In the Spotlight
In the Spotlight
Regularly showcasing one of the Squire Patton Boggs latest employment law resources that support global employment counsel and senior HR leaders. Please also check out our knowledge hub for details of our latest blogs, insights and events.
February 2025
Global
Global Snapshot – Hot Employment Law Topics for 2025
We asked the partners across our global Labour & Employment practice to identify the key employment law topics for 2025 in their particular jurisdiction. Here is what they shared with us to help you in your decision making for 2025 and beyond.
UK
To seek a return to the office, or not to seek? Increasingly, that is the question
It is clear from the press in recent weeks that there has been a widespread shift in terms of how much homeworking employers are willing to allow and indeed, in some cases, an almost complete volte face – with numerous house-hold name employers reportedly mandating their staff to work four or five days in the office. Towards the end of last week, the BBC reported that Lord Sugar is telling workers to get their (if you’ll pardon the phrase) “bums back to the office”. Indeed, KPMG’s latest CEO Outlook at the end of 2024 revealed that
Sponsorship Licence Guidance: What Changes Should Be Reported to The Home Office?
In this episode of our Workforce Worldview podcast, we join Carine Elliot and May Cheung they discuss the guidance on what kind of changes to the employment of sponsored employees and sponsorship licence holders need to be reported to the Home Office. They go over which changes need to be reported, the deadlines for reports and details about the processes for documenting these changes in a prompt and orderly fashion.
UK Workplace Investigations: A Relatively Informal Guide, 2nd Edition
In this guide, we will take a look at the vexed area of workplace investigations. We will look at the background law, of which there is very little, and at best practice guidance, of which there is more than can possibly all be useful. We will offer some examples of investigations done badly and consider when and how it may be sensible to use someone outside the business. While we will hopefully take some of the anxiety out of doing these things yourself, we will also offer to do them for you, and explain why that can make legal as well as practical sense.
“Stupidly rhetorical” online posts –your employer’s rights to react (UK)
In these days of fevered and angry social media comment on almost everything, it is always wise for HR to keep its feet anchored firmly on the ground when all that online bile and indignation washes up at the employer’s door. Here to help with that is this week’s Court of Appeal decision in Higgs – v – Farmors School & Others, a case bulging at the seams with KCs (five!) and abstruse legal analysis.
Neonatal Care Leave and Pay: 10 Things You Need to Know (UK)
A new statutory right for employees to take paid leave from work if their children are admitted to neonatal care will be coming into force from 6 April.
This new right to neonatal care leave and pay is being introduced in response to concerns that current statutory leave and pay entitlements do not adequately support parents whose baby is born sick or prematurely and requires neonatal care. Although parents in this situation may be able to use part of their other statutory leave and pay entitlements to be with their child, campaigners for this new right made it clear that this was causing a range of problematic impacts, with many parents saying they had been forced to return to work while their babies were still sick in hospital or required to leave work, take unpaid leave or holiday to spend time with their child. The government estimates that around 60,000 parents will be eligible for this new type of leave, of whom around 34,000 parents are likely to take it up every year.
In our latest briefing note we set out our outline answers to the key questions that employers are likely to have about neonatal care leave and pay.
US
The Department of Labor (DOL) Adopts Self-Correction for Common Retirement Plan Fiduciary Breaches
For the first time since the DOL adopted its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFC Program) in 2002, retirement plan sponsors will be able to utilize self-correction as an efficient means to correct their most frequent compliance failures – late transmittals of participant retirement plan contributions and retirement plan loan repayments.
The DOL finalized an update to its VFC Program adding the Self-Correction Component (SCC) for these fiduciary failures and, additionally, finalized an amendment to an existing prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) that provides excise tax relief for transactions that have been self-corrected.
The SCC feature and excise tax relief become effective on March 17, 2025.
