Last week, voters in the state of Washington approved a substantial increase in the minimum wage rate beginning next year. Minimum wage workers currently make $9.47 per hour. With the passage of Initiative 1433, their wages will increase to $11.00 per hour starting on January 1, 2017. The Initiative also requires employers to provide employees 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
With an increased number of technological advances in wage payment methods, many employers are now faced with uncertainty about which methods are permitted under wage and hour laws. On November 4, 2016, the state of Pennsylvania passed a law (S.B. 1265) to help address whether employers may issue payroll debit cards as a method of payment. Read more
Generally, employers must have a completed Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, on file for each person on their payroll. Currently, Form I-9 is dated 03/08/13 N and printed with an expiration date of March 31, 2016. Until now, the USCIS has instructed employers to continue using the 03/08/13 N Form I-9 while a new “smart” 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
On October 20, 2016, the Kentucky Supreme Court decided in Kentucky Restaurant Association v. Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government that Louisville-Jefferson County did not have the authority to impose a minimum wage rate that differs from the state’s minimum wage rate. In early 2015, Louisville-Jefferson County passed a minimum wage ordinance establishing a minimum wage of Read more
This month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its annual list of the top ten most frequently cited violations. The list is instructive of ongoing compliance challenges with particular standards and OSHA’s enforcement priorities. The list includes: Fall Protection Hazard Communication Scaffolding Respiratory Protection Lockout/Tagout Powered Industrial Trucks Ladders Electrical, Wiring Methods Machine 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 Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry Office of Unemployment Compensation has recently released an updated unemployment compensation posting with new information that can help reduce inaccurate unemployment compensation benefits. Employers may provide employees that become unemployed or hours are reduced due to lack of work a completed Form UC – 1609. The form will Read more
As California prepares for another increase in the state minimum wage rate, employers that employ computer software employees should also be aware of the increase in the minimum wage rate that must be paid to their IT workers to continue qualifying for overtime-exempt status next year. The computer software employee’s overtime exemption is found in California Read more
