The Rhode Island General Assembly was active during the 2024 legislative session, passing several bills that impact employers and their business practices. Here is a summary of the new laws Rhode Island employers may need to...more
On January 12, 2024, Governor Phil Murphy signed the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights (S723) into law, representing a landmark victory for labor rights groups across the state. The new law, effective July 2024, extends labor...more
The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) issued new rules last week regarding the statutory change to the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, which extends its protections to domestic workers. In a press release, the IDOL’s Acting...more
On July 27, 2018, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan signed into law the Domestic Worker Ordinance (“the DWO”). Effective July 1, 2019, the ordinance is expected to impact approximately 33,000 domestic workers in Seattle. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Seattle has long been at the forefront of progressive labor policies. Take, for example, its 2014 Minimum Wage Ordinance, which made it the first major city in the nation to increase wages to $15 an hour. ...more
The home care industry has faced collapse since a series of New York Appellate Division decisions invalidated New York Department of Labor (NY DOL) policy and held that home care attendants working 24-hour shifts who are...more
Our weekly California Legislature “hot list” provides you with a preview of the bills that are up (as well as other important legislative action) the following week...more
Continuing a trend from recent years, the California Legislature passed, and Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law, numerous labor and employment bills in 2016. Each becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2017, unless otherwise...more
A number of new state or local laws are set to take effect in Illinois in 2017 which will require employers to update their employee handbooks, employment agreements, and other policies and procedures. We address the key...more
On January 1, 2017, employers across the nation will face a host of new or amended federal, state, and/or local labor and employment requirements. At the same time, there is uncertainty as to how the Trump Administration and...more
Newly Enacted California Statutes - Minimum Wage Increases - As of January 1, 2017, businesses with 26 or more employees must pay a minimum wage of $10.50 per hour; the rate increases to $15.00 per hour in 2022....more
Although the California Legislature sent Governor Jerry Brown bills on bed bugs, powdered alcohol, and making denim the official state fabric, the laws enacted in 2016 affecting the state’s private-sector employers were...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Have you pondered the implications of hiring help around the house? Here are some legal requirements regarding employment of domestic helpers. Household workers or “domestic helpers” are people who...more
On August 12, 2016, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights Act (House Bill 1288) (the “Act”) on behalf of domestic workers employed in private homes or residences into law. With the passage...more
Claims by home care workers for unpaid overtime have risen steadily since the U.S. Department of Labor, in 2015, eliminated the federal overtime exemptions that allowed agency employers essentially to pay no overtime wage...more
The California Legislature will return from its July recess on August 1, and will devote that month to final consideration of legislation for 2016. The session has entered a somewhat anticlimactic stage for employment...more
El 15 de junio del 2016, el Consejo Nacional de Salarios aprobó un aumento al salario mínimo de 0.5%, correspondiente al segundo semestre del 2016 para los empleados del sector privado, excepto para las trabajadoras...more
On June 15, 2016, Costa Rica’s National Wages Council (“Consejo Nacional de Salarios”) approved a 0.5% increase to the minimum wage for all private sector employees, except for domestic workers whose salaries will be...more
The California legislature has reached the midpoint of its 2016 legislative session. The Governor has signed four bills of significance to California private sector employers. In addition, a few dozen workplace-related bills...more
As 2014 wound to a close, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a significant decision impacting third-party agencies that provide in-home care to the elderly and ailing. On December 22, 2014,...more
In an order dated October 20, 2015, pursuant to the D.C. Circuit’s mandate issued on October 13, 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon entered summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in Home...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), due to pending litigation, had not begun to enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) final rule on protections relating to most home care workers, which rules had an effective date of...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently reinstated regulations from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), extending federal minimum wage and overtime requirements to home health workers employed by third-party...more
On December 22, 2014, in Home Care Association of America v. Weil, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated a key portion of a U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) regulation amending the minimum wage and...more
A U.S. Department of Labor final regulation prohibiting third-party home care agencies and other third-party employers from taking advantage of the Companionship and Live-In Domestic Worker minimum wage and overtime...more