Workforce Bulletin

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday: This week, we explore Washington State’s new employment laws on reductions in force and background checks, digital labor law notices and pay equity measures in Ohio, and New York City’s enforcement of new employer obligations related to paid prenatal leave for employees.

• Washington Overhauls Employment Laws on Reductions in Force and Background Checks
• Ohio Leads the Way, Allowing Employers to Post Digital Labor and Employment Law Notices
• Pay Equity Expands in Ohio: Cleveland Passes Ordinance
• New York Paid Prenatal Leave: NYC Adds to State Mandate, Imposes More Employer Requirements
• Other Highlights

A reduction in force (RIF) is a complex process that demands more than just operational adjustments. It requires meticulous planning to align business objectives with legal compliance, sound decision-making, and thorough risk mitigation.

In this one-on-one interview, Epstein Becker Green attorney Ann Knuckles Mahoney joins George Whipple to unpack the intricate legal considerations that come with workforce reductions. Ann walks through the critical aspects of adhering to the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act and the challenges posed by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, especially for employers handling layoffs across multiple jurisdictions.

On July 13, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Public Act 21-189, An Act Requiring Employers to Recall Certain Laid-Off Workers in Order of Seniority (the “Act”), which requires hotels, lodging houses, food service contractors, and building service enterprises with at least 15 employees to notify qualified laid off employees, whose lay-offs were due to lack of business, or a reduction or furlough of the employer’s workforce, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, about available positions. This obligation applies to those laid off employees (i) who were employed ...