires additional language in an adverse action notice.
