Quick Hit Virginia became the first state to issue mandatory COVID-19 workplace safety rules when the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board (“VSHCB”) approved an emergency temporary standard on July 15, 2020 by a 9-2 vote. The final text has not yet been published but the mandatory requirements are expected to include obligations surrounding flexible … Continue Reading
On May 24, 2017, the Louisiana Senate Finance Committee voted 7-3 against Senate Bill No. 153, which aimed to increase the state minimum wage to $8.00 per hour in 2018 and to $8.50 per hour in 2019. The bill also would have required the state minimum wage to be raised to match any increase to … Continue Reading
New Orleans Mayor, Mitch Landrieu, has issued an executive order that bans questions about salary history during the application processes for City positions. The executive order is effective January 25, 2017 and is similar to measures in Philadelphia and Massachusetts. The executive order applies to all City departments and prohibits inquiries about a candidate’s salary … Continue Reading
On December 19, 2016, the Fifth Circuit joined the Sixth and Seventh Circuits in holding that “employees” under the FLSA may recover emotional distress damages in FLSA retaliation actions, finding that the district court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on the availability of emotional distress damages for an employee’s retaliation claim. In so … Continue Reading
In EEOC v. St. Joseph’s Hospital, the Eleventh Circuit recently held that the reasonable accommodation standard under the ADA “only requires an employer allow a disabled person to compete equally with the rest of the world for a vacant position” as a reasonable accommodation, and employers are not required to reassign a disabled employee into … Continue Reading
On October 1, 2016, the Montgomery County, Maryland Earned Sick and Safe Leave Act (the “Act”) went into effect. As a reminder, the Act, provides paid sick leave to all employees working in Montgomery County, Maryland (the “County”), regardless of how many workers an employer employs. In addition to the various other obligations under the … Continue Reading
Maryland’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (the “Act”) is scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2016. The Act amends Maryland’s existing Equal Pay law, expanding its protections against wage discrimination on the basis of sex in a number of significant ways. The Act represents another example of the growing trend of new pay … Continue Reading
A well-drafted anti-sexual harassment policy and complaint procedure can provide useful defenses for employers defending against claims of sexual harassment. However, a recent decision from the Fifth Circuit should remind employers that simply drafting that policy is only half the battle – they must also ensure that employees actually know that the policy exists. Kandice Pullen (“Pullen”) worked at … Continue Reading
The D.C. Council has postponed votes on the Hours and Scheduling Stability Act (the “Scheduling Act”) and the Universal Paid Leave Act (the “Leave Act”), two controversial bills that would impose significant burdens on D.C. employers. The Scheduling Act seeks to impose burdensome restrictions on chain retailers’ and chain restaurants’ ability to schedule and hire … Continue Reading
Today, the statewide minimum wage in Maryland increased from $8.25 per hour to $8.75 per hour. This represents a regularly-scheduled increase as part of the Maryland Minimum Wage Act of 2014 (the “Act”), which will increase the minimum wage in Maryland from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour by July 2018. The next scheduled increase under … Continue Reading
Louisiana is anticipated to become the latest state to enact state-wide protections for applicants with criminal backgrounds under the well-known “ban the box” movement. The bill, HB 266, recently passed both houses of the Louisiana Legislature and is currently awaiting approval from Governor John Bel Edwards, who is expected to sign the bill into law. … Continue Reading
On December 18, 2015, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed an executive order establishing an “Employee Classification Section” within the state’s Industrial Commission. The Order, which took effect immediately, tasked this new Section with overseeing employee misclassification enforcement by receiving reports of employee misclassification and referring those reports to appropriate state agencies for further action. … Continue Reading
The subject of workplace violence has unfortunately made headlines once again after a news anchor and cameraman were killed by a former co-worker in Virginia last week. Employers are understandably concerned and have questions about what they can do to help prevent workplace violence. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) requires employers to maintain … Continue Reading
On July 23, 2015, the Second Circuit, in Lola v. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Tower Legal Staffing, Inc., revived a putative collective action brought by David Lola, a contract attorney, against Skadden and Tower Legal Staffing, Inc., alleging violations of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Second Circuit … Continue Reading
For more than four decades, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) has regulated consumer reporting agencies (“CRAs”) that furnish consumer reports (i.e., background checks) to third parties such as employers. Over the years, several states have adopted so-called “mini”-FCRAs, including Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, and Washington. Last week, … Continue Reading
On June 24, 2015, the Montgomery County, Maryland Council unanimously approved the Earned Sick and Safe Leave Bill (the “Bill”). The Bill, which goes into effect on October 1, 2016, provides paid sick leave to all employees working in Montgomery County, Maryland (the “County”). Employers therefore have a little over a year to ensure they … Continue Reading
As discussed in our previous post (available here), the DC Department of Employment Services (“DOES”) announced an upcoming enforcement program called The Zip Code Project (the “Project”). Now, DOES has released a notice to employers relating to the Project (available here). DOES investigators will be conducting city-wide foot patrols of DC businesses to ensure compliance … Continue Reading
On April 14, 2015, an act protecting interns in Maryland from employment discrimination officially became law. As of October 1, 2015, employers are prohibited from discriminating against interns with respect to the terms, conditions or privileges of their internships (including offering and terminating internships), on the basis of the individual’s race, color, religion, sex, age, … Continue Reading
