Back in June we reported on the passage of the Minneapolis Sick and Safe Time Ordinance, which requires employers to provide workers with earned leave for the purpose of seeking assistance with health or safety issues for themselves or a family member. Minneapolis was the first city in the Midwest to pass a sick time Read more
On November 8, Maine was one of four states which passed ballot initiatives approving a minimum wage increase. In addition to raising the 2017 state minimum wage for non-tipped workers from $7.50 per hour to $9.00, the Maine referendum schedules additional increases of $1.00 per year until the minimum hourly rate reaches $12.00, at which Read more
After significant delay, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) will begin enforcement of its new anti-retaliation regulations today. Although these provisions of the Improving Tracking of Workplace Illness and Injury rule actually went into effect in August of this year, OSHA agreed to push back the enforcement deadline twice, most recently at the request of Read more
Last month the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which entitles non-exempt employees to overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40, does not allow employers to offset unpaid overtime with paid meal breaks. The plaintiffs in the case of Smiley v. E.L. DuPont de Nemours Read more
Despite legal challenges and controversy, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) will begin enforcing its new anti-retaliation and anti-deterrence regulations December 1 of 2016. The regulations became effective as of August 10, 2016, but OSHA has delayed enforcement twice in order to address members of the regulated community who found the provisions unclear and Read more
Late last month, the Nevada Supreme Court offered a two-for-one ruling on provisions from the state’s 2006 Minimum Wage Amendment (MWA) which have been highly debated for a decade. For Nevada employees who are offered qualified health insurance, the minimum wage rate is $7.25 per hour; for all other employees the rate is $8.25 per Read more
Amongst the other changes ushered in by the 2016 election, four states have voted to raise their minimum wage beginning in 2017. With the passage of Proposition 206, Arizona will incrementally raise the hourly rate to $12.00 by 2020, after which it will once again increase in concert with the Consumer Price Index measuring cost Read more
Starting December 01, 2016, workers’ compensation insurance rates in Florida are set to rise by an average of 14.5 percent statewide. The rate increase is intended to offset the impact of recent legally-mandated revisions to the Florida Workers’ Compensation Health Care Provider Reimbursement Manual, as well as two recent Florida Supreme Court decisions which overturned Read more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced that it is pushing back the enforcement deadline for its anti-retaliation regulations for the second time this year. Although they became effective as of August 10, OSHA originally chose to delay enforcement for these regulations, including the required posting of an anti-retaliation statement, until November 1. Read more
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity recently announced Florida’s 2017 minimum wage rate. Effective January 1, 2017, the minimum wage for workers state-wide will increase by five cents, bringing the rate up to $8.10 per hour for non-tipped employees and $5.08 per hour for tipped employees. Like several other states, Florida’s minimum wage is tied Read more
