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Tracey Diamond counsels clients on workplace issues, provides harassment training, conducts internal investigations, drafts policies and procedures, negotiates employment and severance agreements, advises on independent contractor, FMLA and ADA compliance issues, and partners with clients to structure their workforce in the most efficient and effective way possible.

Q. Has the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued any recent guidance regarding employers’ use of artificial intelligence (AI)?

A. Yes. On May 18, the EEOC released new guidelines, explaining how employers’ use of AI could trigger a federal employment law violation. This development makes the government’s position clear: Employers using AI in the workplace run the risk of violating antidiscrimination law — specifically, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Sometimes it’s not what you say, but how you say it. What’s the best approach to managing and getting the most out of your employees? Are there gender and generational challenges to administering performance management effectively?  Is communication and training the answer? Partners Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs sat down with Laura Yehuda, a Principal with Ernst & Young LLP’s People Advisory Services, to talk about the popular TV show, The Bear, hoagies versus subs, and best practices when delivering performance messages.

How do you determine when an employee is impaired at work? How do you detect drug use in a remote work environment? When can you ask an employee to take a drug test? Partners Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs sat down with Squarespace Senior Counsel Larissa Boz to talk about the popular Max series Industry and managing employee performance and drug use.

Most companies know that they can’t demote or fire an employee because of their race or religion. But how can companies avoid making decisions based on unconscious bias? Partners Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs sat down with CyberRisk Alliance VP of People Ying Wong to talk about the popular Netflix show Partner Track, workplace diversity, and unconscious bias.

What risks do companies face for failing to timely and sometimes appropriately investigate workplace complaints? In the first video recording of the Hiring to Firing Podcast, Partners Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs sit down with DS Smith General Counsel for North America Josh Burnette to talk about the popular Netflix show Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and workplace whistleblowing complaints.

What responsibilities do managers and coworkers have to prevent or stop harassment in the workplace? Is silence just as bad as the harassment itself? Partners Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs sit down with Megan Bigelow, assistant general counsel at Sonesta Hotels, to talk about the popular Apple TV series The Morning Show and harassment in the workplace. Hear all this and more in Episode 13 of the Hiring to Firing Podcast!

George Costanza was the master at “quiet quitting” — the latest term for employees who do the bare minimum. Have your employees joined this trend? Is production down in the office? Partners Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs sit down with Paradies Lagardere litigation and compliance attorney Rebecca Silk to talk about the popular TV series Seinfeld and the quiet quitting trend. Hear all this and more in Episode 12 of the Hiring to Firing Podcast!

What could possibly go wrong with firing employees for having “bad energy” or not being “a good fit?” Join Partners Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs as they sit down with Fulton Bank Director of Organizational Effectiveness Allison Snyder to talk about the Apple TV+ series WeCrashed and the perils of these types of firings — including what happens when there’s a lack of professionalism and ethics in the workplace. Hear all this and more in Episode 11 of the Hiring to Firing Podcast!

Published in Law360 on January 20, 2023. © Copyright 2023, Portfolio Media, Inc., publisher of Law360. Reprinted here with permission.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed into law the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act,[1] which aims to protect U.S. intellectual property by imposing sanctions on companies and individuals involved in trade secrets theft.