New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed into law S8091 (“Sick Leave Law” or “Law”), requiring employers to provide certain employees under COVID-19-related quarantine or isolation with either paid or unpaid sick leave,...more
On March 18, 2020, shortly after it passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 90-8, H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“Act” or “Law”), was signed into law by President Trump. The Act, which takes effect by...more
Early Saturday morning, March 14, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 363-40 to pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R.6201) (the “Bill”), a sweeping piece of legislation aimed at reducing the...more
On February 6, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the Philadelphia Wage Equity Ordinance (“Ordinance”) by reactivating the Ordinance’s prohibition on employer inquiries into an applicant’s salary...more
The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (“2019-nCoV” or “Coronavirus”) is a rapidly spreading respiratory illness that is raising important issues for employers....more
1/31/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Business Travel ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interim Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Public Health ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety ,
World Health Organization
New York’s salary history ban (“Law”) becomes effective today, January 6, 2020. To help employers comply with their obligations under the Law and to advise employees of their rights, the state has issued guidance...more
On October 30, 2019, the Safe Time Leave Law (“Law”) in New York’s Westchester County went into effect. To help employers comply with their obligations under the Law and to advise employees of their rights, the County has...more
11/27/2019
/ Domestic Violence ,
Earned Sick Time ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Guidance ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Safe Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
In 2017 and 2018, Illinois lawmakers tried twice to close the gender pay gap by prohibiting employers from seeking information about an applicant’s salary history and expanding existing pay equity protections. Both attempts...more
9/30/2019
/ Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Pritzker ,
Governor Rauner ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
After a prolonged legal battle that began in 2015, Pittsburgh’s Paid Sick Days Act (“Act”) will soon become effective. Opponents of the Act had successfully challenged it in the lower courts, which found that the City of...more
The Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”), the agency responsible for administering unemployment benefits and assessing unemployment taxes, recently adopted a rule (“Rule”) pursuant to which certain workers who provide services...more
7/22/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
State Labor Laws ,
Texas ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Wage and Hour ,
Websites
On June 13, 2019, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed SB 312 (“Law”), which imposes new paid leave requirements on certain employers. Under the Law, Nevada employers with 50 or more employees in the state will be required to...more
7/17/2019
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Mandates ,
Governor Sisolak ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On the heels of passing sweeping changes to New York’s harassment and discrimination laws, the state legislature has approved major changes to New York’s pay equity statute. This two-pronged expansion of the equal pay law...more
7/9/2019
/ Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
NYCHRL ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Protected Class ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Wage and Hour
On April 24, 2019, Dallas became the latest and third Texas city to pass an Ordinance (“Law”) requiring private employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees. The Law is scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2019,...more
6/11/2019
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Earned Sick Time ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On May 28, 2019, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed “An Act Authorizing Earned Employee Leave” (“Law”), which requires private employers to provide paid leave to their employees. Scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2021,...more
6/6/2019
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exceptions ,
Governor Mills ,
Labor Law Violations ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On April 23, 2019, the Board of Legislators of Westchester County, New York, adopted a new paid leave benefit for most employees in the county. Beginning October 30, 2019, the Safe Time Leave Law (“Law” or “Ordinance”) will...more
5/17/2019
/ Covered Employees ,
Earned Sick Time ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Human Trafficking ,
Local Ordinance ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On March 29, 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) published updated regulations (“Updated Regulations”) to the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”) law. Additionally, the...more
4/30/2019
/ Covered Employer ,
Covered Entities ,
Employer Contributions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Filing Requirements ,
Medical Leave ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Proposed Regulation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Westchester County, New York’s Earned Sick Leave Law (“ESLL” or “Law”) went into effect on April 10, 2019. To assist employers with implementing their obligations under the Law, and advise employees of their rights, the...more
4/17/2019
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Earned Sick Time ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Communication
The New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) recently announced that it would no longer pursue employee scheduling regulations concerning “call-in” (or “on-call”) pay and other so-called predictive scheduling matters. As...more
3/11/2019
/ Fair Workweek ,
Labor Regulations ,
NYDOL ,
On-Call Employees ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
Westchester County, New York, just became the latest jurisdiction to enact an Earned Sick Leave Law (“Law”). Similar in many respects to New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Law (although Westchester’s version does not...more
Since its passage in 2013, New York City’s Earned Sick Time Act (“ESTA”) has been amended twice, first in 2014 and again in 2017, when its mandates were expanded and its name was changed to the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act...more
The New York City Temporary Schedule Change Law (“Law”) became effective on July 18, 2018. As we reported in a previous Act Now Advisory, the Law allows most New York City employees up to two temporary schedule changes (or...more
On June 28, 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed House Bill 4640, “An Act Relative to Minimum Wage, Paid Family Medical Leave, and the Sales Tax Holiday” (“Act”). Rather than leave the issues to voters this...more
Both New York State and New York City lawmakers have had a busy year so far, enacting a host of employment laws that impose new and significant responsibilities on covered employers. Below is a summary of the major laws...more
On April 30, 2018, a federal district court in Pennsylvania issued a preliminary injunction against the City of Philadelphia, preventing the City from implementing the portion of its Wage Equity Law that prohibits employers...more
The Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General (“AG”) recently issued an Overview and Frequently Asked Questions document (“Guidance”) for the Massachusetts Pay Equity Law (“Law”), which will go into effect on July 1, 2018....more