Compliance Stuff

Employers around the country need to comply with a growing patchwork of laws on fair pay, pay data reporting, and transparency in job ads and the hiring process. Compliance has become increasingly complex as more states and cities pass their own nuanced requirements that vary from location to location, and the stakes are getting higher as the penalties for violations rise. Here’s an overview of key federal, state, and local pay equity trends, as well as practical tips for compliance. Quick Overview of Federal and State Equal Pay Laws Purpose:  The goal of pay equity and transparency laws is to close pay gaps and give employees more information to understand how their compensation compares to their peers and the market, and in turn, more power to correct past inequities based on gender, race, and other characteristics. Themes:  For over sixty years, the federal Equal Pay Act has required equal pay for men and women for substantially equal work. Many states have built on the fe...

If you or your employees use ChatGPT or other generative artificial intelligence to help during a lawsuit, a re the AI chat histories and other archived data fair game during discovery, or are they protected by the attorney-client privilege or work-product doctrine? As the use of GenAI tools expands into business operations and transforms employment litigation, more courts are beginning to address this critical question. We’ll cover two recent federal court decisions that reached nearly opposite conclusions and offer five practical takeaways for employers. Quick Background During the discovery phase of a lawsuit, the parties are required to collect and exchange evidence, including electronically stored information (ESI) to understand the facts of the case. However, discovery requests are limited by relevance, proportionality, and other rules, and certain materials and communications are protected. For example: The  attorney-client privilege  shields certain communications fro...

Recent trends across the country now demonstrate that a client’s use of public AI tools may be both discoverable and may potentially waive the attorney-client privilege. On February 10, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York reaffirmed foundational confidentiality principles in the context of artificial intelligence (“AI”) in the legal field in  United States v. Heppner , No. 1:25-cr-00503-JSR. In  Heppner , the defendant was indicted on charges of securities and wire fraud in violation of 15 U.S.C. §78j(b) and 18 U.S.C. §1343, respectively, and related conspiracy, obstruction, and false statement charges . During the execution of a search warrant on his property, federal agents seized electronic devices containing AI logs and AI-generated documents, which contained the defendant’s use of AI to prepare reports outlining his legal defense and strategy. The defense argued that the AI-generated documents were privileged on the basis that the AI-genera...

When discussing complex employment issues, an employer would be wise to take steps to ensure that communication is protected from disclosure and remains confidential, preventing it from becoming discoverable in future litigation. The attorney-client privilege protects a (1) communication, (2) made between privileged persons (attorney and client), (3) in confidence, (4) for the purpose of obtaining or providing legal advice or services for the client. This means that sensitive communications between HR personnel, senior executives, or other non-legal personnel are typically  not  privileged . Even when in-house counsel are included, maintaining privilege can be difficult when the in-house attorney wears multiple “hats.” The work product doctrine shields "documents and tangible things that are prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial by or for another party or its representative. . . ." Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(3)(A). Why Should I Care About Privilege? Internal communic...

The attorney-client privilege protects confidential communications between an organization and its attorney if those communications were made for the purpose of obtaining or providing legal advice . Organizations rely on this protection when handling legal matters ranging from investigations to everyday employment matters. But there are several ways that the attorney-client privilege can be lost . Below are suggestions for how to effectively communicate with your counsel in a manner that will help preserve the attorney-client privilege. Limit distribution . Make sure that any communications seeking legal advice are only sent to your in-house or external counsel and not to any third parties . If you include a third party or forward the email chain to them, you may be deemed to have waived the privilege for that communication and potentially others on the same topic. Do not record or create AI notes of your communications with counsel without their knowledge and take steps to ensure that...