Labor Law Updates

Keeping you current on the ever changing labor laws

Five Canadian provinces will increase their minimum wage rates this spring. The minimum wage rate increases are based on annual changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI is an indicator of changes in consumer prices experienced by Canadians. It is obtained by comparing the cost of a fixed basket of goods and services Read more

Criminal History Assessment Last January, employers in Los Angeles, CA, were required to post a new notice in the workplace informing employees of the City’s recent “ban the box” law. The “ban the box” law refers to the City’s Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance which prohibits employers with 10 or more employees from asking Read more

St. Louis’ minimum wage earners will soon see an increase in their pay. Our readers may recall an earlier blog post that St. Louis adopted a minimum wage ordinance (No. 70078) in 2015 that would increase the city’s minimum wage rate in a series of installments beginning October 15, 2015 and ending on January 1, Read more

Coming three years after their decision to ban the box, the District of Columbia has approved another anti-discrimination measure intended to increase employment opportunities for those in need of a second chance. On February 15, 2017, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the Fair Credit in Employment Act prohibiting employers from discriminating against applicants and employees Read more

Nationwide, “ban the box” laws are being adopted with increasing frequency. Broadly speaking, these laws prohibit employers from considering an applicant’s or employee’s criminal history in making employment decisions until a certain point in the hiring or deliberation process. Currently, 25 states, the District of Columbia, and many metropolitan areas have adopted ban-the-box type laws. Read more

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries is hoping all employers will give its two new free phone apps a try: the Good Observation, Near-Miss and Accident Reporting App and the SafeMe App. We took them for a spin and give them both two-thumbs up! Good Observation, Near-Miss and Accident Reporting App The Good Read more

Retailers, rejoice: the North Dakota House of Representatives has passed a bill repealing the state’s “blue law” prohibiting businesses from operating on Sunday mornings. North Dakota’s Sunday Closing Law makes it a class B misdemeanor to “conduct business or labor for profit” or to “operate a place of business open to the public” on Sundays Read more