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 May 17, 2024, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed S.B. 24-205, Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence, the first state law in the country to regulate employers’ use of artificial intelligence in employment decisions.  This law regulates both companies that develop and companies that deploy “high-risk” artificial intelligence systems (“AI systems”).  In particular, the law sets forth a set of provisions designed to ensure that developers and deployers use “reasonable care” to protect consumers from any “known or reasonably foreseeable risks to algorithmic discrimination” arising from the use of the AI system.  The law then creates a rebuttable presumption, for both deployers and developers, that reasonable care was used if they meet specific requirements and disclose key information about high-risk AI systems.  This law will be enforced by the Colorado Attorney General, and a violation of the law constitutes an unfair trade practice.  The law becomes effective on February 1, 2026.

Now more than ever, federal contractors find themselves at the intersection of innovation and regulation, particularly in the realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI).  AI is now incorporated into a broad range of business systems, including those with the potential to inform contractor employment decisions.  For that reason, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has issued new guidance entitled “Artificial Intelligence and Equal Employment Opportunity for Federal Contractors” (the “AI Guide”).  OFCCP issued the AI Guide in accordance with President Biden’s Executive Order 14110 (regarding the “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence”), which we reported on here.  The AI Guide provides answers to commonly asked questions about the use of AI in the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) context.  The AI Guide also offers “Promising Practices,” which highlight a number of important considerations for federal contractors.  Focusing on federal contractors’ obligations and attendant risks when utilizing AI to assist in employment-related decisions, the AI Guide also provides recommendations for ensuring compliance with EEO requirements while harnessing the efficiencies of AI.

On April 15, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced in a press release its implementation of a Final Rule on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”), published that day in the Federal Register.  The Final Rule fundamentally extended the PWFAs protections, broadly defining what had been ambiguous phrases to expand the scope of individuals qualifying for accommodations, when employees and applicants for employment may seek an accommodation, and how employers should engage with them upon receiving a request for accommodation.

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: