Employment law in 5: 5 developments to read for August in less than 5 minutes

COVID-19, geopolitical developments, inflation, supply chain challenges, and economic uncertainty continue to challenge businesses and disrupt ways of working. In this update to our 2022 top trends for US employers, we identify the latest developments and offer our predictions for the second half of the year. 

EU member states had until August 1, 2022, to implement the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directive and until  August 2, 2022, to implement the Work-Life Balance for Parents and Careers Directive. While many member states did not meet these deadlines, implementation activity has been ramping up. Last month, we reported on developments in family leave in Denmark and Ireland and measures to implement the Working Conditions Directive in both Italy and Germany.

Jurisdictions around the world are enacting new leave laws. Ireland enacted a new Sick Leave Act and extended its Parent’s Leave and Benefit from 5 to 7 weeks; Denmark amended its rules on absence for special family reasons and passed a new Act on Maternity/Paternity Leave; and a recent UK Supreme Court decision on holiday pay will make it risky for UK employers to continue the routine practice of calculating holiday pay for part-year workers using 12.07 percent of hours worked. In the US, Illinois expanded bereavement leave requirements; New Mexico’s Healthy Workplaces Act took effect on July 1, 2022; Bloomington, Minnesota enacted a citywide earned sick and safe leave ordinance; and employers are monitoring developments after a Michigan court decision held that the adopt-and-amend strategy the state legislature used to enact an amended version of the Paid Medical Leave Act violated the state’s constitution.

Key issues for California employers include (1) whether time spent passing through any security screening to enter the employer’s parking lot is work time; (2) whether time spent completing any security screening (eg, bag checks, entering a code to unlock doors) is work time; (3) whether restrictions placed on employees as they walk to their work stations are sufficient to convert the walking time to work time; and (4) whether this affects an employer’s process for providing meal periods and rest breaks in compliance with California law.  Last month, the Ninth Circuit certified questions similar to the first three questions to the California Supreme Court. In other news, the Third Circuit recently joined the Sixth and Eighth Circuits in insulating employers from nationwide FLSA collective actions in states where they are not subject to general jurisdiction.