The District of Columbia has stepped up enforcement efforts against wage theft. The District’s Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act of 2014 (WTPAA) went into effect on February 26, 2015, imposing new recordkeeping obligations on employers, establishing additional wage enforcement procedures, and increasing penalties and damages when an employer violates one of several wage payment laws. Read more
A new law protecting domestic workers in the state of Massachusetts is now effective. The Massachusetts Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights, effective April 1, 2015, covers individuals who perform work of a domestic nature within a household. Employers employing domestic workers must review their current employment practices to stay compliant. Under the new law, employees Read more
The Arkansas Department of Labor has released an updated Notice to Employer and Employee. The posting includes an updated child labor section that reflects a recent amendment to the Arkansas Code (AR HB 1116) allowing 17-year-olds to work a greater number of hours per day and per week and overnight hours any day of the Read more
Employers in Osceola County, Florida must start reviewing their pay practices to make sure they are in compliance with wage and hour laws. As an attempt to prevent and eliminate non-payment or underpayment of earned wages, Ordinance 2015-21 also known as “Wage Recovery” has been passed. Under the Ordinance, employees may file a complaint with Read more
This year, San Francisco, California is making headlines for increasing the minimum wage rate twice in one year. The first increase went into effect January 1, 2015 and raised the minimum wage to $11.05 per hour. The next increase takes effect May 1, 2015 when the minimum wage rate will bump up to $12.25 per Read more
The City of Seattle, WA has released the workplace posting and employer information template that satisfies the notice requirements of the City’s new Minimum Wage and Wage Theft Ordinances. The new laws: establish City minimum wage rates for work performed in the City, require employers to provide employees with identifying information and pay disclosures, and Read more
Oklahoma employees will now have more information about their rights and protections under Oklahoma’s Employment Discrimination Law. The Office of Civil Rights Enforcement (OCRE) has updated the state Employment Discrimination posting to include additional details about what constitutes (1) unlawful discrimination in employment, (2) unlawful harassment and (3) unlawful retaliation. Unlawful Discrimination in Employment The Read more
Employers in the state of Virginia must now review their employment policies regarding their current and prospective employees’ social media. Under the new law (Bill 2081), Virginia employers are restricted from accessing personal social media accounts of employees and prospective employees. With the increasing interest in social networking, the aim of the new law is Read more
The US Department of Labor has updated regulations to reflect modern workforce demographics, employees’ health and family care responsibilities, and achieve pay equity. Mandatory federal workplace posting updates reflecting these goals are expected soon. What’s changing? FMLA Poster Update – The U.S. Department of Labor (US DOL) has issued a Final Rule changing the Family Read more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has recently revised their recordkeeping rule by updating the list of industries that are exempt from routinely keeping injury and illness records, and adding additional injuries to report. Employers under the Federal OSHA’s jurisdiction are now required to report all work-related fatalities within eight hours, all work-related inpatient Read more
