Philip M Berkowitz

September 15, 2017 | New York Law Journal

In his Employment Issues column, Philip M. Berkowitz discusses a late-August decision with potentially far-reaching implications for foreign and multinational employers, in which the U.S. Department of Labor Administrative Review Board (ARB), held that SOX's whistleblower provisions have extraterritorial application—in apparent contradiction of appellate court and indeed prior ARB case law.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

20 minute read

August 29, 2017 | New York Law Journal

Philip M. Berkowitz of Littler Mendelson writes: Retailers in high fashion must balance their genuine interests in building a brand culture with the requirements of labor and employment law. Practices that seem to make business sense, but which result in depriving groups of individuals from employment, should be reviewed with counsel to be sure that they do not unnecessarily expose the company to liability and the brand to unneeded damage.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

8 minute read

May 10, 2017 | New York Law Journal

In his Employment Issues column, Philip M. Berkowitz writes: Multinational companies should have in place well considered protocols for investigating claims of alleged internal wrongdoing. Investigation protocols should provide guidelines that assign investigation roles and responsibilities among various key stakeholders, which may include the general counsel, the chief compliance officer, chief risk officer, head of human resources, and others.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

18 minute read

January 11, 2017 | New York Law Journal

In his Employment Issues column, Philip M. Berkowitz writes: The election of Donald Trump as President can reasonably be expected to upend the current established order of things in the world of employment law. In fact, President-elect Trump's election campaign, in large measure, was founded on arguments and issues that are uniquely the province of labor and employment lawyers: immigration law, health care, and discrimination law.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

21 minute read

November 09, 2016 | New York Law Journal

Employment Issues columnist Philip M. Berkowitz discusses a risk alert released by the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations on Oct. 24 warning that the agency "is reviewing a variety of documents," including compliance manuals, codes of ethics, employment agreements, and severance agreements, for language that is contrary to SEC regulations on disclosure of information in pursuit of whistleblower claims. This includes policies that would prohibit disclosures of confidential information and require employees to notify or obtain consent from the employer prior to disclosing confidential information. The commission, he writes, is going after companies that have internal policies, practices or agreements that contain offending language.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

26 minute read

July 14, 2016 | New York Law Journal

In his Employment Issues column, Philip M. Berkowitz writes: It is essential for counsel and human resources executives advising banks to become familiar with the "Heightened Standards" issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for certain banks in more than a passing way.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

18 minute read

May 12, 2016 | New York Law Journal

In his Employment Issues column, Philip M. Berkowitz writes that discrimination and harassment claims have provided fodder for workplace investigations by human resources for years. In the era of the whistleblower, however, things have gotten much more complicated, and when claims involve hybrid allegations—racial discrimination and whistleblower retaliation, for example—it would be unwise for any one department of a company to be solely responsible for the investigation.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

15 minute read

January 14, 2016 | New York Law Journal

In his Employment Issues column, Philip M. Berkowitz writes: The United States, many think, leads the way globally in its passage and enforcement of anti-bribery and corruption, and whistleblower protection laws. But U.S. companies doing business in the U.K. need to know that our overseas cousins are not far behind, and indeed may have leapfrogged over us with the recent publication of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's new whistleblower rules.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

11 minute read

January 14, 2016 | New York Law Journal

In his Employment Issues column, Philip M. Berkowitz writes: The United States, many think, leads the way globally in its passage and enforcement of anti-bribery and corruption, and whistleblower protection laws. But U.S. companies doing business in the U.K. need to know that our overseas cousins are not far behind, and indeed may have leapfrogged over us with the recent publication of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's new whistleblower rules.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

11 minute read

July 09, 2015 | New York Law Journal

In his Employment Issues column, Philip M. Berkowitz discusses the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's new "safety and soundness" guidelines which make talent management, recruitment, succession planning, and compensation practices a focus of boards and senior executive officers at large foreign and domestic banks.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

8 minute read