Examine Both State and Federal Law

The State of Michigan, as well as the federal government, have passed various regulations designed to prohibit discrimination and encourage diversity in the workplace. Following Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the concept of what diversity means in the workplace has changed substantially. In the 1960s, diversity referred to differences like skin color, national origin, race, religion, and sex. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on these factors. In recent years, the concept of diversity expanded to include people with disabilities, the elderly (i.e. age), and veterans. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to employers with 15 or more workers.

Some other regulations address diversity in the workplace, which include (but may not be limited to) the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. If you have a business located in Michigan, you must remain up to date with Michigan legislation. For example, Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act prohibits employment practices that discriminate against an individual based on a variety of factors.

Adequately Train Managers and Workers

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has the task of enforcing federal laws that prohibit discrimination against job applicants or employees due to their race, color, religion, sex, age, national orientation, or disability. This agency recommends that managers at a company, as well all employees, are sufficiently trained on equal employment opportunity laws. Successful implementation of training programs can provide all people at a company with the information necessary to perform legally and ethically, free from improper behavior. As part of a training program, it is critical to remind all employees of the various policies that are in place. All employees must be held responsible and accountable for their behavior, and face swift corrective action if they violate any laws, policies or rules designed to prevent discrimination. 

Contact a Knowledgeable Corporate Attorney Today

Businesses must navigate critical issues of diversity all the time, and those may have become even more critical during the past year of pandemic. Contact Resnick Law PC today to schedule a free case evaluation. 

If the Act becomes law, the bill requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to implement “ESG Metrics” that address corporate disclosures under the Securities Exchange Act. The bill requires several elements, which include but are not limited to:

• In consent solicitation and proxy statements, issuers must include a clear description of the issuer’s review, and a description of any process the issuer utilizes to assess the impact of ESG metrics on its long-term business strategy. 
• Within audited financial statements, issuers must reveal ESG metrics so that a Sustainable Financial Advisory Committee may be formed. Issuers must also provide the SEC with recommendations about what metrics issuers should disclose. Additionally, the report must identify the challenges, as well as the opportunities for investors associated with sustainable finance.

Why ESG Reporting Matters

ESG reporting includes the disclosure of information connected to a company’s corporate, environmental, and social operations, and gives investors more detail which can assist their analysis on whether to avoid or engage with a company. When done correctly, ESG reporting provides a detailed image of the business’s impact in these three areas:

• Environment. This reporting analyzes how companies utilize energy and maintain the company’s environmental relations. For example, this would include disclosure of a company’s energy use, waste use, and how it treats animals. 
• Governance. This reporting reviews a company’s controls, practices and procedures. For example, this detail might include information about an illegal practice in which the company was once involved; or, the processes in place to avoid illegal practices that are common among publicly traded companies.
• Social. This reporting considers the connection between a company’s workers and the work culture. For example, this category might include details about whether a company donates a percentage of its profits to the surrounding community. 

The History Behind the Act

Long before this initiative went through the House of Representatives, the bill was introduced by a California legislator whose intent was that the proposed regulations would encourage both corporate and social responsibility in California, and throughout the country. The hope was that the regulation would result in companies being held to stricter standards involving ESG disclosure. The work on this bill comes during a time when many ESG lawmakers have begun working together to unify reporting standards, and provide more rigid and thorough environmental disclosures to the public due to various global environmental concerns. 

Obtain the Assistance of an Experienced Corporate Law Attorney

This Act represents just one of several pieces of notable corporate law legislation that have been filed in the last year. If you need help navigating the ESG Disclosure Simplification Act or any other corporate law issue, you should not hesitate to speak with a knowledgeable lawyer. Contact Resnick Law P.C. today to schedule a free case evaluation. 

How the WARN Act Applies to Closings and Layoffs

Employers in Detroit as well as the rest of Michigan and the United States are required to comply with the Workers’ Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act when it comes to closings and layoffs. This law only applies to employers who have either 100 employees, with the exclusion of part-time workers, or 100 workers including part-time workers who comprise work more than 4,000 regular hours weekly. Under the WARN Act, employers must issue a 60-day notice of either closings or layoffs if they involve “employment loss” of a certain magnitude. For layoffs, at least 33% of employees excluding part-time workers and at least 50 workers must experience a job loss in a 30-day period at a single employment location. For plant closings, at least 50 workers, excluding part-time employees, must experience employment loss in a 30-day period. 

