On March 13, 2018, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed bill HB 1298, the Washington Fair Chance Act (“Act”), which prohibits employers from asking job applicants about arrests or convictions until after the employer has determined that the applicant is “otherwise qualified” for the job. The Act goes into effect on June 7, 2018.
The new law rounds out “ban-the-box” legislation on the West Coast and makes Washington the eleventh state nationwide to enact a “ban-the-box” law that covers both public and private sector employers. Under the Act, “employer” is ...
On November 2, 2017, three Republican Representatives, Mimi Walters (R-CA), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), introduced a federal paid leave bill that would give employers the option of providing their employees a minimum number of paid leave hours per year and instituting a flexible workplace arrangement. The bill would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) and use the statute’s existing pre-emption mechanism to offer employers a safe harbor from the hodgepodge of state and local paid sick leave laws. Currently eight ...
On July 19, 2017, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board (“WCB” or the “Board”) issued its final regulations (“Final Regulations”) for the New York State Paid Family Leave Benefits Law (“PFLBL” or the “Law”). The WCB first published regulations to the PFLBL in February 2017, and then updated those regulations in May (collectively, the “Prior Regulations”).
While the Final Regulations did clarify some outstanding questions, many questions remain, particularly pertaining to the practical logistics of implementing the Law, such as the tax ...
On June 14, 2017, Delaware Governor John Carney signed into law a bill that amends Delaware’s Code relating to unlawful employment practices to prohibit employers from (i) engaging in salary-based screening of prospective employees where prior compensation must satisfy certain minimum or maximum criteria or (ii) seeking the compensation history of a prospective employee from the prospective employee or a current or former employer (the “Law”). Under the Law, “compensation” is defined broadly to include wages, benefits, or other compensation.
Similar to the New ...
On May 15th, the Freelance Isn’t Free Act (“FIFA”) went into effect in New York City. The Department of Consumer Affairs (“DCA”) recently issued guidelines to help employers comply with the law.
Coverage and Immigration Status
FIFA protects all freelance workers regardless of their immigration status.
Contract Value Threshold
As previously explained, FIFA requires parties that retain freelance workers to provide any service where the contract between them has a value of $800 or more to reduce their agreement to a written contract. Under the DCA guidelines, the value of ...
This issue of Take 5 encapsulates the incredible breadth of societal changes and challenges facing the entire retail workplace. The topics addressed below reflect a microcosm of the many issues currently facing our overall society, covering growing political activism in the workplace, increasing expectations to accommodate religious beliefs, otherwise outrageous employee speech that may very well enjoy protection under the law, and the ever-increasing requirements for criminal background checks enacted piecemeal by states and cities. These extremely topical subjects ...
On May 15, 2017, New York City’s Freelance Isn't Free Act (“FIFA”) will take effect. FIFA requires parties that retain “freelance workers” to provide any service where the contract between them has a value of $800 or more to reduce their agreement to a written contract.
FIFA defines a freelance worker as “any natural person or any organization composed of no more than one natural person, whether or not incorporated or employing a trade name, that is hired or retained as an independent contractor by a hiring party to provide services in exchange for compensation.” ...
Amid challenges regarding Philadelphia’s upcoming law prohibiting employers from requesting an applicant’s salary history, the City has agreed not to enforce the upcoming law until after the court has finally resolved the injunction request.
The law, which was set to become effective May 23, 2017, has been challenged by the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia (the “Chamber”). The Chamber’s lawsuit alleges that the pending law violates the First Amendment by restricting an employer’s speech because, among other reasons, “it is highly speculative ...
In the latest HR headline from the start-up world, the offending executive doesn’t fit the typical mold, but the lesson remains the same: don’t ignore human resources.
Miki Agrawal, the self-proclaimed “SHE-eo” of THINX, and her “boundary pushing” workplace demeanor are the focus of a New York City Commission on Human Rights complaint by the former head of public relations, Chelsea Leibow. Leibow alleges that Agrawal created a hostile work environment through her constant discussion of sex, nudity around employees, and inappropriate touching of employees’ ...
