Employment law 5 in 5: June 2023

At a glance

• 5 developments to read for June in less than 5 minutes.

Read: Gender pay transparency and reporting

A new edition of our Gender Pay Transparency: A Global Guide to Reporting Obligations is now available. With nine new jurisdictions added, you can compare the latest developments in up to 45 countries side-by-side.

The global trend in the implementation of legal measures addressing pay equity continues. The EU’s Pay Transparency Directive was signed into law this month giving Member States until 7 June 2026 to implement its requirements.  Elsewhere, other countries imposing new obligations include Canada, Australia and the US where a number of states have implemented legislation.

These developments could have wide-reaching ramifications for employers and the timescales for understanding and implementing new obligations should not be underestimated.

EU: What’s on the horizon

Can’t keep up with all the new and proposed EU legislation that could affect your workforce? Read our new EU Horizon Scanner to keep track of recently in force EU laws (Whistleblowing Directive, Pay Transparency Directive, Work Life Balance Directive and more) as they progress through the in-country implementation process. Also find out what proposed legislation could be coming down the line with potential impact on your EU workforce (Platform Work Directive, Right to Disconnect, and more).

Our EU Horizon Scanner gives you the status of the legislation and short summaries of how it may affect your business. 

Prepare: New laws across the Americas

In the US, among other changes, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act took effect; a New York bill, if signed by the Governor, would ban all post-employment non-compete agreements (learn more in our latest episode of Coast to Coast with DLA Piper Employment); the NLRB issued a decision that could make it more difficult for companies to demonstrate that individuals are properly classified as independent contractors; and new discrimination laws were enacted in New York City and Texas.

In Canada, employers are preparing for changes to the Canada Labour Code and regulations. Meanwhile, Quebec companies must disclose the French proficiency of employees.

In LATAM, Mexico published new standards for telework health and safety conditions. In Chile, a recent law will gradually reduce the working week to 40 hours, among other changes.

Listen: DLA Piper AI and Employment Podcast

With new AI legislative changes coming into force and the rise of ChatGPT and other large language models, no one can underestimate the impact on the workforce. AI has created as much uncertainty as opportunity.

In each episode of the DLA Piper AI and Employment Podcast lawyers from our global team address key employment law issues facing employers arising out of AI and discuss different topics employers need to address, offering insights and recommendations.

Incentives: Australia and Germany updates

Companies operating share plans in Australia and Germany should be aware of the potential impact of recent changes which we report on in our recent Insights update.

DLA Piper Lookout, our global share plans platform, is also available to help companies obtain and review legal and tax advice for the jurisdictions in which they operate their plans. See Lookout for more information and contact dlapiperlookout@dlapiper.com for a demonstration.