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The Littler Annual Employer Survey 2021 (PDF)

23 pages. "Employers planning for a transition to a post-pandemic workplace are faced with a host of novel issues – and addressing a disconnect with employees about what the future of work and the return to physical workspaces looks like is at the top of the list."

Health Care Reform: What are Key Considerations for Employers?

Excerpt: The new law will impose significant new responsibilities on employers nationwide that could, over time, fundamentally alter the nature of employer-sponsored health care and the employer-employee relationship. As employers look ahead to understand the implications of this sweeping legislation, we have provided questions and answers below to some of the most pressing issues they are likely to face. Additionally, Littler Mendelson is committed to educating employers about this legislation. To this end, we will be providing additional publications relating to how these new rules affect the following[.]

New Jersey Dramatically Expands Job-Protected Family Leave and Benefits

"[T]he NJFLA's employer‑coverage threshold will decrease from 30 employees to 15 employees anywhere, reflecting a substantial change for small employers ... Employers newly covered by the statute must implement comprehensive NJFLA processes for the first time, including notice requirements, documentation protocols, anti‑retaliation protections, and reinstatement obligations, before July 17, 2026."

Puerto Rico Governor Declares a State of Emergency Due to Influenza Epidemic, Activating Five-Day Paid Leave

"This leave provides up to five paid working days for employees who suffer from, or are suspected of suffering from, the illness or epidemic that gives rise to the state of emergency, in this case, the influenza virus, and must have exhausted all leave to which they were entitled. That is, the employee must have exhausted both vacation leave and regular sick leave before being eligible to use this special leave. Employers must ensure that this new paid leave is recognized in applicable cases."

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Revises Guidelines on Its Paid Sick Days Act

"The PSDA Revised Guidelines both add new obligations and provide additional guidance to employers that provide paid sick leave to employees in the City. The Revised Guidelines will take effect on January 1, 2026 (when both the accrual rate and the amount of paid sick leave available under the PSDA will increase)."

IRS Extends Transition Relief for State Paid Family and Medical Leave Programs Through 2026

"The IRS explained that the extension is in response to requests from states administering PFML programs that need additional time to update systems, budgets, and reporting processes to align with the federal tax treatment clarified in Revenue Ruling 2025-4. Importantly, [Notice 2026-6] does not extend transition relief related to voluntary employer 'pick-up' contributions, which remain subject to federal employment tax and reporting requirements."

Delaware Adopts Amended Paid Leave Regulations on the Eve of Program’s Launch

"[The amended regulations] take effect on December 11, 2025 ... [and] will significantly impact many employers set to comply with the new program on January 1, 2026.... [T]he amended regulations [1] alter the definition of the 'application year,' which is used to determine benefit entitlement.... [2] modify the definition of 'employee.' ... [3] address the contributions that can be deducted from employee pay in certain circumstances.... [4] provide guidance for self-insured employers, particularly regarding requirements for claim reserve accounts, and modify information collected by the state."

New York Mandatory Employee Retirement Program to Be Implemented After Years of Delays

"New York Secure Choice ... mandates and facilitates the creation of Roth IRAs for private-sector employees who do not have access to a qualified retirement plan through their employers. Beginning in March of 2026, New York will require most private-sector employers to register for the Program or certify their exemption from the Program."

New York City Amends Sick Time Law to Require New Unpaid Leave and Permit New Covered Uses

"The amended ESSTA requires employers to make available the additional 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick time immediately at hire, as well as to 'frontload' it at the start of each new benefit year. The unpaid safe/sick time may be used immediately by employees upon receipt. Further, under the amended ESSTA, if an employee communicates to their employer that they need time off for a purpose covered by safe/sick time, the employer must provide paid safe/sick time unless the employee has no such time available or the employee specifically requests to use other leave in lieu of paid safe/sick time."

California Expands Paid Family Leave Eligibility to 'Designated Persons'

"PFL wage replacement benefits claims filed on or after July 1, 2028 will be available for employees who take time off work to care for a 'designated person' with a serious illness ... Employees will have to identify their 'designated person' at the time they request benefits and attest under penalty of perjury to either: [1] how the individual is related by blood to the designated person; or [2] how the individual's association with the designated person is the equivalent of a family relationship."

California Again Expands Reasons Employees Can Use Job-Protected Paid Sick and Safe Time, Unpaid Leave

"This year's amendments ... effective January 1, 2026 ... allow employees to use leave if they or a family member are a victim of certain crimes and are attending judicial proceedings related to that crime ... [T]he amendments -- effective on October 1, 2025 -- revise the paid leave law to incorporate by reference covered uses that already exist under the unpaid leave law:"

How Do Alaska's Final Paid Sick Leave Rules Differ from the Proposed Rules?

