Jackson Lewis Manufacturing industry group co-chairs Jim Stone and Maurice Jenkins bring their combined 55 years of experience to discuss the sobering and structural challenges 2024 has in store in terms of recruitment and retention. Skill gaps and mismatches, change management, new compensation strategies, internal talent marketplaces, employee referral programs, false barriers to entry, DEI, and more are all on the horizon.

With petition filings up 53 percent during FY2023 and an average union win rate of 71 percent for election petitions in the first half of the same period, the labor renaissance continues to heat up. Jackson Lewis principals Laura Pierson-Scheinberg and Ed Jeffrey tell you what the increase in employee activism, protected concerted activity, and union organizing activities will mean for employers in 2024.

Melanie Paul, co-leader of Jackson Lewis' Workplace Safety and Health practice group, talks with her colleagues, principals Joanne Lambert and Stephanie Cerasano, about intriguing issues for the hospitality industry to look toward in 2024, including service animals, babies, and robotic arms.

Jackson Lewis Higher Education group co-chairs Monica Khetarpal and Susan Friedfel share how you can prepare for changes around fair student admissions and apply those lessons to employees and board members. Other key considerations for 2024 are free speech vs. academic freedom issues and the expected March 2024 release of Title IX regulations relating to sexual misconduct.

Jackson Lewis Healthcare industry co-chairs Sarah Skubas and Mike Bertoncini discuss the five developments most likely to continue impacting the healthcare industry in 2024: strike activity; staffing shortages; union organizing; compliance and legal challenges around vaccination requirements and accommodations; and the NLRB's recent joint-employer rule making it easier to find that employers and their staffing agencies are joint employers.

When it comes to Environmental, Social and Governance issues, the "S" is beginning to creep in on the "G" in the boardroom. Jackson Lewis ESG co-chairs Laura Mitchell and Monica Khetarpal offer some context and insights for how senior leadership and boards can manage through tumultuous times by better aligning the organization's values with its risk profile.

2024 is starting out where 2023 ended for DEI initiatives in the workplace and related scrutiny. But this dynamic could change if the mid-December Muldrow oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court are an indicator. Jackson Lewis ESG co-chairs Monica Khetarpal and Laura Mitchell discuss how an ESG audit can help organizations take stock of their risk and recalibrate, if necessary, with real effectiveness across the entire employee life cycle.

2024 is shaping up as a year of unique challenges that could impact how employees are showing up to the workplace and handling life challenges or emotionally charged events. Jackson Lewis principals Michael Griffin and Michael Thomas discuss why employee well-being is important and what employers can do to promote an environment where everyone contributes to the quality of workplace culture.

DEI-minded employers are increasingly finding fertility, surrogacy, and adoption benefits are one of the better ways to incentivize and retain employees. Jackson Lewis Employee Benefits practice co-leader Melissa Ostrower and principal Kellie Thomas share what 2024 has in store for employers seeking to add more inclusive family forming benefits — and the laws implicated when offering them.

In the wide world of DEI, everything has changed, and nothing has changed at all: It's not lawful to make decisions based on protected characteristics. It is lawful to increase outreach efforts. Positive employee relations and clear communications matter. Listen in as Jackson Lewis Corporate Diversity Counseling co-leaders Samia Kirmani and Michael Thomas declare DEI is definitely not dead and discuss the legal developments out there — and which ones matter.