Labor Law Updates

Keeping you current on the ever changing labor laws

Arizona sick leave - red lozenges

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

St. Louis Minimum Wage Poster

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

Workplace violence

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

OSHA

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

Criminal History

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

Tennessee Veterans' Preference

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

Colorado Wage Theft

Good news for workers and the employers who pay them what they’ve earned! On April 13, 2017, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed the Wage Theft Transparency Act into law. The Wage Theft Transparency Act makes information relating to wage violations accessible to public records requests in order to protect workers from wage theft and law-abiding Read more

On April 6, 2017 the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia filed a lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, arguing that the Philadelphia Wage Equity Ordinance violates businesses’ freedom of speech. Our readers may remember that Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed this new legislation in January and is scheduled Read more