HR Update: March 6th, 2024

California Civil Rights Department Issues Clarifications on California Pay Data Reports

It’s almost spring, and you know what that means! It’s almost time to file the California pay data reports. Last year was the first year for filing expanded pay data reports under SB1162, which requires private employers with 100 or more employees to file a report with the Civil Rights Department disclosing certain pay data according to race, ethnicity, and gender. Covered employers are also required to file a Labor Contractor Employee pay data report if they hired 100 or more labor contractors to perform labor within the client employer’s usual course of business. The reports are due May 8, 2024, just a few short months away. Learn More

Continuing Privacy Headache for Ordering Criminal Background Checks in California

Companies that hire employees and engage independent contractors in California should brace themselves for an even greater slowdown in background checks that include criminal record searches in Los Angeles County. This will result from the drastic impact of the court of appeal’s 2021 opinion in All of Us or None v. Hamrick, which prohibited the Riverside Superior Court from allowing its electronic criminal case index to be searched using an individual’s known date of birth or driver’s license number. Background check companies (known as “consumer reporting agencies”) rely on searching such indexes for criminal background checks in California state courts and elsewhere. According to the County’s recent public notice, effective February 23, 2024, the County will no longer include even a partial date of birth (i.e., the month and year of birth) as criteria in its criminal name search engines. Learn More

Penalties for Immigration-Related Violations Continue to Rise in 2024

As required under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced, through the Federal Register, increases for penalties under the Immigration Reform & Control Act (IRCA), effective February 13, 2024. Interestingly, the Federal Register announcement for DOJ increases also included penalties for sections of IRCA administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). The higher penalties are for those cases where the penalties are assessed on February 13, 2024, and thereafter. The 2024 increases are much lower than the 2022 and 2023 increases due to inflation being significantly lower in 2023. Learn More

Utah Enacts New #MeToo-Inspired Law Related to Confidentiality Clauses

Utah joins the growing list of states, including California, New Jersey and New York, enacting their own #MeToo-inspired laws prohibiting confidentiality clauses regarding sexual misconduct. The #MeToo movement seeks to limit confidentiality requirements that would prevent information about serial sexual harassers from reaching potential victims. Learn More

Build Back Botter: What Artificial Intelligence Means for the Construction Workplace

“Hey Chat GPT, finish this building.” This dare, written on a billboard that went viral last year, captures a truth and a stereotype about the world of construction. The truth is that the construction industry will, for the foreseeable future, rely primarily on human intelligence and manpower to convert raw material into buildings and highways. But, as it has done with all major sectors of the economy, AI is starting to transform the construction industry, which accounts for more than $1 trillion in annual GDP and employs more than eight million persons. Learn More