Compliance Stuff

The Trump administration has decisively shifted its approach to enforcing employment discrimination laws, leaving employers grappling for clarity and stability to inform their efforts to prevent and manage legal risks stemming from harassment and discrimination . Workforce analytics, accompanied by privileged legal advice tethered to risk tolerance, can assist employers to identify and address potential workplace discrimination issues minimizing legal risk amid the administration’s shifting enforcement priorities. Quick Hits The Trump administration has sought to end both f ederal enforcement of antidiscrimination laws based on disparate impact theories and to eliminate employer DEI programs. Even with these shifting priorities, it remains critically important for employers to collect and study applicant and employee demographic data to maintain compliance with equal opportunity and antidiscrimination laws, as well as to be prepared for scrutiny under the Trump administration’s shifti...

On May 27, 2025, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District held that a former employee retains standing to bring California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims against an employer more than a year after separation , even though PAGA’s statute of limitations for civil penalties is one year. This decision is rooted in the statutory language prior to the July 2024 PAGA reforms and contrasts with the new, narrower standing requirements. Additionally, the decision directly contradicts other recent decisions reaching the opposite conclusion. Quick Hits The appellate court confirmed that, under the law as it existed prior to July 2024, a former employee could file PAGA claims even eighteen months after leaving employment, regardless of the one-year PAGA statute of limitations for civil penalties. The decision focused on the definition of “aggrieved employee” under the former version of Labor Code Section 2699, emphasizing that standing depended on whether the c...

On May 1, 2025, the Minneapolis City Council voted to expand civil rights protections, effective August 1, 2025. Under the updated ordinance ( Ordinance No. 2025-022 ), it will be illegal for employers in Minneapolis to discriminate based on a person’s height, weight, criminal record or history (now referred to as “justice-impacted status”), or housing status. The amendments also redefine “race” and “familial status,” and impose additional requirements on employers when providing religious accommodations. Quick Hits Minneapolis employers must not discriminate on the basis of an individual’s height, weight, justice-impacted status, or housing status, unless there is a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception. Minneapolis employers must provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with known pregnancy-related limitations. Minneapolis employers must provide religious accommodations for sincerely held religious beliefs, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on...