The California Labor Commissioner’s Office has challenged Uber and Lyft in two new state-backed lawsuits that allege that the companies have engaged in “wage theft” by misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors. Filed in Alameda County, the suits are the most recent effort to enforce A.B. 5, which arguably caused a sea change in the analysis … Continue Reading
On July 14, 2020, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed SB20-205, known as the “Healthy Families and Workplaces Act” (the Act), into law. The law is an overhaul of Colorado’s paid sick leave statutes. It requires employers to provide paid sick leave to employees under various circumstances. In addition to addressing general paid sick leave, the … Continue Reading
Virginia’s General Assembly and governor worked together this year to enact a broad range of new employment laws that impact virtually every aspect of the employment relationship. These laws create new substantive and procedural protections for employees and impose new liabilities and burdens on employers, and they take effect July 1, 2020. Read the full … Continue Reading
In April, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade Commission released a Joint Statement, warning they are “on alert” and will scrutinize employers – especially employers of front-line and essential workers such as doctors, nurses, grocery store employees, pharmacists, and warehouse workers – who engage in … Continue Reading
The New York State Department of Health has issued a model Business Reopening Safety Plan for businesses that will be reopening in Phase 1 of Gov. Cuomo’s four-phase reopening guidelines for various regions and industries in New York state. Read the full GT Alert, “New York DOH Issues Business Reopening Safety Plan.”… Continue Reading
On May 13, 2020, in a step towards reopening New Jersey’s economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Phil Murphy signed Executive Order No. 142, which among other things (i) permits “non-essential” retail businesses to operate on a “curbside pickup” basis, and (ii) lifts the ban on non-essential construction projects. Executive Order No. 142 modifies earlier Executive … Continue Reading
On March 18, new legislation was enacted in New York state to provide additional paid sick leave, as well as insurance benefits under paid family leave (“PFL”) and statutory disability (“DBL”) policies to employees subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine. This legislation is limited to where there is a mandatory or precautionary … Continue Reading
Late on Monday, March 16, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives modified H.R. 6201, Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and substantially narrowed the employer leave requirements under Division C – Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act and Division E – Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act. As of the time of this Alert, H.R. 6201 … Continue Reading
Despite being in effect since Jan. 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) continues to generate confusion for employers of California residents. Much attention has been given to the CCPA’s effect on a business’ obligations in collecting, using, and sharing California customers’ data. However, given the CCPA’s broad “consumer” definition includes “employees,” it also imposes … Continue Reading
In 2019, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania each enacted substantial legislation affecting companies that employ individuals in those states. This GT Alert provides a summary of the most significant of these legislative changes and will help employers stay abreast of the changes relevant to their businesses. Please note that the laws described extend protections to … Continue Reading
Several amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act will become effective Sept. 29, 2019. The most significant of these amendments is a ban that prohibits inquiry into and the use of a job applicant’s pay history in making hiring and employment decisions. Illinois has now joined with 13 states that have imposed such a ban. This … Continue Reading
On August 12, 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed new legislation amending the New York State Human Rights Law (the “NYSHRL”), changing the State law’s previous adherence to certain fundamental principles of federal law concerning employment harassment generally, including the standard for determining employer liability for “hostile work environment” discrimination claims and the availability … Continue Reading
On June 13, 2019, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed SB 312 into law to require Nevada employers to provide paid leave to workers. Specifically, the bill requires that employees receive 0.01923 hours of paid leave for each hour worked. Under this formula, a worker who works 40 hours per week for 52 weeks will be entitled to … Continue Reading
The Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFML) provides eligible workers with paid medical and family leave benefits effective Jan. 1, 2021. See July 2018 GT Alert here. Specifically, individuals will be entitled to up to 20 weeks of paid medical leave and 12 weeks of paid family leave per year. The maximum amount of combined family … Continue Reading
On March 18, 2019, landmark legislation was passed that could dramatically impact the resolution of discrimination, retaliation, and harassment claims. under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“NJLAD”), and “other” statutes – presently undefined. Employers: pay close attention. The bill takes effect immediately and applies “to all contracts and agreements entered into, renewed, modified, or … Continue Reading
There are myriad special rules for employers operating in California, and even more were signed into law last term. 2018 was Jerry Brown’s last year of his second “two-term” round as governor. Both legislatively and judicially, 2018 was a busy year, with the legislature sending more than 1,000 bills to the governor. This GT Alert … Continue Reading
Congress passed the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (the Act) in 2018 to prevent “patient brokering” in treatment for substance abuse disorders. The Act imposes criminal penalties against anyone who knowingly and willfully “solicits or receives any remuneration . . . in return for referring a patient or patronage to a recovery home, clinical treatment … Continue Reading
There have been many significant legislative developments over the past year which have and will affect private employers in New York and New Jersey. Federal, state, and local legislatures have been busy in the employment arena, promulgating rules and regulations affecting a broad range of well-entrenched employment practices. For instance, in New Jersey, pending legislation … Continue Reading
On August 10, 2018, Governor Baker signed into law the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (the Act). The new law brings significant changes to the use and enforcement of noncompetition agreements in Massachusetts. The Act was passed as part of a comprehensive economic development bill and applies to noncompetition agreements entered into on or after October … Continue Reading
On July 18, 2018, Governor Brown signed AB 2282, the Fair Pay Act Bill, into law to clarify Labor Code sections 432.3 and 1197.5 (also known as the California Equal Pay Act), which collectively dictate how employers can use salary history information of employees and applicants for employment. Existing law prohibits California employers from asking … Continue Reading
The past year saw many significant developments in the area of labor and employment law at all levels of government. Simply by way of example, new legislation imposed additional obligations on employers that operate in New Jersey and New York; federal Courts of Appeals “clarified” standards applicable to workplace discrimination claims; and under the Trump … Continue Reading
This year, New York City and New York State advanced a series of legislative and regulatory proposals affecting New York’s businesses and their employees. Following four public hearings across the state, the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) proposed regulations that would expand the current “call-in” regulations by requiring two weeks’ advance notice of … Continue Reading
The District of Columbia Council recently passed a law to increase the minimum wage for employees to $15 by 2022. The District of Columbia joins other states in raising its minimum wage to rates higher than the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. The current minimum wage in the District ($10.50) is scheduled to rise … Continue Reading
As we previously discussed here, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) recently changed the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA’s or the Act’s) Salary Level and Salary Basis tests for the white collar exemptions to the Act’s overtime requirement. Effective Dec. 1, 2016, employees must be paid at least $47,476 annually and $913 per week … Continue Reading
