Employment & Benefits Unpacked

With reform proposals advancing in the UK and a shifting patchwork of state laws in the US, restrictive covenants are under more scrutiny than ever. In this episode of Employment & Benefits Unpacked, Mayer Brown's Miriam Bruce, Katherine Fox, Andrew Rosenman, and Meghaan Madriz explore the current enforceability landscape, emerging trends like team raids and trade secret litigation, proposed legislative reforms, and practical steps employers can take now to protect their business.

In this episode of Employment & Benefits Unpacked, Mayer Brown partners Miriam Bruce, Julien Haure, and Hagen Köckeritz discuss the evolving pay transparency landscape across Europe and the UK. They explore the EU Pay Transparency Directive, national developments in France and Germany, and the UK's approach to gender pay gap reporting and future equality action plans. The conversation highlights practical steps employers can take now to prepare for new transparency, reporting, and equal pay obligations.

In this episode of Employment and Benefits Unpacked, Mayer Brown employment lawyers Pauline Stadler (Frankfurt) and Marine Hamon (Paris) explore the critical labor law considerations that arise in cross-border transactions, drawing on their experience advising clients on carve-outs and asset deals spanning Germany and France. In this discussion, find out how works council consultation requirements, statutory timelines, employee transfer rules, and confidentiality obligations in each jurisdiction can directly impact your deals. Marine and Pauline highlight the importance of aligning messaging across jurisdictions given that employee representatives in different countries routinely compare notes and will push back on any inconsistencies. Key takeaways include the importance of establishing labor workstream milestones from day one, maintaining a consistent narrative for all stakeholders, and ensuring that transaction documents account for consultation timelines and employee objection rights.

In this episode of Employment & Benefits Unpacked, Andrew Block and Gareth Davies of Mayer Brown's UK Pensions group provide a comprehensive guide for investors navigating the UK pensions landscape, unpacking the full spectrum of pension arrangements ranging from defined contribution and collective defined contribution schemes to the complexities of defined benefit arrangements that can significantly impact deal dynamics. With many UK defined benefit schemes now in surplus, the hosts discuss the evolving opportunities managing pension liabilities and the key regulatory powers investors should understand. Whether you're an investor, HR professional, or in-house counsel, this episode offers practical insights to help you navigate UK transactions with confidence.

In this episode of Employment and Benefits Unpacked, hosts Reginald Goeke, Rick Nowak, and Stephanie Vasconcellos examine several recent ERISA class actions asserting novel challenges to employer voluntary benefit programs including accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity coverage. The conversation delves into whether and when these programs are ERISA plans, the contours of the voluntary benefits safe harbor under 29 CFR § 2510.3-1(j), the plaintiffs' theories of fiduciary liability against employers and their insurance brokers in these lawsuits, and the practical implications for employers—including anticipated legal arguments and the potential risk that employers may stop making voluntary benefit programs available to their employees.