Earlier this year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revised their recordkeeping rules. The changes included reporting all work-related fatalities within eight hours and all work-related inpatient hospitalizations, all amputations, and all losses on an eye within 24 hours starting on January 1, 2015. These federal OSHA changes were adopted by Minnesota OSHA (MNOSHA) Read more
To help prevent wages from being stolen and help retrieve some of this money, Jersey City has passed a Wage Theft Prevention Ordinance. Under the ordinance, the City will have the power to deny or suspend an employer’s Jersey City issued business license if the employer is found guilty of wage theft and refuses to Read more
Last month, Alaska became the latest state to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Labor. Like the other states’ agreements with the U.S. Department of Labor, Alaska’s agreement is an attempt to fight employee misclassification. Alaska’s agencies will work together with the U.S. Department of Labor to prevent and reduce Read more
On January 1, 2015, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revised their recordkeeping rules. Employers under Federal OSHA’s jurisdiction have to report all work-related fatalities within eight hours. Employers also have to report all work-related inpatient hospitalizations, all amputations, and all losses of an eye within 24 hours. Before these changes, employers were only Read more
On July 22, 2015, Governor Douglas A. Ducey issued an executive order (2015-06) providing the state of Arizona the authority to perform credit, criminal and other background checks of prospective gubernatorial appointees and employees of the Office of the Governor. Currently, consumer reporting agencies can provide consumer reports to private employers for employment purposes under Read more
This summer, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signed “An Act Concerning Pay Equity and Fairness” into law to help create an environment where employees can discuss their wages with other individuals without punishment. Under the new law, employers cannot prohibit employees from disclosing or discussing his or her wages or wages of another employee. Employers are Read more
In the last two years, paid sick leave has gained momentum in the state of New Jersey. Nine cities across the state have adopted a paid sick leave ordinance. The ordinances, which are now effective, are very similar in major areas. Under all nine ordinances, qualified employees will accrue a minimum of one hour Read more
To ensure and promote workplace safety, the Maine Department of Labor will offer once again free safety classes in the month of September. The courses will be held at the SafetyWorks Training Institution in Augusta, unless otherwise noted. According to SafetyWorks, the program trains approximately 8,000 individuals annually. The free courses, which are available Read more
A court in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania has suggested that a decision by the state’s department of labor can be the “ultimate resolution” to a class action’s legal matter. In the class action, Siciliano v. Mueller, employees claimed that their employer violated the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law by mandating to receive their payment of Read more
Maine has become the latest state to enact a bill prohibiting employers from accessing employees’ personal social media accounts. Under the new Act (Bill H 640), employers cannot require or coerce an employee or potential employee to disclose his or her password to any of his or her social media accounts. These accounts may include Read more