Last week, Virginia Governor Terrence McAuliffe signed an executive order “banning the box” on most state employment applications and “encouraging” private employers and government contractors to do the same. “Ban the box” refers to a legislative and executive trend across the country requiring or encouraging employers to delete the “check box” on job applications asking … Continue Reading
Virginia is now the nineteenth state to provide increased social media protections to prospective and current employees, joining Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. Effective July 1, 2015, Virginia’s law will prohibit an employer from requiring a prospective … Continue Reading
On Thursday, March 12, 2015, the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services (“DOES”) hosted its first Webinar regarding the D.C. Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act (the “Act”), and its subsequent amendments. Our previous blog posts on the Act can be found here, here, here, here, and here. This post addresses the main points of clarification … Continue Reading
On February 26, 2015, the D.C. Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act (the “Act”) became law in the District of Columbia. As discussed in our previous blog posts and original client alert on the Act (available here, here, here, here and here), the Act made significant changes to several employment laws in the District of Columbia … Continue Reading
Republican Governor Nathan Deal signed an executive order this past week adopting a “ban the box” policy for “government entities of the State of Georgia,” making Georgia the first Southern state and only the second “red state” to remove criminal history inquiries from state job applications. The Georgia order not only “bans the box” but … Continue Reading
Today, the highly anticipated – and already twice-amended – D.C. Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act (the “Act”) goes into effect for Washington, D.C. employers. In November 2014, then-D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, signed the Act, which includes, among other things, a new pay notice requirement, increased penalties and damages for violating various D.C. employment laws, and … Continue Reading
On May 24, 2017, the Louisiana Senate Finance Committee voted 7-3 against Senate Bill No. 153, which aimed to increase the state minimum wage to $8.00 per hour in 2018 and to $8.50 per hour in 2019. The bill also would have required the state minimum wage to be raised to match any increase to … Continue Reading
On December 19, 2016, the Fifth Circuit joined the Sixth and Seventh Circuits in holding that “employees” under the FLSA may recover emotional distress damages in FLSA retaliation actions, finding that the district court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on the availability of emotional distress damages for an employee’s retaliation claim. In so … Continue Reading
In EEOC v. St. Joseph’s Hospital, the Eleventh Circuit recently held that the reasonable accommodation standard under the ADA “only requires an employer allow a disabled person to compete equally with the rest of the world for a vacant position” as a reasonable accommodation, and employers are not required to reassign a disabled employee into … Continue Reading
On October 1, 2016, the Montgomery County, Maryland Earned Sick and Safe Leave Act (the “Act”) went into effect. As a reminder, the Act, provides paid sick leave to all employees working in Montgomery County, Maryland (the “County”), regardless of how many workers an employer employs. In addition to the various other obligations under the … Continue Reading
Maryland’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (the “Act”) is scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2016. The Act amends Maryland’s existing Equal Pay law, expanding its protections against wage discrimination on the basis of sex in a number of significant ways. The Act represents another example of the growing trend of new pay … Continue Reading
A well-drafted anti-sexual harassment policy and complaint procedure can provide useful defenses for employers defending against claims of sexual harassment. However, a recent decision from the Fifth Circuit should remind employers that simply drafting that policy is only half the battle – they must also ensure that employees actually know that the policy exists. Kandice Pullen (“Pullen”) worked at … Continue Reading
The D.C. Council has postponed votes on the Hours and Scheduling Stability Act (the “Scheduling Act”) and the Universal Paid Leave Act (the “Leave Act”), two controversial bills that would impose significant burdens on D.C. employers. The Scheduling Act seeks to impose burdensome restrictions on chain retailers’ and chain restaurants’ ability to schedule and hire … Continue Reading
Louisiana is anticipated to become the latest state to enact state-wide protections for applicants with criminal backgrounds under the well-known “ban the box” movement. The bill, HB 266, recently passed both houses of the Louisiana Legislature and is currently awaiting approval from Governor John Bel Edwards, who is expected to sign the bill into law. … Continue Reading
The subject of workplace violence has unfortunately made headlines once again after a news anchor and cameraman were killed by a former co-worker in Virginia last week. Employers are understandably concerned and have questions about what they can do to help prevent workplace violence. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) requires employers to maintain … Continue Reading
For more than four decades, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) has regulated consumer reporting agencies (“CRAs”) that furnish consumer reports (i.e., background checks) to third parties such as employers. Over the years, several states have adopted so-called “mini”-FCRAs, including Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, and Washington. Last week, … Continue Reading
On April 14, 2015, an act protecting interns in Maryland from employment discrimination officially became law. As of October 1, 2015, employers are prohibited from discriminating against interns with respect to the terms, conditions or privileges of their internships (including offering and terminating internships), on the basis of the individual’s race, color, religion, sex, age, … Continue Reading
Last week, Virginia Governor Terrence McAuliffe signed an executive order “banning the box” on most state employment applications and “encouraging” private employers and government contractors to do the same. “Ban the box” refers to a legislative and executive trend across the country requiring or encouraging employers to delete the “check box” on job applications asking … Continue Reading
Virginia is now the nineteenth state to provide increased social media protections to prospective and current employees, joining Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. Effective July 1, 2015, Virginia’s law will prohibit an employer from requiring a prospective … Continue Reading