Throughout 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC” or “Commission”) has been examining initiatives to identify and attempt to rectify a perceived lack of diversity in the workplace. The EEOC has, in particular, identified the technology industry as an area where significant strides can be made to create a more diverse workforce.
Following a May 18, 2016, public meeting on diversity in the technology industry, the EEOC issued a “Diversity in High Tech” report (“Report”) summarizing research on the lack of diversity in the “high-tech ...
The State of Louisiana has passed a new law requiring hospitality employers to display a poster in their workplace with information regarding the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (“NHTRC”) hotline. The law, which currently requires certain businesses (such as strip clubs, massage parlors, full service fuel facilities adjacent to an interstate highway or highway rest stop, and outpatient abortion facilities) to display information regarding the NHTRC hotline, has been expanded to include hotels.
Beginning August 1, 2016, all hotels in Louisiana must display a ...
Several states have recently passed laws (California, Maryland,[1] and New York) or have bills currently pending in their state legislatures (California,[2] Colorado, Massachusetts, and New Jersey) [3] seeking to eliminate pay differentials on the basis of sex (and, in some cases, other protected categories) (collectively, “Equal Pay Laws”).
Among other provisions, most of the Equal Pay Laws contain four components. They aim to (i) strengthen current equal pay standards, (ii) create pay transparency rules, (iii) expand equal pay protections beyond gender, and (iv ...
Technology employers should note that the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”) has just released a new Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) poster and The Employer’s Guide to The Family and Medical Leave Act (“Guide”).
New FMLA Poster
The FMLA requires covered employers to display a copy of the General FMLA Notice prominently in a conspicuous place. The new poster is more reader-friendly and better organized than the previous one. The font is larger and the poster contains a QR code that will connect the reader directly to the DOL homepage. According to ...
Financial services employers should note that the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”) has just released a new Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) poster and The Employer’s Guide to The Family and Medical Leave Act (“Guide”).
New FMLA Poster
The FMLA requires covered employers to display a copy of the General FMLA Notice prominently in a conspicuous place. The new poster is more reader-friendly and better organized than the previous one. The font is larger and the poster contains a QR code that will connect the reader directly to the DOL homepage ...
Retailers should note that the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”) has just released a new Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) poster and The Employer’s Guide to The Family and Medical Leave Act (“Guide”).
New FMLA Poster
The FMLA requires covered employers to display a copy of the General FMLA Notice prominently in a conspicuous place. The new poster is more reader-friendly and better organized than the previous one. The font is larger and the poster contains a QR code that will connect the reader directly to the DOL homepage. According to the DOL ...
Hospitality employers should note that the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”) has just released a new Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) poster and The Employer’s Guide to The Family and Medical Leave Act (“Guide”).
New FMLA Poster
The FMLA requires covered employers to display a copy of the General FMLA Notice prominently in a conspicuous place. The new poster is more reader-friendly and better organized than the previous one. The font is larger and the poster contains a QR code that will connect the reader directly to the DOL homepage. According to ...
The New York City’s Human Rights law (“NYCHRL”) prohibits employment discrimination against specified protected classes of employees and applicants including:
race, color, creed, age, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, partnership status, any lawful source of income, status as a victim of domestic violence or status as a victim of sex offenses or stalking, whether children are, may be or would be residing with a person or conviction or arrest record.
If this list wasn’t long enough, on May 4 ...
Our colleagues Peter M. Panken, Nancy L. Gunzenhauser, and Marc-Joseph Gansah have a post on the Retail Labor and Employment Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the technology industry: “Employers Should Care About This: New York City’s Amendment on Caregiver Discrimination.”
Following is an excerpt:
The New York City’s Human Rights law (“NYCHRL”) prohibits employment discrimination against specified protected classes of employees and applicants including:
race, color, creed, age, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, gender ...
Our colleagues Peter M. Panken, Nancy L. Gunzenhauser, and Marc-Joseph Gansah have a post on the Retail Labor and Employment Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the financial services industry: “Employers Should Care About This: New York City’s Amendment on Caregiver Discrimination.”
