Starting May 24, 2017, unemployment claims in the state of Wisconsin must be filed online. The Division of Unemployment Insurance is retiring the automated telephone filing system. The goal of switching online is to help make the process easier and faster for claimants. Claimants will have access to their claim information seven days a week. The Read more
The Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation has recently updated the mandatory workers’ compensation posting. By law, all Missouri employers are required to post the Workers’ Compensation Law posting in a prominent and easily accessible location in the workplace (Missouri Revised Statutes, Section 287.127). If employers do not have a permanent work site regularly accessed by Read more
With so much attention being paid to the competing demands of work and family care responsibilities, workers could soon have the option of taking time off in lieu of being paid overtime. Congress is considering a proposed bill (HR 1180), called the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017, which would allow hourly workers to earn Read more
Arizona employers, get ready to raise your voice – the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking relating to the Earned Paid Sick Time law which will go into effect on July 1, 2017. The ICA will be accepting written comments on the proposed rules until June 5, 2017, and Read more
Our readers may recall that the City of St. Louis, MO passed the Minimum Wage Law (Ordinance 70078) in 2015. The law was blocked that same year by a Circuit Court Judge that decided the local law conflicted with the state’s minimum wage. On February 28, 2017, the Supreme Court of Missouri determined that the City’s Read more
Focus on Workplace Violence Attention to the issue of workplace violence has grown in recent years. What we know today is that no employer is immune from workplace violence and no employer can totally prevent it. However, as employers and workers become more aware of situations and signals that precipitate workplace violence, they are better Read more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has pulled back a controversial guidance letter authorizing union officials to act as employee representatives for non-unionized workplaces during OSHA inspections. Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, a representative of the employer and a representative authorized by employees are allowed to accompany a Compliance Safety and Health Read more
On March 22, 2017, House Bill 156 was signed by Utah Governor Gary Herbert. The law, also known as “Reducing Barriers to Employment for Individuals with Criminal Records” prohibits public employers from excluding a job applicant from an initial interview because of a criminal conviction. As defined in the text of the law, a public Read more
Veterans Day won’t be observed until November 11, but veterans are already having their day in the state of Tennessee! As of March 22, 2017, private employers who wish to establish a preferential hiring policy for veterans may do so under a new state law. Although a similar bill failed back in 2015, during the Read more
Massachusetts employers are now required to apply the “relieved of all work duties” standard when determining if an employee’s meal break is non-compensable. In Devito v. Longwood Security Services Inc., the Massachusetts Superior Court held that meal breaks are “working time,” unless the employee is relieved of all work-related duties during the break. The Plaintiffs, security officers Read more
