While the pandemic may be behind us, many employees in manufacturing workplaces who worked on the front lines during the last few years, may be having difficulty remaining engaged at work and satisfied with their job. Whether it is called the “employee experience,” “employee satisfaction,” or “employee engagement” – this concept generally means the amount
Corporate & Commercial
New Round of Sanctions Relevant to Manufacturers Are Launched on the First Anniversary of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
This week’s post was co-authored with Edward Heath and Kevin Daly. Attorneys Heath and Daly are members of Robinson+Cole’s Manufacturing Industry Team and regularly counsel clients on trade compliance, anti-corruption compliance, and other corporate compliance issues.
On the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration has announced a series of additional…
OSHA to Expand the Use of Instance-by-Instance Penalties
By Megan Baroni
At the end of March, a new OSHA policy will go into effect expanding penalties for instance-by-instance (IBI) citations. The move signals OSHA’s stated commitment to increased enforcement in 2023 and beyond.
IBI citations are those for which OSHA could issue multiple citations, with corresponding penalties, for each instance of alleged non-compliance—separate penalties for each…
Beware of “Be Mine” in the Workplace
By Abby Warren
In today’s world, employees spend increasingly more time at work, including in the manufacturing industry where jobs are generally not remote. This means that employees may have close working and personal relationships with each other, such as dating and romantic relationships as well as friendships. Such relationships, between peers, employees and supervisors, or even employees…
2023 Environmental, Health, and Safety Outlook for Manufacturers
By Megan Baroni
This week, we wrap up our forecast of annual trends with a focus on environmental, health, and safety issues that we expect many manufacturers may face this year.
1. ESG Developments
Last year, we reported on the SEC’s Proposed Rule on Climate-Related Disclosures. The SEC is expected to finalize this rule in 2023, perhaps as…
2023 Labor and Employment Outlook for Manufacturers
By Abby Warren
We continue our annual tradition of covering legal trends and outlook for this year, focusing this week on employment and labor. Following several years of pandemic-focused legislation, we are now seeing a significant uptick in new employment legislation and emerging work-related trends across the country. The following are a few of the issues and trends…
Covenants not to Compete: The End of an Era
On January 5, 2023, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan announced a proposed federal regulation that, if enacted, would invalidate non-competes and similar restrictive covenants that are routinely used by companies to limit a former employee’s professional activities post-employment. The proposed rule would not only ban the future use of non-compete clauses for workers…
2023 Corporate Compliance & Litigation Outlook for Manufacturers
In late 2012, we created the Manufacturing Law Blog with the goal of providing our manufacturing clients with a holistic approach to the unique issues they face in their global operations. Starting in 2016, we began a new tradition of dedicating our first three posts of the year to a yearly outlook from our different…
Update: OFCCP Plans to Disclose EEO-1 Data for Non-Objecting Contractors Starting January 2023
This week we are pleased to have a guest post by Robinson+Cole Labor and Employment Group lawyer Sapna Jain.
As an update to our October 12, 2022 post regarding the deadline for federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors to object to disclosure of their Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 reports from 2016 to 2020, the Office of Federal…
Let the Gifts Be the Only Surprise at the Company Holiday Party
By Abby Warren
‘Tis especially the season this year for company holiday parties. Manufacturers may have avoided hosting large group gatherings over the last few years, including parties, and may be seeking ways to engage workers and increase morale in the workplace at this time of year; to that end, hosting holiday or festive lunches, parties, and gatherings…