Following is an excerpt:
The New York City’s Human Rights law (“NYCHRL”) prohibits employment discrimination against specified protected classes of employees and applicants including:
race, color, creed, age, national origin, alienage or citizenship status ...
Our colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser, an Associate at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Retail Labor and Employment Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the financial industry: "Reminder: All Philadelphia Employers Must Post New Ban-the-Box Poster."
Following is an excerpt:
One of the requirements of the amended Philadelphia ban-the-box law has gone into effect. As of March 14, 2016, Philadelphia employers are required to post a new poster provided by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations in a conspicuous place on both the employer’s website and on ...
[caption id="attachment_1461" align="alignright" width="113"] Nancy L. Gunzenhauser[/caption]
On March 3, 2016, the EEOC issued a one-page fact sheet aimed at assisting start-ups and small businesses understand their responsibilities under the various federal employment laws. The fact sheet, which is available in over 30 languages, reminds employers that:
- employment decisions cannot be made on the basis of protected categories
- employers should establish policies that do not disparately impact employees on the basis of protected categories
- men and women must be provided ...
Our colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser, an Associate at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Retail Labor and Employment Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the technology industry: "Reminder: All Philadelphia Employers Must Post New Ban-the-Box Poster."
Following is an excerpt:
One of the requirements of the amended Philadelphia ban-the-box law has gone into effect. As of March 14, 2016, Philadelphia employers are required to post a new poster provided by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations in a conspicuous place on both the employer’s website and on ...
Our colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser, an Associate at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Retail Labor and Employment Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the hospitality industry: "Reminder: All Philadelphia Employers Must Post New Ban-the-Box Poster."
Following is an excerpt:
One of the requirements of the amended Philadelphia ban-the-box law has gone into effect. As of March 14, 2016, Philadelphia employers are required to post a new poster provided by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations in a conspicuous place on both the employer’s website and ...
[caption id="attachment_2487" align="alignright" width="113"] Nancy L. Gunzenhauser[/caption]
One of the requirements of the amended Philadelphia ban-the-box law has gone into effect. As of March 14, 2016, Philadelphia employers are required to post a new poster provided by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations in a conspicuous place on both the employer’s website and on premises, where applicants and employees will be most likely to notice and read it.
The amended law strengthens the prohibition on requesting criminal conviction information prior to a ...
Our colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser has a Technology Employment Law blog post that will be of interest to many of our financial service industry readers: “Three States Seek to Bolster Fair Pay Laws.”
Following is an excerpt:
Following on the tails of recent updates in New York and California’s equal pay laws, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California all have bills pending in their state legislatures that would seek to eliminate pay differentials on the basis of sex and other protected categories. …
While states are leading the charge with updates to equal pay laws, the EEOC is ...
Our colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser has a Technology Employment Law blog post that will be of interest to many of our retail industry readers: “Three States Seek to Bolster Fair Pay Laws.”
Following is an excerpt:
Following on the tails of recent updates in New York and California’s equal pay laws, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California all have bills pending in their state legislatures that would seek to eliminate pay differentials on the basis of sex and other protected categories. …
While states are leading the charge with updates to equal pay laws, the EEOC is also ...
Our colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser has a Technology Employment Law blog post that will be of interest to many of our hospitality industry readers: “Three States Seek to Bolster Fair Pay Laws.”
Following is an excerpt:
Following on the tails of recent updates in New York and California’s equal pay laws, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California all have bills pending in their state legislatures that would seek to eliminate pay differentials on the basis of sex and other protected categories. …
While states are leading the charge with updates to equal pay laws, the EEOC is ...
Following on the tails of recent updates in New York and California’s equal pay laws, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California all have bills pending in their state legislatures that would seek to eliminate pay differentials on the basis of sex and other protected categories.
The NJ Amendment
NJ employers may be curious why this amendment is necessary, as the state’s Equal Pay Law already prohibits discrimination in the rate or method of payment of wages to an employee because of his or her sex. The NJ Amendment, which has passed in the Senate and must now move through the House ...
