Recent labor law, workplace safety regulation, and antitrust enforcement developments are creating an increasingly complex regulatory landscape for grocery industry employers. Companies must navigate an array of compliance challenges at state and federal levels, including OSHA's new "union walkaround" rule and evolving employment laws such as Fair Workweek and salary disclosure mandates.

Employers face heightened antitrust scrutiny from the DOJ and FTC) as well as state antitrust regulators and private plaintiffs, and they should adhere to new expansions of protections and standards under the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections Act. Grocery industry employers, in partnership with legal counsel, can mitigate risks in this dynamic environment and ensure they and their employees are informed and well-trained on new OSHA, employment and labor, and antitrust law developments.

OSHA COMPLIANCE AND THE NEW UNION WALKAROUND RULE

A major change in OSHA inspection procedures is the new Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process or "union walkaround rule" (see our April 3, 2024 LawFlash), which allows compliance officers to bring third-party representatives on workplace inspections, even at nonunionized sites. This gives union organizers and worker advocacy groups potential access to previously restricted areas of grocery stores during OSHA visits.

Best practices for grocery industry employers to prepare for this change include:

• Updating OSHA inspection policies and...

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