This year, Colorado enacted the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and with it expanded its anti-discrimination in employment law to include discrimination based on pregnancy and related medical conditions. State law not only protects pregnant job applicants and employees from discrimination in the terms and conditions of employment, but the PWFA additionally requires employers to Read more
You may have noticed that the current Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, has an expiration date of March 31, 2016, and may be uncertain whether this form is still valid for use. The USCIS informs employers that this version of Form I-9 is current and directs employers to continue using this form while it works Read more
Louisiana hotels have become the most recent focus of the state’s effort to stop human trafficking. A new law that went into effect earlier this month requires all hotels to post a notice in the workplace to provide information to workers regarding the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline. The law defines “hotels” to Read more
Over the next few weeks, Seattle, WA will be considering an ordinance to provide employees of large employers predictability and flexibility in the scheduling of their work hours. The ordinance, called the Secure Scheduling Proposal, will require giving workers advance notice of their work schedules, pay them for on-call hours, provide them the opportunity to Read more
Just as classes are getting started, the Obama Administration passed an order that forces public schools to allow students the choice of restrooms that match their gender identity. Schools can offer students single-use restrooms, but cannot require transgender students to use these single-use restrooms if other students are not required to do the same. Furthermore, Read more
This summer, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Final Rule that requires, among other things, certain employers to inform employees of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses free from discrimination or retaliation. Employers under federal OSHA jurisdiction can meet this notice requirement by posting the current federal OSHA posting. Read more
On July 8, 2016, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed S.B. 2407, An Act Relative to Transgender Anti-Discrimination, protecting individuals whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth. The emergency law was passed to extend protection of transgender people in places of public accommodations. Under the law, a lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or Read more
Last year, President Obama signed Executive Order 13706 (EO) to establish paid sick leave for federal contractors. The Executive Order requires certain federal contractors to provide their employees with up to 7 days (56 hours) of paid sick leave per year, including paid leave allowing for family care. By September 30, 2016, the proposed regulations Read more
Recently, Illinois became the second state – after Oregon – to officially mandate that employers provide their employees time off to grieve the loss of a family member. The Illinois Child Bereavement Leave Act (CBLA) took effect immediate effect upon Governor Bruce Rauner’s signature on July 29, 2016. The law permits employees who have suffered the Read more
On March 7, 2016, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio passed Executive Order 16 providing transgender and gender non-conforming individuals access to single-sex facilities owned or operated by the City. The purpose of the Order is to ensure individuals are protected against discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression. As defined in Read more
