Following recent state legislative trends, as well as encouragement from the Biden Administration, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on January 5th a proposed rule (Proposed Rule) to ban non-compete agreements between most employers and employees in an effort to bolster both competition and innovation in the workplace. If adopted, the Proposed Rule would apply nationwide.
Remote and hybrid work arrangements are now a fixture in the U.S. workplace. Creating a great remote workplace, however, can be a tall order. How does an employer build a cohesive-feeling corporate culture when employees are spread out around the country and often only see each other on computer screens? What are best practices for monitoring remote employees and ensuring that they are doing their best work? How do employers ensure that they remain compliant with the state and local laws where employees are now living and working?
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey by holding that the U.S. Constitution does not include a federally-protected right to obtain an abortion and that the question of whether to allow, prohibit, or limit abortion is for the states to determine through each of their political and legislative processes.
The California Employment Development Department, the agency responsible for administering the state’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits program, recently announced a grant program to help small businesses offset the costs associated with employees taking paid family leave.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that it will terminate its temporary policy for expired List B documents on May 1, 2022. As you may recall, this temporary policy was put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting difficulties employees faced with identity document renewals, as required by Form I-9. Since most document-issuing authorities have reopened or now offer adequate alternatives to in-person renewals, DHS has decided to end this flexibility.
On April 4, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued a decision in Reuter v. City of Methuen, 489 Mass. 465, (2022), holding that employers are liable for three times the wages owed when they fail to pay wages timely pursuant to the Massachusetts Wage Act (Wage Act). According to the SJC, treble damages are mandated regardless of the length of the delay in payment, the intent of the employer, or whether the employer paid the employee prior to a complaint being filed.
On March 22, 2022, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) issued a fact sheet providing guidance on New York City’s newly enacted salary transparency law, which we reported on in February. The new law makes it an unlawful discriminatory practice for New York City employers with four or more employees (including independent contractors) to advertise a job, promotion or transfer opportunity for a position located within New York City without including a “good faith” minimum and maximum salary .
In an effort to achieve greater pay equity, New York City is following a growing legislative trend by enacting a new salary transparency law. Last December, the New York City Council passed a bill, amending the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) by requiring New York City employers to include minimum and maximum salary information in job postings for positions located within New York City. The bill lapsed into law on January 15, 2022 and goes into effect on May 15, 2022.
