After months of conflict, citizens of Flagstaff finally have an answer as to whether the city’s controversial minimum wage ordinance will live or die…that answer being “not yet, but try again later.” In a widely-attended Valentine’s Day session, the Flagstaff City Council elected not to hold a special election allowing citizens to vote on amendments Read more
On February 1, 2017, the state of South Dakota introduced Senate Bill 150, which would establish certain provisions regarding paid maternity leave. If passed, the law would permit an employee who has worked an initial one year period as a full time employee for the same employer to take four weeks of paid parental leave. Read more
California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, better known as Cal/OSHA, leads the way in protecting workers from heat exposure in outdoor places of employment. For years, Cal/OSHA has campaigned to raise awareness of outdoor heat exposure and improve the working conditions of outdoor laborers. That focus led Cal/OSHA to release new outdoor heat regulations Read more
On February 6, 2017, Missouri became the 28th Right-to-Work state. Governor Eric R. Greitens signed S.B. 19, prohibiting employees from being required to support a union as a condition of employment. As stated in the text of the law, no individual should be required to: become, remain, or refrain from becoming a member of a Read more
Each year, more states and communities are requiring employers to provide their workers with sick leave benefits to care for themselves or family members who are ill or injured. This year, Illinois follows the trend with its own Employee Sick Leave Act. The Act doesn’t give workers any additional time off, but it does require Read more
Starting March 1, 2017, Ohio employers and business owners can no longer prevent holders of valid concealed carry licenses from storing firearms and ammunition at their place of business, so long as they remain within the licensee’s own vehicle. Senate Bill 199, approved by the Ohio Legislature during their 2016 session and signed into law Read more
More than a year after New York passed SB 1 prohibiting employers from forbidding their employees from inquiring about, discussing his or her wages or the wages of another employee, the New York State Department of Labor adopted regulations to help clarify limitations on inquiry, discussion, or the disclosure of wages. Employers are allowed, in Read more
Much of California’s employer-employee relationship is defined by seventeen separate Wage Orders, each one regulating a different industry or occupation. One of the Wage Order provisions that sparked controversy recently concerns mandatory employee rest breaks. In a decision promising broad application, the California Supreme Court’s straightforward reading of the term “rest break” translates into a Read more
At least until the next court date, Minnesota employers operating outside of the city of Minneapolis can breathe a sigh of relief…and so can employees of Minneapolis-based employers. In response to the initial challenge to the Midwest’s first local sick leave law, a Hennepin County District Court Judge ruled that the Minneapolis Sick and Safe Read more
On January 23, 2017, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed Bill 160840 amending Title 9 of The Philadelphia Code. The new law prohibits employers from inquiring about wage history during the hiring process, unless required by state, federal, or local law for employment purposes. Wages is defined as “all earnings of an employee, regardless of whether Read more
