If you’ve been following our blog, you already know that Washington State had a busy legislative year for employment-related laws. In addition to the expansion of the state’s Equal Pay law and the added protection of workers who are victims of domestic violence from employment discrimination, the state also enacted strong sexual harassment laws designed Read more
Last week, we started a series of blogs on new State of Washington laws going into effect in June that will affect how employers manage an individual’s legal rights and physical protections in the workplace. In this blog, we will look at Washington’s new Domestic Violence in the Workplace law that prohibits employment discrimination against Read more
During its 2018 legislative session, the Virginia General Assembly passed two bills which increase employment protections for employees and job applicants who are members of a reserve military force or civilian auxiliary unit. Although some bills are still waiting for Governor Ralph Northam’s signature, he has already signed these two into law. Virginia Unpaid Leave Read more
On February 26, 2018, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals became the second federal appeals court to hold that sexual orientation discrimination is sex discrimination under the federal law which prohibits employers from making employment decisions based on sex. The 10-3 decision follows on the heels of the 7th Circuit, which in 2017 became the Read more
On April 13, 2015, the governor of Nebraska signed a bill (L 627) relating to pregnancy under the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act. Beginning September, employers with 15 employees or more will be required to offer their employees reasonable accommodations with respect to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Reasonable accommodations may include “more frequent Read more
The state of Georgia is the latest state to pass a medical marijuana bill. House Bill 1, also known as Heleigh’s Hope Act, legalizes low concentrations of cannabis oil for medical reasons. An individual who is registered with the Department of Public Health, has a registration card issued by the Department of Public Health, and Read more
Oklahoma employees will now have more information about their rights and protections under Oklahoma’s Employment Discrimination Law. The Office of Civil Rights Enforcement (OCRE) has updated the state Employment Discrimination posting to include additional details about what constitutes (1) unlawful discrimination in employment, (2) unlawful harassment and (3) unlawful retaliation. Unlawful Discrimination in Employment The Read more
The US Department of Labor has updated regulations to reflect modern workforce demographics, employees’ health and family care responsibilities, and achieve pay equity. Mandatory federal workplace posting updates reflecting these goals are expected soon. What’s changing? FMLA Poster Update – The U.S. Department of Labor (US DOL) has issued a Final Rule changing the Family Read more
Summer is just around the corner and already employers are planning for the arrival of unpaid interns to join their workplace ranks. As defined under federal, state and local law, the term “unpaid intern” generally refers to a closely supervised individual who works for an employer on a temporary basis and the work provides training Read more
The US DOL Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has published a proposed rule updating the sex discrimination guidelines for federal contractors and subcontractors. The sex discrimination guidelines implement Executive Order 11246, which prohibits companies with federal contracts and subcontracts from sex discrimination in employment. The proposed rule would replace existing sex discrimination guidelines, Read more
