Roundup: Ohio legalizes cannabis; NY employment laws and employee privacy and autonomy; New HB-2 temporary work visas to be issued; Avoiding problems at holiday parties; AI, law and employee privacy

The hardest part about recreational marijuana for employers is trying to figure out whether an employee is under the influence at work. Drug tests won't tell you because cannabis stays in your system for a long time, like days and weeks, after its effects have worn off.

As technology gets more sophisticated and employer surveillance increases, privacy, autonomy, and ethics will make up the new HR and employment law frontier.

Here's the latest and expected new NY employment laws for 2024.

The federal government is going to make nearly 65K new H-2B visas available in addition to the 66K currently authorized. Here's an excellent guide on what you need to know and how employers can apply for the new H-2B visas.

If you are wondering why the employment lawyers are all writing about holiday parties, it's because bad things happen when people get drunk. And bad things, like bearer bond thieves, are not very festive.

Here's some wise and funny silliness about the movie Die Hard and holiday parties . My advice is still, don't have one.

As part of the President's AI Executive Order, we are going to see more regulatory attention on employee privacy and employer surveillance. I expect at the very least, we will see more states and maybe even Congress, require organizations to notify employees how they are monitored and what data is collected and stored about them.

This will be a big deal to HR and people analytics technology companies, so get ready now. Your clients will need that information soon.

I'm mostly disinterested. I am sensible and wise about other things, like how to compose a photograph or deal with weasels. Here's a great explanation on how the AI Executive Order could affect employer surveillance.