Insights

Washington – January 4, 2018: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that it has elected seven lawyers to the firm’s partnership, effective January 1, 2018. The firm has also promoted 23 associates to the position of counsel. The new partners have been promoted from within the ranks of the firm’s Washington, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles offices, and underscore the firm’s commitment to its Government Contracts, Litigation, Corporate, Environment & Natural Resources, International Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property, and Labor & Employment practices.

On June 18, 2026, the Illinois Department of Labor took a long-anticipated step by adopting comprehensive amendments to 56 Ill. Adm. Code Part 320, the administrative rules implementing the pay transparency requirements of the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 (820 ILCS 112, the Act).

On June 9, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a formal opinion concluding that the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission’s (EEOC) existing interpretations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) disparate-impact liability, including the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP), are unconstitutional. According to the opinion, EEOC’s prior interpretations contemplate liability based on disproportionately adverse effects alone, without regard to an employer’s likely intent, rather than treating disparate impact as an evidentiary mechanism to “smoke out” intentional discrimination. DOJ found that this approach functions as a “qualified racial-proportionality mandate” that places “a racial thumb on the scales, often requiring employers to evaluate the racial outcomes of their policies, and to make decisions based on (because of) those racial outcomes.” The opinion fulfills one mandate of Executive Order 14281, which rejected disparate-impact liability insofar as it “creates a near insurmountable presumption that unlawful discrimination exists wherever there are any differences in outcomes among different [demographic groups].”

Three years have passed since the EU Pay Transparency Directive ("PTD") came into existence, and it now appears highly likely that very few EU Member States will have fully transposed its provisions into national law by the 7 June 2026 deadline.  For employers operating across the EU, this creates a deeply uncomfortable question: what are your obligations right now?

Class actions are alive and well in the world of employment law. Much is happening, and there’s plenty more to come, says Rebecca Springer, a Crowell & Moring partner who serves as talent and inclusion lead in the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice.

Join us for a discussion on how President Obama has used Executive Orders to replace Congressional action in creating new obligations for federal contractors and other employers.

Please join us for the next edition of Third Thursday – Crowell & Moring’s Labor and Employment Update, a webinar series dedicated to helping our clients stay on top of developing law and emerging compliance issues.

Please join us for the next edition of Third Thursday – Crowell & Moring’s Labor and Employment Update, a webinar series dedicated to helping our clients stay on top of developing law and emerging compliance issues. Only five months in, 2014 has already been a very busy year for the Office of Federal Compliance Programs (OFCCP).  This month’s program will focus on recent developments in affirmative action and OFCCP enforcement initiatives. 

Make plans to join members of Crowell & Moring’s Education Group for a two-part overview of where the regulations and polices may be headed in the new Biden Administration. We will also highlight hot topics and new developments for 2021. Topics to be discussed include:

Make plans to join members of Crowell & Moring’s Education Group for a two-part overview of where the regulations and polices may be headed in the new Biden Administration. We will also highlight hot topics and new developments for 2021. Topics to be discussed include:

In this episode, Crowell’s Rebecca Springer and Katie Erno break down the latest U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and West Virginia v. BPJ, unpacking the most important takeaways for employers. The Lightning Round podcast is Crowell's monthly rundown on developments and trends in the Labor and Employment space.

In this episode, Crowell’s Rebecca Springer and Cecilia Lahaye discuss the EU Pay Transparency Directive. The June 7, 2026, deadline for member states to transpose the Directive into national laws has passed, but many member states have not yet finalized legislation. This podcast discusses the fundamentals of the Directive and what employers should be thinking about to ensure they are in compliance as the legal landscape evolves. The Lightning Round podcast is Crowell's monthly rundown on developments and trends in the Labor and Employment space.

In this episode, Crowell's Rebecca Springer, Sadina Montani, and Stephon Howie discuss some of the more significant recent changes to state and local employment laws, trends in this area, and how Crowell can help you keep up to date with the panoply of ever-evolving obligations. The Lightning Round podcast is Crowell's monthly rundown on developments and trends in the Labor and Employment space.