On 24 July 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued Circular 2024-04, which provides critical guidance on whistleblower protections under Section 1057 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).
This circular has significant implications for businesses regarding confidentiality agreements and their potential conflict with federal whistleblower protections.
It clarifies that while confidentiality agreements can protect legitimate business interests, they must not infringe on employees' rights to report suspected violations of consumer financial laws.
The Italian Data Protection Authority has recently issued an updated version of its guidelines on managing workplace email and metadata processing.
This update, formalised in Measure No. 364 on 6 June 2024, revises the previous guidelines (document no. 642 of 21 December 2023) and provides crucial clarifications for employers.
It follows the 30-day public consultation launched by the Supervisory Authority after the publication of the first guidelines.
Following the publication of the new Labour Law, Law No. 13/2023, in the Official Gazette on 25 August 2023, businesses and workers alike are gearing up for significant changes in the labour market.
This Law, which repeals the previous Law No. 23/2007, signals a crucial moment in Mozambique's commitment to modernising its workforce regulations in line with current socio-economic and technological advancements.
Employers in the public and private sectors who leverage computer programmes and cloud-based services to manage employee emails are now restricted to retaining the metadata of these emails for a maximum of seven days. An extension of up to 48 hours may be granted in cases of proven necessity.
It poses potential challenges for companies in terms of compliance and operational flexibility.
On 30 October 2023, President Biden issued an executive order on the safe, secure, and trustworthy development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to set out general standards governing the use and development of AI across industries.
It stresses the importance of using AI safely and responsibly and advancing a coordinated, Federal Government-wide approach.
It aims to help employers comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and provides practical advice.
On 19 October 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reached an agreement with the American company Dollar General, ending litigation started in 2017 for alleged violations of genetic and disability laws (EEOC v. Dolgencorp, LLC., Case No. 2:17-cv-01649-MHH) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
The Commission alleged that the Company required disclosure of a family member's medical condition during the pre-employment medical examination and used selection criteria that excluded qualified applicants with disabilities.