Anticipated Shift at National Labor Relations Board Begins With Rescission of General Counsel Memoranda (US)
Under the administrative scheme established by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)– the federal law that governs the relationship between employers, employees, and labor unions – the discretion whether to issue an administrative complaint against an employer based on an unfair labor practice charge is held by the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB or Board) General Counsel. The General Counsel therefore acts as the NLRB’s chief prosecutor. In that role, the General Counsel controls what issues are presented to the NLRB for decision (by deciding what issues are to be prosecuted), including those cases that may present novel issues or that provide vehicles through which to seek a change in existing federal labor law.
Federal Court Concludes States Have Standing to Challenge EEOC’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Rule (US)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled on February 20, 2025, in Tennessee v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, that seventeen (17) State attorneys general have standing to challenge the EEOC’s Final Rule interpreting the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “PWFA” or “the Act”). In the first federal appellate court decision to consider the issue, the Eighth Circuit panel held that the plaintiff-States have a sound jurisprudential basis to challenge the Final Rule because the States “are the object of the EEOC’s regulatory action.”
Federal Court Blocks Key Provisions of President Trump’s DEI Executive Orders (US)
On Friday, February 21, a Maryland federal court judge in Maryland issued a nationwide injunction temporarily preventing enforcement of three key provisions of President Trump’s Executive Orders 14151 and 14173 targeting DEI programs (links below). The court found the following provisions of the Orders were unconstitutional under the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
SECURE Act 2.0 Mandatory Automatic Enrollment Requirements for New Retirement Plans Guidance Released (US)
One of the hallmarks of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE Act 2.0) legislation was to increase participation in retirement plans. On January 10, 2025, the Treasury Department and the IRS came one step closer when they announced the issuance of proposed regulations requiring automatic enrollment for new Code Section 401(k) and 403(b) retirement plans (Proposed Regulations). As background, the SECURE Act 2.0 added Code Section 414A, which provides that a retirement plan will not be qualified unless it satisfies certain automatic enrollment requirements under Code Section 414(w).
UPDATE: US DOL Order Directing Departments to Cease Enforcement of Affirmative Action Requirements of EO 11246
Following President Trump’s Executive Order “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” on January 24, acting U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Vincent Micone issued an agency Order instructing DOL employees to cease and desist “all investigative and enforcement activity” under Executive Order 11246 (Equal Employment Opportunity) as the Secretary said the DOL “no longer has any authority” under the rescinded order. The Secretary further stated that the order applies to “all DOL employees, including the OFCCP, OALJ, and ARB.”
Employment Options for Terminating or Suspending Operations in Mexico
Considering the fluidity of the current US/Mexico situation and the potential for the escalation of destabilizing tariffs, we prepared a short summary of available employment options in Mexico for companies to keep in mind as they consider their operations in that country.
Under Mexican labor law, there are primarily three ways for companies to terminate all employment in a non-unionized facility: (i) collective termination of all employment relationships, (ii) collective suspension of all employment relationships, or (iii) mutual termination of individual employment relationships.
Trump DEI Order: How Could the Administration’s Plans to Target Private Sector Impact Employers? (US)
In just his first days in office, President Donald Trump has signaled that his Administration’s efforts to curb Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices will start with the federal government but may soon have sweeping impacts on the private sector. This post details President Trump’s Executive Order that directs the U.S. Department of Justice, and other agencies, to begin preparing to combat the DEI initiatives of private employers, and what’s to be expected in the months ahead.
Trump Transition: Shakeup at National Labor Relations Board Stalls NLRB Action (US)
It’s been a little more than a week since Inauguration Day, but the seismic shifts of presidential change in Washington, D.C. continue, now extending to and impacting the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board). On January 28, President Donald Trump shook up the NLRB with two major personnel decisions: one anticipated, the other unprecedented.
Europe
Europe – the AI revolution is underway but not quite yet in HR?
A couple of weeks ago we asked readers of this blog to answer a couple of questions on their organisation’s use of (generative) artificial intelligence, and we promised to circle back with the results. So, drum roll, the results are now in.
