Despite New York City’s already extensive anti-discrimination laws, the New York City Council recently passed a bill outlawing discrimination based on weight and height. Further, the City Council is considering various bills that significantly broaden protected categories for which discrimination is prohibited.…
Continue Reading NYC Employers Take Note – New and Proposed Anti-Discrimination Laws Coming Your Way
It was widely reported last month—including by the Wall Street Journal and Associated Press— that the U.S. government is investigating alleged collusion by some companies to “increase the chances…
Continue Reading U.S. Government Investigates H-1B Visa Lottery IrregularitiesMany companies have invested in and prioritized diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives over the past several years. And for good reason: DEIA initiatives have been proven to improve employee recruitment, retention, and morale, and to help mitigate risks associated with potential disparate treatment and discrimination claims by employees.…
The Paid Leave for All Workers Act, expected to be signed soon by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, would require nearly all covered Illinois employers to provide employees paid leave to be used for any purpose. Illinois would be just the third state to mandate paid leave – only Maine and Nevada have similar laws.
Once signed, the Act would take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, and provide nearly all Illinois workers with a minimum of 40 hours of paid leave, or a pro rata number of hours, during a designated twelve-month period.…
Continue Reading Illinois Set to Mandate Paid Leave For All Employees
On January 26, 2023, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the lower court decision that would have gone into effect on February 19, 2023. That decision, among other items, would have increased Michigan’s hourly minimum wage to $13.03 and would have greatly expanded the state’s paid sick leave requirements. The Court of Appeals decision means that employers do not have to make changes to their paid sick leave policies that were drafted in compliance with the Michigan Paid Sick Leave Act that went into effect in 2019. Further, businesses no longer have to scramble to adjust minimum wage rates for both tipped and non-tipped workers as required under the lower court decision. Michigan’s hourly minimum wage will remain at $10.10. The tipped minimum wage remains at $3.84 an hour. …
Continue Reading Michigan Paid Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Update
The Colorado Division of Labor and Employment (CDLE) had a busy last few weeks of December in 2022, revising a number of its Interpretive Notice and Formal Opinions (INFOs). On…
Continue Reading New Clarity: Colorado Employer Rights When Employee Fails to Return Money or Property at SeparationWith holidays and a new year fast approaching, it is an excellent time for employers to consider reviewing and revamping their Employee Handbooks or stand-alone policies that address company-recognized holidays.
Continue Reading Happy Holidays! For some, or for all? Revamping Your Employee Handbook Holiday Provisions to Ensure Inclusivity.While diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility have slowly made their way to the forefront of many employers’ minds, two dimensions of diversity are often overlooked in these discussions—neurodiversity and ability diversity. More than 1 billion people, 15% of the global population, live with a disability. Thus, employers must ensure that neurodiversity and employees and applicants with disabilities are properly represented in DEIA initiatives.…
Continue Reading Best Practices for Hiring and Retaining Individuals with Disabilities
A reminder for all Colorado employers: you have one month until you begin collecting premiums under Colorado’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI). FAMLI is Colorado’s state-administered insurance program that…
Continue Reading Colorado Employers Face January 1st Compliance Deadlines Under FAMLIGeneral Counsel Abruzzo continues in her efforts to micromanage your workplace by any means possible. She has issued one General Counsel Guidance Memo after another in her attempts to over-regulate your workplace. The basic premise with respect to her most recent GC memo, 23-02, is her alleged concern that electronic surveillance by employers is impairing employees’ ability to engage in protected concerted activity and keeping that activity confidential from their employer. In doing so, the General Counsel refers to case law that is, for the most part, dated and well-known in terms of the “do’s and don’ts” of improper employer surveillance in the workplace.
Continue Reading The NLRB and Electronic Monitoring in the Workplace
In a world radically changed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the way we communicate in the workplace has been permanently altered with the integration of online communication platforms. Effective communication is essential to human functioning, including within the context of organizations and business entities. But the common workplace communication method changed swiftly when communication technologies replaced in-person communication that once typified office settings. While the integration of online communication platforms was a major contributor to the survival of many businesses, is it possible that these same communication platforms have the potential to exacerbate underlying differences among a diverse and remote workforce leading to increased employment litigation?
Continue Reading Can Differences in Communication Styles Among a Diverse Workforce Contribute to Discrimination Claims?