For the purposes of the WARN Act, an employment loss includes either an employment termination other than a discharge for cause/voluntary departure/retirement, a layoff greater than six months, or the reduction in hours of work by more than 50% during each month in a six-month period.

Limited Exceptions to the WARN Act

There are three limited exceptions to the WARN Act’s 60 days notice requirement. While one or several of these exceptions might apply to your situation, the assistance of an attorney is often necessary to prove it. These three exceptions include:

• Faltering company exemptions, which apply when a company sought new financing or funds to stay open and where providing 60-day notice would destroy that company’s opportunity to gain these new funds. This exemption only applies to plant closings, which means that it is the least likely to apply to companies disrupted by the pandemic.

• Natural disaster exemptions, which apply when a closing or layoff directly occur from a natural disaster. While floods, earthquakes, and other storms fall into this category, it remains uncertain if the pandemic would constitute a natural disaster. While the definition of a natural disaster does not include pandemics, the U.S. Department of Labor might extend this exemption at some point. 

• Unforeseeable business circumstances exemptions, which apply to both closings and layoffs that occur when a business’s circumstances are not reasonably foreseeable. This exemption requires a significant and sudden unanticipated occurrence that substantially disrupts business operations. This exemption is likely to be the exemption most commonly utilized by companies who have incurred financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic. 

Remember, in addition to claiming one of these exemptions, employers also must still provide as much as notice as is practicable, and when doing so provide a brief statement of why the notification period has been reduced. 

Speak With a Corporate Law Attorney

If you have questions about the law including the WARN Act, it can help to speak with a knowledgeable corporate law attorney. Contact Resnick Law PC today to schedule a free case evaluation.

In January 2020, the

While the law is directed toward companies that do business in California, given today’s internet-based economy, there is a high probability that many companies besides those physically located in California will be impacted by CCPA, including many businesses right here in Michigan. 

Other states are currently in the process of passing legislation that is similar to the CCPA. The following will review some critical details that all Michigan business owners should understand how these laws might impact business operations. 

What Businesses are Impacted by the CCPA?

The CCPA impacts any for-profit entity or business that falls into any of the following categories:

• Businesses that collect personal information either directly or through the use of a third party and make decisions about how that data is used and processed.
• Businesses that operate in California and either have a gross yearly revenue of at least $25 million, which buy/sell/exchange the personal information of at least 50,000 consumers/households/devices, or 
• Businesses that make at least half their annual revenue from the sale of consumer personal information

Some businesses, however, are entirely excluded from the CCPA. These include businesses that collect or sell personal information entirely outside of California, that do not hold onto any collected personal details, or that sell personal details as part of a merger.

What Personal Information is Covered by the CCPA?

The CCPA covers a wide range of information. If any data could potentially be viewed as personal in any way, it is protected by the CCPA. The most common examples of data covered under the CCPA includes browsing histories, credit card numbers, email addresses, and geolocation data.

What Rights are Granted by the CCPA?

The CCPA grants California residents various rights regarding their privacy and personal data. Michigan business owners should become acquainted with these rights, which include the ability to pursue damages for data breaches as well as the right to opt out of the sale of their personal data. Companies are also required by law to disclose whenever they are collecting personal data. 

How Should Businesses Respond to the CCPA?

If your Michigan business has made any update following the EU’s most recent privacy regulation, you are likely still in compliance with the CCPA. If not, you should carefully review your business’s data collection methods as well as what type of data you collect. One of the reasons that you should promptly make these revisions is that businesses that fail to conform to the CCPA are at risk of facing civil penalties of up to $7,500 for each incident. 

Contact an Experienced Michigan Corporate Law Attorney

If you have questions or concerns about how the CCPA might impact your business, it can help to speak with a knowledgeable corporate law attorney. Contact Resnick Law PC today to schedule a free case evaluation.