The US District Court for the Southern District of New York recently nullified several Labor Department regulations from the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, but the ruling's geographic scope is unclear, according to the law firm of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart. The state challenged parts of the final rule in federal court in April, with the court striking down regulations that include the final rule's definition of "health care provider" and a requirement specifying that employees must secure employer approval before a temporary leave.

Tech advancements and the pandemic "have altered, perhaps permanently, the key skill sets necessary for success in today's legal environment," writes Jenn Betts, a shareholder at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart. In this commentary, Betts identifies three skills that tomorrow's successful lawyers will embody: adaptability, resource mastery and inclusivity.

The National Labor Relations Board, which is undergoing a rulemaking process to roll back the broader joint-employer standard established in the Browning-Ferris Industries case, has gotten thousands of comments. "[T]he uncertainty Browning-Ferris created undermines stability in labor relations," said Mark Kisicki and Elizabeth Soveranez of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart.

Wade Fricke, a lawyer and shareholder at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, said it's important for organizations to think of unions as business partners. Communicating well is vital to making sure that the relationship stays strong and does not leave out the union.

Changing attitudes toward obesity and its designation as a disease have required employers to change how they approach the issue in the workplace, attorneys said. Daniel Sulton of the law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart in Columbia, S.C., said wellness programs can formalize how employers address obesity among workers and have a positive effect on health costs and injuries.