On Monday, January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government” (the “Order”). The Order declares that the United States will only recognize two sexes, male and female, and states that these sexes are binary, biological, and “not changeable.”
Workplace Policies and Procedures
DOL: Employers Cannot Mandate PTO Use with State/Local Paid Leave Benefits During FMLA
The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) has issued an opinion letter stating that employers cannot require employees to substitute accrued paid time off during a Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave where the employee is also receiving benefits under a state or local paid family or medical leave program.
The…
[Podcast] AI at Work: Black Box Issues

In part three of our series on potential pitfalls in the use of artificial intelligence (or AI) when it comes to employment decisions, partner Guy Brenner and senior counsel Jonathan Slowik dive into the concept of “black box” systems—AI tools whose internal decision-making processes are not transparent. The internal workings of such systems may not…
Second Circuit Reinstates New York Reproductive Health Notice of Rights Requirement for Employee Handbooks
In a January 2, 2025 decision in CompassCare et al. v. Hochul, a Second Circuit panel vacated a permanent injunction issued in April 2022 that halted the requirement that New York State employers include a notice in their employee handbooks regarding the prohibition on discrimination based on reproductive health care choices. As a result…