On July 9, 2017 Maine Governor Paul LePage signed LD 1564 into law. The bill, which passed as an emergency measure and went into effect immediately upon signing, amends the state’s child labor laws to allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work in a broader range of businesses and occupations. Previously, minors in this age group Read more
Employers nation-wide, get ready to raise your voice: the U.S. Department of Labor has issued a Request for Information on 2016’s highly contested “overtime rule,” asking stakeholders to provide comments that will be used to shape a future revision of the rule. The RFI is available for preview here, although the comment period does not Read more
Coming close on the heels of the city’s recent implementation of mandatory paid sick and safe time, the Minneapolis City Council has again turned its focus to employment policy. Beginning January 1, 2018, large employers must pay employees a minimum wage of $10 per hour, to rise each July thereafter until it reaches $15 per Read more
Although budget battles with Governor Doug Burgum and the ramp-up to medical marijuana stole headlines, several bills passed during North Dakota’s 2017 legislative session signaled the state’s increased commitment to ensuring care for injured workers – without raising premiums for employers who fulfill their existing obligations under the law. Effective August 1, 2017, two laws Read more
Although Maine’s legislative session has been fraught, leading to blocked bills and government shutdown over the 4th of July weekend, at least there’s one thing everyone could agree on: the tip credit should stay. A controversial portion of Maine’s minimum wage law which would do away with the use of tips being counted as wages Read more
Earlier this month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced its intention to propose a later deadline for the submission of injury and illness data in compliance with the agency’s electronic recordkeeping requirement, originally scheduled for July 1. In a new proposed rule, OSHA suggests pushing the deadline for the electronic submission of injury Read more
With the passage of SB 37 during the 2017 legislative session, Arkansas joined Ohio and more than a dozen other states in widening the expanse of concealed carry rights for employees. Effective July 31, 2017, private employers in Arkansas can no longer prohibit or prevent covered employees from storing a handgun within the employee’s own Read more
At least there’s still time before cold and flu season! Although many were hoping that it would end up delayed or dead, it’s happening: Effective July 1, employers in two Minnesota cities are required to provide earned sick and safe time to employees. Minneapolis started the trend by passing the Sick and Safe Time Ordinance Read more
On April 1, 2017, the Office of the Labor Commissioner for the state of Nevada released the annual bulletins for Nevada’s Minimum Wage and Daily Overtime requirements. The rates, which go into effect on July 1, 2017, are unchanged from the previous year: An employee who is offered qualifying health benefits must be paid a Read more
Although it may feel like there’s a new labor law posting every year (or every month, depending on the number of states you operate in), it’s really not that often that employers are required to post an entirely new notice. When employment rights are changed under the law, often an existing state-required posting can be Read more
