Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law Substitute House Bill 1905 on March 28, 2024, broadening the scope of Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA)....more
4/30/2024
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Inslee ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Washington
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 to ban the use of nearly all noncompete agreements in America’s for-profit businesses (with only a few narrow exceptions). The party-line vote comes after...more
4/25/2024
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
On April 15, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) Final Rule, scheduled to take effect on June 18, 2024. The Final Rule largely leaves in place the...more
4/24/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Final Rules ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII
Certain construction workers and other employees in the construction industry must be paid the entire balance of accrued and unused paid sick leave if those workers separate from employment before they reach their 90th day of...more
2/7/2024
/ Construction Industry ,
Construction Workers ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Regulations ,
NAICS ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Washington
The Washington Supreme Court recently considered whether it would adopt the "apex doctrine." This doctrine is a framework used by some courts to evaluate whether a party may take the deposition of a company's executives and...more
Multiple new laws will take effect in Washington state beginning January 2024, bringing changes to the state’s minimum wage laws and adding requirements under the state’s Paid Sick Leave Law. ...more
Beginning in 2024, both Washington and California will prohibit employers from basing hiring decisions on an applicant’s legal marijuana use.
What Is Prohibited?
Effective January 1, 2024, employers are prohibited...more
11/20/2023
/ Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Screening Procedures ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Beginning in 2024, both Washington and California will prohibit employers from basing hiring decisions on an applicant’s legal marijuana use.
What Is Prohibited?
Effective January 1, 2024, employers are prohibited...more
11/17/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Cannabis Products ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Governor Inslee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Screening Procedures ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Washington
Connecticut Paid Sick and Safe Leave was expanded to add two additional permitted uses, effective October 1, 2023.
Connecticut Paid Sick and Safe Leave -
Connecticut Paid Sick and Safe Leave originally went into...more
The recently enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) requires covered employers (i.e., public or private employers with more than 15 employees) to provide reasonable accommodations to “qualified” employees or candidates...more
9/11/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Labor Reform ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Undue Hardship
California’s Civil Rights Council (the Council), a branch of the California Civil Rights Department, issued proposed revisions, earlier this year, to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) regulations governing an...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2023-2 on May 17, 2023, to provide guidance to its field staff regarding enforcement of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act...more
7/11/2023
/ Breastfeeding ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Training ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement ,
Exceptions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State and Local Government ,
Undue Hardship ,
Wage and Hour
On May 24, 2023, the state of Minnesota enacted a labor bill (SF 3035) that prohibits employers’ use of noncompetes, effective July 1, 2023. The ban does not apply retroactively to noncompetes signed prior to July 1, 2023....more
The Washington Employment Security Department (ESD) adopted new rules for the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFML) regarding employer reporting requirements, child placement, and self-employment elective coverage...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) General Counsel Jennifer A. Abruzzo issued a memorandum on May 30, 2023, opining that noncompete agreements contained in employment agreements and severance agreements...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) recently reinstated setting-specific standards to determine whether employers have violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the Act) by unlawfully disciplining...more
Over the past year, several states have rolled out plans to defund diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. While these initiatives are focused on state agencies and state-funded higher education, they may cause...more
As California Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration seeks to finalize the 2023-24 Governor’s Budget, the California Joint Legislative Audit Committee (the Committee) has moved to audit the persistent backlog of wage theft...more
Following delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has finally revisited its indoor heat illness prevention standard (the Standard)....more
4/18/2023
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Training ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Heat Exposure ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety
In February 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) ruled in McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB No. 58 (2023), that employee severance agreements with overly broad confidentiality and nondisparagement provisions...more
Under a newly issued decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board), “an employer violates Section 8(a)(1) of the [National Labor Relations] Act when it proffers a severance agreement with provisions that...more
2/28/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Section 7 ,
Severance Agreements
The Seattle City Council became the first U.S. jurisdiction to identify caste as a protected class under its Human Rights Code on February 21, 2023, when it passed CB 120511, “An Ordinance Relating to Human Rights; Including...more
Multiple new laws took effect in Washington at the beginning of the year, including several that increased the minimum wage in various locations across the state. ...more
The Illinois legislature, on January 10, 2023, passed the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLFAW), which Governor Pritzker announced he will sign into law. Should the bill be enacted, Illinois would become the third state...more
U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act) into law on December 29, 2022. This combined legislation aims to bridge...more