In the wake of several high-profile wins for the LGBT community, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) added employment discrimination protection to the list. On July 16, 2015, the EEOC ruled that discrimination against employees based on sexual orientation is prohibited by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) as discrimination based on sex.
The EEOC held that “[s]exual orientation discrimination is sex discrimination because it necessarily entails treating an employee less favorably because of the employee’s sex.” ...
My colleagues Nancy L. Gunzenhauser, Kate B. Rhodes, and Judah L. Rosenblatt at Epstein Becker Green have a Retail Labor and Employment Law blog post concerning a recent EEOC modification to employment discrimination protection: “EEOC Rules Discrimination Based On Sexual Orientation Illegal Under Title VII.”
Following is an excerpt:
The EEOC held that “[s]exual orientation discrimination is sex discrimination because it necessarily entails treating an employee less favorably because of the employee’s sex.” The EEOC noted that sex-based considerations also ...
It is important for financial services employers to remember that the National Labor Relations Act protects their employees even when those employees are non-union, and that when groups of employees engage in discussions about their terms and conditions of employment via the employer’s email system, that conduct may constitute protected activity for which the employees may not be punished. A recent example is highlighted by my colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser at Epstein Becker Green in a Management Memo blog post: “NLRB Dramatically Educates Private School on Meaning of ...
My colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser at Epstein Becker Green has a Management Memo blog post that will be of interest to many of our readers: “NLRB Dramatically Educates Private School on Meaning of Concerted Protected Activity. ”
Following is an excerpt:
While we have been reminding readers of the fact that the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) protects employees regardless of whether they are represented by a union and the Act applies to non-unionized workforces, too, recently a National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”) Administrative Law Judge issued a ...
My colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser at Epstein Becker Green has a Management Memo blog post that will be of interest to many of our readers: “NLRB Dramatically Educates Private School on Meaning of Concerted Protected Activity. ”
Following is an excerpt:
While we have been reminding readers of the fact that the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) protects employees regardless of whether they are represented by a union and the Act applies to non-unionized workforces, too, recently a National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”) Administrative Law Judge issued a ...
My colleagues Nancy L. Gunzenhauser and Barry A. Guryan published a Health Employment And Labor Law blog post that will be of interest to many of our readers: “Massachusetts AGO Provides Safe Harbor on New Sick Leave Law.”
Following is an excerpt:
On May 1, 2015, we reported on proposed regulations to the Massachusetts paid sick leave law, which becomes effective on July 1, 2015. The regulations have not yet been adopted, and in light of the uncertainty about many provisions of the law, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has issued a “Safe Harbor for ...
On May 1, 2015, we reported on proposed regulations to the Massachusetts paid sick leave law, which becomes effective on July 1, 2015. The regulations have not yet been adopted, and in light of the uncertainty about many provisions of the law, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has issued a “Safe Harbor for Employers with Existing Paid Time Off Policies.” Under the safe harbor, any employer with a paid time off policy in existence as of May 1, 2015, which provides employees with the right to use at least 30 hours of paid time off per year, will be deemed in compliance with the ...
On May 1, 2015, we reported on proposed regulations to the Massachusetts paid sick leave law, which becomes effective on July 1, 2015. The regulations have not yet been adopted, and in light of the uncertainty about many provisions of the law, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has issued a “Safe Harbor for Employers with Existing Paid Time Off Policies.” Under the safe harbor, any employer with a paid time off policy in existence as of May 1, 2015, which provides employees with the right to use at least 30 hours of paid time off per year, will be deemed in compliance with the ...
Our colleagues Steven M. Swirsky; Adam C. Solander; Brandon C. Ge; Nancy L. Gunzenhauser; and August Emil Huelle contributed to Epstein Becker Green’s recent issue of Take 5 newsletter. In this edition, we address important employment, labor, and workforce management issues confronting retailers:
My colleagues Nancy L. Gunzenhauser and Barry A. Guryan published a Health Care and Employment Law blog post that will be of interest to many of our readers: “Massachusetts Issues Proposed Sick Leave Regulations.”
