On September 27, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the state’s pay transparency bill into law, imposing several new and unprecedented requirements on California employers. With the signing of Senate Bill...more
California’s legislature has passed a game-changing bill that would impose significant new requirements on employers in that state. The bill, which seeks to up the ante on pay transparency, is now headed to Governor...more
The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) has, at long last, issued proposed rules implementing its equal pay registration certificate requirements. As a reminder, Illinois is setting deadlines for covered employers to apply...more
On March 30, 2022, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 5761, a measure that requires employers to affirmatively disclose in each job posting open to applicants the salary range or wage scale to be...more
We had been holding off on publishing an update on the Illinois Equal Pay Act requirements in hopes that the State of Illinois would publish its proposed rules implementing the law. Those rules have not yet come. Accordingly,...more
While the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 205) is stalled in the U.S. Senate, the White House has called for action on issues relating to pay equity. On March 15, 2022, which was women’s “Equal Pay Day” for 2022 in the United...more
Some employers have a practice of periodically conducting statistical analyses of employee compensation, under attorney-client privilege, to identify potential areas of risk related to pay equity concerns. These analyses are...more
2/9/2022
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Mergers ,
National Origin ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Race Discrimination ,
Racial Bias ,
Statistical Analysis ,
Wage and Hour
Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee signed pay equity legislation (H 5261A, S 0270A) that will go into effect on January 1, 2023. The new legislation amends Rhode Island’s existing pay equity law and contains the following key...more
Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act went into effect on January 1, 2021. The act creates significant compliance burdens for employers with even one employee in Colorado....more
6/30/2021
/ Commercial Speech ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dormant Commerce Clause ,
Equal Pay ,
First Amendment ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Job Promotions ,
Multistate Employers ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Transparency ,
Posting Requirements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State Labor Departments ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 has extended the tax credits available to employers with fewer than 500 employees under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) through September 30, 2021. As has been the case...more
Within days of the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, employees who were observed as part of the mob entering the Capitol were discharged by their employers. Some of the individuals involved in the events at the...more
Parents, employers, and communities across the country are managing uncertainty around returning to school this fall. Many schools have opened, or soon will open, using some element of virtual learning....more
In March 2020, everyone thought we just need to occupy our children at home for a few weeks, maybe through spring break, and we would be fine. Then it was “just make it to summer.” Now summer is winding down and many kids are...more
Many people have commented on social media regarding the anti-racist movement that has been gaining strength in the wake of police officers killings around the country. Unfortunately, some of these posts are inflammatory,...more
6/23/2020
/ Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Hostile Environment ,
NLRA ,
Political Speech ,
Private Sector ,
Protected Activity ,
Race Relations ,
Risk Management ,
Social Networks
On April 16, 2020, Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm issued an updated Safer at Home Order (Emergency Order #28), which extends and makes certain adjustments to the agency’s original order that...more
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) went into effect on April 1, 2020, and, just in time, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued temporary regulations to implement the new provisions of the Expanded Family and...more
On February 27, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in Rizo v. Yovino, (again) found that salary history is not a “factor other than sex” that can justify a pay disparity in defense of a claim...more
3/13/2020
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Code ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
On August 8, 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued an opinion letter confirming that a parent is entitled to time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to attend a meeting at school to discuss his or her...more
As we previously reported, the Illinois legislature passed House Bill 834 and Governor J. B. Pritzker signed the bill into law. It will become effective September 29, 2019. The new law prohibits employers from requesting or...more
After ending 2018 with a slew of new employment laws, Illinois continues to enact legislation impacting employers. Following the example set by California, Washington, and other states recently, the Illinois legislature...more
6/12/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Woman Board Members
In this episode, Keith Kopplin and Sarah Platt compare Wisconsin’s Family and Medical Leave Act with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and discuss the key differences and top things employers should know....more
Join Milwaukee attorneys Sarah Platt and Christine Bestor Townsend as they discuss how things have changed for employers in the era of #MeToo....more
11/7/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Corporate Culture ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Harassment ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII ,
Workplace Communication
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) continues to present challenging questions for employers. In this episode, Keith Kopplin and Sarah Platt of our Milwaukee office walk through some of employers’ most frequently asked...more
One year ago today, 10 days after the Harvey Weinstein story broke, Alyssa Milano tweeted: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.”
While the #MeToo movement was started a...more
Vermont and likely Connecticut will soon join California, Delaware, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Puerto Rico (along with various cities and counties) in prohibiting salary history inquiries.
Vermont Prohibits Salary History...more