What we're reading — and writing.

The Court's decision reshapes how multi-state employers structure dispute resolution for distributed workforces.

The Court held that a remote employee's physical work location — not the employer's headquarters — governs whether the Federal Arbitration Act's transportation-worker exemption applies. Multi-state employers should audit existing arbitration programs, revisit choice-of-law provisions, and consider jurisdiction-specific carve-outs for remote and hybrid roles.

A jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction map of the pay transparency laws taking effect in 2026 and 2027.

Fourteen states and more than thirty localities now require some form of pay range disclosure. This briefing compares the scope, posting requirements, remote-work triggers, and penalty structures across the leading jurisdictions, and offers a compliance framework for national employers standardizing job architecture and compensation bands.

OSHA's proposed rule imposes concrete obligations on warehouse, distribution, and last-mile employers.

OSHA's heat injury and illness prevention standard establishes trigger thresholds at 80°F and 90°F, mandates acclimatization protocols for new and returning workers, and requires written plans, hazard assessments, and designated responders. Logistics, construction, and agriculture employers should begin gap assessments now.

With the FTC's national ban blocked in court, states are moving quickly to fill the gap. A practical map for multi-state employers.

Minnesota, California, and Oklahoma maintain near-total bans; Washington, Illinois, and Colorado impose income thresholds and notice requirements; New York and New Jersey have active legislative proposals. This alert distills the operative rules and recommends a tiered approach to restrictive covenants tied to role, geography, and compensation.

Updated guidance on expatriate assignments, work authorization, and cross-border data considerations for U.S. employers with China operations.

Recent changes to China's Personal Information Protection Law, updates to the U.S. Entity List, and shifting L-1 and H-1B adjudication trends have complicated bi-directional assignments. This briefing outlines a coordinated framework covering immigration, tax equalization, data localization, and dual-employment risk.

A practical framework for HR, legal, and IT leaders navigating New York City, Illinois, Colorado, and EU AI Act obligations.

A defensible AI governance program integrates model inventory, bias auditing, candidate notice, human oversight, and vendor due diligence. This report provides a maturity model, sample policy language, and audit checklists mapped to Local Law 144, the Illinois AI Video Interview Act, Colorado SB 205, and the EU AI Act's high-risk categories.

How to preserve privilege, protect complainants, and produce a defensible record in high-stakes internal investigations.

From intake to closure, this playbook covers Upjohn warnings, evidence preservation and chat data collection, witness sequencing, credibility assessments, and reporting formats designed to withstand later litigation or regulatory review.

The Board's new rule expands joint-employer liability to indirect and reserved control — with immediate consequences for franchising, staffing, and contractor relationships.

Under the revised standard, unexercised contractual rights and control mediated through intermediaries can trigger joint-employer status. Companies relying on staffing agencies, franchisees, or subcontractors should reassess service agreements, supervisory practices, and bargaining exposure.

USCIS's final rule redefines specialty occupation, tightens beneficiary-owner filings, and codifies deference — reshaping employer strategy for the FY2027 cycle.

The rule narrows the 'directly related' degree analysis, clarifies cap-gap eligibility for F-1s, formalizes site-visit authority, and imposes new documentation for beneficiary-owner petitions. Employers should update job descriptions, degree matrices, and I-9 workflows before the March registration window.

Excess-fee, forfeiture-account, and health-plan surcharge cases are reshaping fiduciary duties for plan sponsors and committees.

Plaintiffs' firms have expanded from 401(k) fee cases into forfeiture reallocations, tobacco surcharge programs, and PBM oversight. This annual review analyzes the leading decisions, settlement patterns, and process improvements sponsors should adopt at the next committee meeting.

Paid leave expansion, algorithmic accountability, captive-audience bans, and worker-classification bills to watch in more than thirty states.

Our government affairs team previews the highest-impact bills expected to move in 2026 legislative sessions, including paid family leave in the Mountain West, captive-audience prohibitions in the Northeast, and app-based worker frameworks in the Sun Belt.

Filing volume, certification rates, and settlement values across FLSA collective and state-law class actions.

Filings rose 9% year-over-year, driven by off-the-clock claims tied to remote-work platforms and PAGA activity in California. This report benchmarks certification outcomes, median settlement values by industry, and defense strategies that measurably reduced exposure.