"[F]or employees who work at two or more rates the Department now allows both the previously proposed 'weighted average' method (for the workweek) and the 'rate in effect' method (for the shift).... Different standards apply depending on whether an employer has 15 or more, or 14 or fewer, employees. The final rule uses 'full-time equivalents (FTEs)' rather than 'employees.' ... A new rule ... requires an employer to establish a 'year' that is consecutive 52-week period. If it does not, the default year is the calendar year."

Denial of Gender-Affirming Care Does Not Qualify as Sex Discrimination, Eleventh Circuit Holds

"This decision directly departed from the court's 2-1 ruling by a three-member panel in 2024, which held that such an exclusion was, on its face, a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It also conflicted with other recent federal court opinions that have construed the exclusion of gender affirming care as unlawful." [Lange v. Houston County, Georgia, No. 22-13626 (11th Cir. Sep. 9, 2025)]

California Court of Appeal Rules on Who Is an 'Exempt' Employee for Paid Sick Leave Rate-of-Pay Purposes

"In concluding that the definition of 'exempt' was not as limited as the DLSE (and plaintiff's counsel) argued, the court observed that 'California courts ... consistently use the phrase 'exempt employees' in the private employment context to mean those not entitled to overtime wages under California wage and hour law.' Considering 'exempt' a 'term of art,' the panel next found that the legislature knew what it was doing when, in the rate of pay context, it did not limit its scope to only [executive, administrative, and professional (EAP)] employees." [Hirdman v. Charter Communications, LLC, No. D084304 (Cal. Ct. App. Aug. 4, 2025)]

Citing Legal Challenges, DOL to Overturn Biden-Era Independent Contractor Rule

"Citing to five separate legal challenges to the [2024 Rule] and its intention to 'reduce unnecessary burdens on employers and employees,' the Trump DOL aims to retool its independent contractor rule. This announcement ... comes on [the] heels of the Trump DOL announcing on May 1, 2025 that it would no longer enforce the 2024 IC Rule."

Executive Compensation: The Importance of Being Clear (Being Earnest May Not Be Relevant)

"The well-established concept that the administrator of an ERISA plan should be permitted to interpret the terms of the plan and be subject to a deferential standard of review ... may not actually apply to a 'top hat' plan. Similarly, it is unlikely that an employer's right to interpret an executive compensation agreement or contract would be given that level of deference by a court in the event of a dispute.... The words in the contract actually matter, and any discretionary rights an employer wants to retain should also spell out as clearly as possible exactly what that would involve."

California Supreme Court Issues Decision on Enforcement of Paid Leave Obligations under HWHFA

"[T]he California Supreme Court addressed when 'liquidated' or double damages may be avoided by an employer for minimum wage violations and how employees can pursue paid leave claims under California's Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act (HWHFA), the statewide paid sick and safe time law." [Iloff v. LaPaille, No. S275848 (Calif. Aug. 21, 2025)]

IRS Publishes Draft Revised Form W-2 in Response to No Tax on Tips and No Tax on Overtime Reporting Requirements

"Along with other changes associated with the Act, the form instructions direct employers to use Box 12 to report the employee's 'qualified tips' using code 'TP' and 'qualified overtime compensation' using code 'TT.' The draft revised Form W-2 also includes a new Box 14b for employers to report the employee's qualifying occupation ... The IRS publication emphasizes that this is an 'early release draft' and that additional changes may be forthcoming before it is finalized for use."

Delaware Modifies Its Paid Family and Medical Leave Program

"The Act significantly amends the provisions governing how an employer's paid leave policies integrate with and coordinate with Delaware Paid Leave benefits.... [T]he law now provides that an employer may not require use of accrued paid time off prior to receipt of Delaware Paid Leave benefits.... [T]he Act also sets forth procedures for the Department to execute upon judgments for penalties issued under the program[.]"

Illinois Adopts First of Its Kind Paid Leave for Military Funeral Honors Detail

"Leave under the new law is in addition to an employee's rights under USERRA ... USERRA does not have the tenure and hours requirements of the new law so an employee may be entitled to leave under USERRA where the employee may not be under the new law. However, leave under USERRA is unpaid. The new law's definition of who is entitled to take leave is also broader than USERRA ... Given the August 1, 2025 effective date, Illinois employers may need to make necessary adjustments to their military leave policies and leave request processes as soon as possible."