Webinars / Recordings
Labour & Employment UK Webinar Programme: Handling Workplace Investigations – An Introduction
Join our webinar, where we will explore the key legal and practical issues to be aware of when handling a workplace investigation, whether it involves a grievance, disciplinary, whistleblowing or other employment matter.
We will cover:
- The role of an investigator – Responsibilities at law.
- Planning the investigation – Scoping and objectives.
- Evidence – What should you be looking for? How much investigation is required?
- Dealing with witnesses.
- The investigation report – Access, structure and presentation.
- Findings and recommendations – Points to consider.
This webinar is aimed at junior HR professionals and those who require an introduction to key areas of employment law (including managers with responsibility for staffing issues), as well as individuals who are looking to refresh their knowledge in a particular area. It will be led by directors/associates in our Labour & Employment Practice Group.
The main webinar presentation will last 55 minutes, followed by a five-minute online question and answer session.
January 2025
UK
UK Employment Law – What Is on the Agenda for 2025?
As 2025 kicks off, we thought it would be useful to summarise the key legislative developments that are anticipated to come into force during the year.
Relatively Informal Guide to Workplace Mediation (UK)
Many, many years ago I was encouraged to submit a high-profile equal pay claim to mediation. We had already won in the Employment Tribunal, but an appeal was threatened and there were going to be extended arguments about quantum even at best. To say that I was sceptical would be an understatement – after all, we had spent the thick end of two years getting to that point and were over £1 million apart from the employer. And yet, after just eight hours in mediation, it was all done – settled in less than a day.
New Year UK Immigration Overhaul: What You Need to Know
On New Year’s Eve, many were focused on celebrating the arrival of whatever 2025 may bring, but behind the scenes the Home Office introduced some significant changes to immigration policy. These updates have been quietly implemented as part of the government’s ongoing ‘crackdown’ on alleged abuse of the UK immigration system, but some could have far-reaching implications.
Sponsorship Licence Guidance: What Recordkeeping Duties Does a Sponsor Have for Recruitment?
In this episode of our Workforce Worldview podcast, we join Osheenn Giam and Annabel Mace as they discuss the new guidance for sponsoring entities when it comes to recordkeeping. They focus on which documents need to be preserved from the recruitment process of a sponsored employee.
US
US Supreme Court Clarifies Employer’s Burden of Proof for Showing Exempt Status Under the FLSA (US)
In an increasingly-rare unanimous decision, on January 15 the United States Supreme Court held in E.M.D. Sales, Inc., et al. v. Carrera that employers must prove that an employee is exempt from the minimum wage and overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standard Act by only a preponderance of the evidence, and not by “clear and convincing” evidence.
President Trump Eliminates Affirmative Action and Anti-Discrimination Requirements on Federal Contractors (US)
Among the barrage of executive orders signed by President Trump upon assuming office was an order revoking a longstanding Executive Order that placed affirmative action requirements on federal government contractors. On January 21, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” revoking Executive Order 11246 based on the President’s position that it perpetuated “illegal discrimination in the Federal Government.”
Europe
Labour and Employment – Hot Topics for 2025 in Spain
2025 will be a year marked by a number of important legislative developments. The most relevant of these include the following:
- Possible Increase in the Minimum Wage
- Increase In Contribution Bases
- Additional Solidarity Contribution
- MEI 2025 Contribution Increase
- Reduction of Working Time
- Prior Hearing Of The Employee In Disciplinary Dismissals
- The Supreme Court Declares That It Is Not Possible To Increase The Severance For Unfair Dismissal
Bureaucracy Relief Act – making it (slightly) easier to do business in Germany
On 1 January, the Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act (Viertes Bürokratieentlastungsgesetz – “BEG IV”) came into effect. This legislation introduces significant changes to requirements around the form of contracts in Germany with the objective of simplifying certain administrative processes, among them the completion of employment contracts.
So what’s going on in Belgium?
Well, a lot in fact! A number of new provisions are taking effect at the start of the new year and we have tried to summarise them for you in one little blog post. Our New Year’s gift to you!