Workforce Bulletin

Take a deep breath. Now exhale. While the country awaits the results of the presidential race and many others that are still too close to call, the 2020 election made one thing clear: the march toward 50-state legalization of marijuana (and now perhaps other drugs) continues. On Tuesday, voters in five states decided to legalize recreational or medical marijuana, while Oregon voted to decriminalize most hard drugs, including heroin and cocaine. We summarize each ballot initiative and its outcome below.

Arizona

Ballot Summary: Although a similar initiative was narrowly defeated at ...

Colorado has joined a growing movement of states in passing laws that provide greater protections to employees and job applicants. Among these are the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and a ban the box law, which limits criminal history inquiries for job applicants. The following is a breakdown of Colorado’s newest employment laws and how their implementation may impact employers and employees alike.

Equal Pay

Effective January 1, 2021, the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (the “Act”) will expressly prohibit employers from paying employees of different genders different wages for ...

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 ...

This Employment Law This Week^® Monthly Rundown discusses the most important developments for employers in July 2019. Both the video and the extended audio podcast are now available.

This episode includes:

• State Legislation Heats Up
• NLRB Overturns Another Long-Standing Precedent
• SCOTUS October Term 2018 Wraps Up
• Tip of the Week: How inclusion and trust can increase innovation in the workplace

See below to watch the full episode - click here for story details, the video, and the extended audio podcast.

Stay tuned: Sign-up for email notifications and subscribe to the ...

[Update: The measure was signed into law by Governor Mills on April 12, 2019.]

On April 2, 2019, the Maine Legislature celebrated Equal Pay Day by passing two significant amendments (“Amendments”) to the Maine Equal Pay Act. If, as expected, Governor Janet Mills signs the measure, certain salary history inquiries and employer policies prohibiting employee wage discussions will be deemed “evidence of discrimination.”  While the Amendments do not directly “prohibit” such inquiries and policies, in effect, they operate as a ban on such conduct.

Specifically, the ...