Workforce Bulletin

As we wrote last month, the state of Washington passed legislation barring most inquiries into salary history by employers, as well as requiring employers to divulge salary bands for posted jobs.  On May 9, 2019, the governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, signed the bill, confirming the law statewide.  The law will take effect on July 28, 2019, and prior to that date, Washington employers should plan to amend any employment applications and hiring practices to conform to the new law.

Our colleagues Nathaniel M. Glasser, Lauri F. Rasnick, Michael F. McGahan, Steven M. Swirsky, Amanda M. Gómez, and Anastasia A. Regne at Epstein Becker Green have recently published a post on the Health Employment and Labor Blog that will be of interest to our readers in the financial services industry: "NYC Bill Banning Pre-Employment Marijuana Drug Testing Becomes Law."

Following is an excerpt:

As we previously reported, on April 9, 2019, the New York City Council passed Int. 1445-A, which prohibits employers from pre-employment drug testing for ...

Our colleagues Nathaniel M. Glasser, Lauri F. Rasnick, Michael F. McGahan, Steven M. Swirsky, Amanda M. Gómez, and Anastasia A. Regne at Epstein Becker Green have recently published a post on the Health Employment and Labor Blog that will be of interest to our readers in the retail industry: "NYC Bill Banning Pre-Employment Marijuana Drug Testing Becomes Law."

Following is an excerpt:

As we previously reported, on April 9, 2019, the New York City Council passed Int. 1445-A, which prohibits employers from pre-employment drug testing for marijuana and ...

With warmer weather quickly approaching, many employers are beginning to schedule happy hours, parties, softball games, and other off-site events that employees (and interns) look forward to attending. However, at offsite work events, employees might forget—or might not realize in the first place—that they are still in a workplace setting. This could result in unwelcome behavior, such as sexual harassment, which could leave an employer open to liability.

Under federal law, as well as the law of many states, cities, and municipalities, sexual harassment is considered a type ...

On February 19, 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law A 3975 (“the Law”), which significantly expanded the state’s the Family Leave Act ("NJFLA"), Family Leave Insurance Act ("NJFLI"), and Security and Financial Empowerment Act (“SAFE Act”).  We prepared an Act Now Advisory, summarizing the extensive changes made by the Law, including, among other things, the expanding and making uniform the definition of “family member” for all three laws, and, effective June 1, 2019, extending the NJFLA to employers that have 30 or more employees.

In response ...

Hospitality remains at the forefront of demanding industries where employers must be ever vigilant in their efforts to ensure full compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations. We highlight below five new or upcoming areas on which employers should focus.

– Jeffrey H. Ruzal

Hospitality Employers May Soon Face a Compliance Challenge: The New Proposed DOL Salary Threshold for “White Collar” Exemptions

Michael S. Kun

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has proposed a new rule that would increase the salary threshold for most “white collar” ...

This Employment Law This Week^® Monthly Rundown discusses the most important developments for employers heading into May 2019.

First up this month, the confusion is over for employers. EEO-1 pay data does not need to be submitted to the EEOC by the end of the month. In what may be the final chapter of the EEO-1 pay data reporting issue, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled that the deadline would be postponed until September 30, 2019. Our colleague Robert J. O'Hara shares his insights in this month's episode.

Watch the full episode below. 

Washington State has begun implementing its new Paid Family & Medical Leave program (“PFML”). Other states, such as New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island already have paid family and medical leave programs in place, and now Washington, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. are set to join them over the next few years. Although the benefits portion of Washington’s program does not kick in until 2020, employers’ reporting and remitting of premiums for Quarters 1 and 2 are due between July 1 and July 31, 2019.

The Washington Employment Security Department (“ESD”), which will ...

As we previously reported, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) recently issued regulations and guidance concerning employers’ obligations under the Paid Family and Medical Leave Law (“PFML”), including a quick-approaching deadline for providing notice to employees of their rights under the PFML. On May 1, the DFML announced that it is extending the deadline for employers to provide the employee notice from May 31, 2019 to June 30, 2019.

In addition, the DFML has moved the deadline for employers to apply for a private plan exemption for ...

Tuesday, May 7, 2019 – Downtown Dinner Program

Wednesday, May 8, 2019 – Repeat Suburban Lunch Program

Join our colleagues Lauri Rasnick, Kevin Ryan, and Peter Steinmeyer for an interactive panel discussion which will provide insights into recent developments and expected trends in the evolving legal landscape of trade secret and non-competition law. This program will also discuss unique issues and developments in the health care and financial services industry. Our colleagues will also be joined by Thomas J. Shanahan, Associate General Counsel at Option Care.

Issues ...