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In this episode of our Cross-Border Catch-Up podcast series, Patty Shapiro (San Diego) and Kristyn Lambert (New Orleans) break down what U.S. employers need to know about Australian employment law. They cover the layered framework of the Fair Work Act, modern awards, and enterprise agreements, as well as the strict procedural requirements for termination, redundancy, and discipline. The speakers also examine Australia’s proactive duty to prevent sexual harassment, a standard that goes well beyond what U.S. employers typically encounter.

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In episode six of the Talent Risk Assessor series of Defensible Decisions, Scott Kelly (Birmingham/Washington) and Cam Ellis (Atlanta) are again joined by Pete Bell of the firm’s data analytics team to examine how compensation data can be analyzed for potential pay disparities. Building on the performance rating patterns discussed in episode five, the speakers walk through a layered approach, starting with average pay comparisons among similarly situated employees, moving to a review of outliers on a scatterplot based on tenure and time in role, and then, finally to statistical significance testing. The discussion continues with consideration for factors such as prior experience, education, and geographic differentials that may act to explain observed differences. The episode emphasizes that this work must be conducted under attorney-client privilege, and the need for analysis refresh given expected employment movements, and that a more robust, regression-based analysis should be considered where flags remain.

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In episode five of the Talent Risk Assessor series on Defensible Decisions, Scott Kelly (Birmingham/Washington, D.C.) and Cam Ellis (Atlanta) are joined by Pete Bell of the firm’s data analytics team to examine performance ratings—one of the foundational pillars of employment decisions from merit to promotion to termination. The speakers walk through how the talent risk assessor goes beyond a company-wide view to flag gender or race-based differences in ratings within a specific manager’s team or job family, and discuss the impact of calibration gaps, unclear criteria, and documentation. The speakers then trace how performance ratings cascade into pay, promotion, reduction-in-force selections, and discipline and termination decisions, underscoring the advantage of investigating a statistical flag under privilege.

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In episode four of the Talent Risk Assessor series on Defensible Decisions, shareholders Scott Kelly (Birmingham/Washington) and Lauren Hicks (Indianapolis/Atlanta) are joined by Emily Botto, a senior data analyst on the firm’s data analytics team, to examine talent progression and retention. Building on the voluntary separation patterns identified in episode three, the speakers walk through how time-to-promotion and tenure data, when read together, reveal whether certain job families or business units show both slower advancement and shorter tenure for certain demographic groups. The speakers also explore potential facially neutral barriers, such as promotion criteria that depend on informal access to senior leadership and the importance of identifying these patterns proactively and under privilege.

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In this podcast, Shir Fulga, Erin Schachter, and Susan Ivimey discuss important changes to employment standards in Canada that took effect on January 1, 2026, focusing on the extension of long-term illness leave in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, and new rules in Saskatchewan that prohibit employers from withholding tips. Additionally, they cover the introduction of new job-protected leaves in Saskatchewan, which include maternity leave and leave for interpersonal violence, as well as new provisions allowing for the substitution of public holidays.

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In episode three of this special series of Defensible Decisions discussing Ogletree’s Talent Risk Assessor, shareholders Scott Kelly (Birmingham/Washington) and Chris Near (Columbia) are joined by Chrissy Blantz from the firm’s Data Analytics team to examine separations and terminations—an area of the employment lifecycle where legal risk is often most acute. Using a hypothetical multi-state employer, the speakers walk through how a statistically significant flag in overall separation rates can be disaggregated by involuntary versus voluntary terminations and further broken down by separation reason codes to identify the actual driver behind the pattern, in this case, disproportionate use of temporary, time-limited roles. The episode illustrates how a data-driven, legally informed inquiry, conducted under privilege and properly documented, builds a defensible position even when the underlying cause turns out to have a legitimate explanation.

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In episode two of this special series of Defensible Decisions discussing Ogletree’s Talent Risk Assessor, shareholders Scott Kelly (Birmingham/Washington) and Chris Near (Columbia), who are joined by Chrissy Blantz from the firm’s Data Analytics team, focus on dispositions and merit-based hiring documentation. The speakers explain how disposition codes work alongside dashboard analytics to show whether hiring decisions are consistently tied to job-related, posted criteria, and offers practical guidance on auditing job advertisements and disposition practices to reduce litigation risk. The episode closes by previewing episode three, which will apply these same documentation principles to separations and terminations.

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In this second episode of our Labor Law Solutions podcast, shareholders Tom Davis (Nashville), Tom Stanek (Phoenix), and Brian Hayes (Washington), who co-chair the firm’s Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group, examine the confirmation of James Macy to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Brian, who is a former NLRB member, offers his insights on what a third management-minded member means for reversing several pro-union precedents, including the bargaining order standard, the captive audience rule, and McLaren Macomb. The speakers also discuss the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Slaughter, its implications for the constitutionality of removal protections applicable to board members, administrative law judges, and regional directors, and how the ruling affects pending constitutional challenges to NLRB proceedings.

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In this podcast, shareholders Kevin Bland (Orange County) and Karen Tynan (Sacramento) discuss the most common Cal/OSHA citations issued to California agriculture employers. Karen, who is chair of the firm’s Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group, and Kevin discuss including heat illness prevention, Injury and Illness Prevention Plan (IIPP) violations, field sanitation requirements, lockout/tagout compliance, and respiratory protection for hazards like valley fever and wildfire smoke. The speakers offer practical guidance on avoiding these citations, with an emphasis on documentation, training, and maintaining basic compliance measures such as providing potable water, shade, and proper sanitation facilities, to help keep your workers safe and your workplace compliant.

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This special series of Defensible Decisions, discusses Ogletree’s Talent Risk Assessor dashboard that helps employers integrate data from the full employment lifecycle to give management a birds’ eye view of the legal risks associated with employment decisions. Episode one features shareholders Scott Kelly (Birmingham/Washington) and Chris Near (Columbia), who are are joined by Chrissy Blantz from the firm’s Data Analytics team, to examine how Ogletree’s Talent Risk Assessor evaluates selection and hiring processes for legal risk. Using a continuing hypothetical involving a multi-state employer, the group walks through stage-by-stage funnel analysis and explains why a statistical flag should prompt a legally informed inquiry rather than a conclusion about compliance. Scott, who is chair of the firm’s Workforce Analytics and Compliance Practice Group, also previews the data quality and documentation considerations that will be addressed in the next episode of the series.