Employment law 5 in 5: January 2025

At a glance

• Developments impacting labour and employment in the United States.
• Pay transparency developments.
• DLA Piper AI and Employment Podcast.
• Recent EU employment law activity. 
• Navigating corporate restructurings.

Developments impacting labour and employment in the United States

Recent federal and state actions are poised to impact certain labour and employment laws in the United States. 

In the days following his inauguration, President Donald Trump signed numerous Executive Orders (EOs) including the far-reaching 'Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,' which will affect private employers and federal contractors that maintain diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and practices; 'Defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government,' which states that '[i]t is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female' and directs agencies 'to enforce laws governing sex-based rights, protections, opportunities, and accommodations to protect men and women as biologically distinct sexes;' and multiple EOs addressing immigration. You can view EO summaries and relevant alerts on our President Trump Executive Orders topic hub. 

The administration also dismissed members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board, leaving the panels without a quorum for now.

In addition, a host of new state employment laws will take effect in 2025, including those related to leave, pay transparency, discrimination and harassment, child labour, health and safety, artificial intelligence (AI), and more. For example, see new laws in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York.

We are advising companies on the implications of these actions while monitoring for legal challenges and new developments.

Review: Pay transparency developments

Access DLA Piper’s Gender pay transparency: A global guide to employer obligations for summaries of recent pay transparency developments across Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East.

The guide includes information on equal pay requirements, gender pay gap reporting obligations, regulation of job advertisements, restrictions on pay confidentiality clauses, and the latest status of implementation of the EU Gender Pay Transparency Directive.

Listen: DLA Piper AI and Employment Podcast

The DLA Piper AI and Employment podcast discusses key employment law issues arising from the use of AI. Our January 2025 episodes consider AI’s potential impact on employee well-being, benefits, and the diversity and inclusion landscape, and the transformative impact of AI on the financial services sector.

Monitor: Recent EU employment law activity

In the EU, a regulation prohibiting products made with forced labour has been adopted and will generally apply from December 2027, although some related requirements for competent authorities took immediate effect. The European Commission intends to publish guidelines on application of the regulation by 14 June 2026 in an effort to assist businesses in its implementation.

The deadline for Member States to transpose EU rules to improve gender balance on corporate boards has passed and companies must meet the relevant targets by 30 June 2026.  Large EU listed companies must ensure at least 40 percent of their non-executive directors and at least 33 percent of all their directors are members of the underrepresented sex. The directive’s rules also include transparent, gender-neutral selection procedures for board directors and requirements surrounding the disclosure of qualification criteria if requested by an unsuccessful candidate.

Attend: Navigating corporate restructurings

Register here to join a 90-minute virtual workshop on managing workforce reductions across European jurisdictions. On 4 February 2025, DLA Piper attorneys will share insights on legal compliance and effective stakeholder communication during organisational change.