Following is an excerpt:
As we reported, last November, voters in Massachusetts approved a law granting Massachusetts employees the right to sick leave, starting on July 1, 2015. The law provides paid sick leave for employers with 11 or more employees and unpaid sick leave for employees with 10 or fewer employees. While the law set forth the basics, many of the details ...
As we reported, last November, voters in Massachusetts approved a law granting Massachusetts employees the right to sick leave, starting on July 1, 2015. The law provides paid sick leave for employers with 11 or more employees and unpaid sick leave for employees with 10 or fewer employees. While the law set forth the basics, many of the details, which have differentiated the various sick leave laws across the country, were not previously specified (e.g., minimum increments of use, frontloading, documentation). The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (“AGO”) has set ...
As we reported, last November, voters in Massachusetts approved a law granting Massachusetts employees the right to sick leave, starting on July 1, 2015. The law provides paid sick leave for employers with 11 or more employees and unpaid sick leave for employees with 10 or fewer employees. While the law set forth the basics, many of the details, which have differentiated the various sick leave laws across the country, were not previously specified (e.g., minimum increments of use, frontloading, documentation). The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (“AGO”) has set ...
The Ebola virus disease (“Ebola”) has become a worldwide threat, which, among many other effects, has forced employers to think about how to protect their employees. Employers also must consider how Ebola might impact employment policies and procedures, including, but not limited to, those addressing attendance, leaves of absence, discipline, and medical testing.
My colleagues Susan Gross Sholinsky; Frank C. Morris, Jr.;William J. Milani; Steven M. Swirsky; Nancy L. Gunzenhauser; and Maxine Adams have written a comprehensive Act Now advisory ...
As we’ve previously advised, make sure you are prepared for interns this summer! This summer there’s a new legal trend about interns. While wage and hour lawsuits are still hot, the new “it” trend seems to be laws that extend protection against discrimination and harassment for interns. Recently, states and cities have been adding interns to the protected individuals under their human rights laws.
Retailers have long used interns, both to provide training opportunities for the interns and to supplement their workforce over the summer months ...
By Jeffrey Landes, Susan Gross Sholinsky, and Nancy L. Gunzenhauser
A hot topic for every summer – but particularly this summer – is the status of unpaid interns. You are probably aware that several wage and hour lawsuits have been brought regarding the employment status of unpaid interns, particularly in the entertainment and publishing industries. The theory behind these cases is that the interns in question don’t fall within the “trainee” exception to the definition of “employee” under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), as well as applicable ...
Our Epstein Becker Green colleagues Susan Gross Sholinsky and Nancy L. Gunzenhauser discuss "Five New Challenges Facing Retail Employers" in this month’s Take 5 newsletter. Below is an excerpt:
Retailers face new challenges every day as a result of legislation, litigation, and technology. This Take 5 addresses some of these challenges. …
By Anna A. Cohen and Nancy L. Gunzenhauser
As an increasing number of employers use social media to screen prospective employees and to monitor the activities of current employees, several states have enacted social media privacy laws, including Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Utah and Washington. Oregon joins those states in 2014.
Oregon’s new law is highly protective of employee and applicant privacy. Employers in Oregon are prohibited from requesting that an employee or applicant disclose a username or ...
By Nancy L. Gunzenhauser and Ian Carleton Schaefer
How can an employee of a national employer not “work” where her employer works? How can such an employee not be subject to suit in the corporation’s backyard?
According to a recent New Jersey state court decision, a technology consultant for a New Jersey corporation who worked in Illinois and provided no services to New Jersey based clients could not be subject to suit in New Jersey. This decision is instructive for technology companies with a significant national workforce (particularly if they leverage remote/agile workers ...
Blog Editors
Recent Updates
- AI Resume Screening Tool Developer Is Subject to Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws, Says EEOC
- Video: SCOTUS Expands Title VII, EEOC’s Final PWFA Rule, AI Screening Tools - Employment Law This Week
- EEOC Final Rule Implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
- Podcast: Navigating Physician Non-Compete Litigation – Employment Law This Week
- Maryland Expected to Expand Pay Transparency Requirements in Fall 2024