Workforce Bulletin

On October 8, 2021, the New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) issued guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs” or the “Guidance”) to assist employers in navigating the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (“MRTA” or the “Act”) and in understanding what they can and cannot do. As we previously reported, the MTRA, enacted on March 31, 2021, legalized recreational cannabis in the State. Of particular importance to employers, the Act amended New York Labor Law Section 201-D (“Section 201-D”) to create new legal protections for ...

There has been a recent flurry of movement – both in the courts and in state legislatures – on the marijuana law front across several states.  As we previously reported, on February 22, 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed three separate cannabis reform bills into law (NJ A21, NJ A 1897, and NJ A5342/NJ S3454), formally legalizing the use and possession of recreational marijuana in the Garden State.  The new laws contain express workplace-related provisions that impact New Jersey employers by establishing non-discrimination rules for recreational cannabis users or ...

On February 22, 2021, Governor Murphy signed three separate cannabis reform bills into law that formally legalize the use and possession of recreational marijuana in the Garden state: (1) the “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act” (the “Cannabis Act”) (NJ A21), which legalizes the recreational use and possession of cannabis or cannabis products (collectively “cannabis items”) for adults; (2) a  decriminalization law (NJ A1897), which legalizes the possession of up to six ounces of cannabis and provides for ...

On December 21, 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA) which modifies or extends to March 14, 2021 many of the relief programs first created in March 2020 by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), including three expanded unemployment insurance benefits programs (which we previously blogged about here) and a new benefit program for “mixed earners”.  We provide here a summary of the updates to those programs.

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation

The CAA includes a modified version of the Federal Pandemic ...

Our colleague Amanda M. Gomez at Epstein Becker Green have recently published a post on the Hospitality Labor and Employment Law blog that will be of interest to our readers in the technology industry: “Colorado Joins Wave of States to Offer Heightened Employee Protections.”

Following is an excerpt:

Additionally, employers that can demonstrate a good faith effort through proactive measures to comply with the Act may be able to mitigate liability should a claim arise. Similar to “safe harbor” provisions in equal pay laws in Massachusetts and Oregon, such ...

Our colleague Amanda M. Gomez at Epstein Becker Green have recently published a post on the Hospitality Labor and Employment Law blog that will be of interest to our readers in the financial services industry: “Colorado Joins Wave of States to Offer Heightened Employee Protections.”

Following is an excerpt:

Additionally, employers that can demonstrate a good faith effort through proactive measures to comply with the Act may be able to mitigate liability should a claim arise. Similar to “safe harbor” provisions in equal pay laws in Massachusetts and Oregon ...