Rojgar Job News

Unlimited paid time off (“PTO”) is one of the new “it” workplace policies.  Adopted as both a means to attract and retain employees as well as to avoid having to coordinating and track specific grants of paid PTO or vacation– a task which can be arduous, particularly for smaller businesses – some employers have done away with traditional accrual-based PTO and vacation policies and instead offer employees the opportunity to take as much PTO as they wish.  Under these policies, employees can technically take as many paid days off as they choose, for any reason, including vacation, sickness, or personal reasons.  Some may think this makes great sense, and others may think it is crazy.  To a certain extent, these policies are a bit of both.  Before deciding to implement an unlimited PTO policy, it is important that employers consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of such a policy and have a clear plan for implementation. Be...

From July 1, 2017 until last Friday night (June 28, 2019), the city of Minneapolis had a paid sick leave law that, per the city’s own rules and FAQs, only applied to employers with a physical location in the city of Minneapolis. As we previously reported, the city had been taking public comment on whether to revise the interpretive guidance on its paid sick leave law in light of a recent court ruling. The city was considering whether it should change its rules and FAQs to require employers without a physical location in the city to also provide paid sick leave. Thus, it is not particularly surprising that the city has made the decision to change its interpretive guidance and expand the law to cover all employers, regardless of whether they have a location in the city. What is surprising, however, is that the city has decided: (1) to give employers less than three days to comply with this change; AND (2) that those employers have to provide sick leave retroactively . Thus, by Wedn...

Minimum Wage, Paid Leave Law Developments, California Compliance, Illinois Update, and More…   Minimum Wage With federal minimum wage stuck at $7.25, state and local governments continue to raise minimum wages. Our current state and local minimum wage chart, showing changes that will be going into effect for the new year, is available here. Paid Leave Laws San Antonio’s paid sick leave law, which was revised (pdf) in October, was set to go into effect December 1, 2019, but as of November 22, 2019 was put on hold pending a legal challenge. Bernalillo County, New Mexico has joined Nevada (effective January 1, 2020) and Maine (January 1, 2021) in requiring employers to provide paid leave to employees (see our prior coverage on the Maine and Nevada laws here). Bernalillo County’s paid leave ordinance was originally scheduled to go into effect January 1, 2020, but a proposed amendment (pdf) would push back the effective date to July 1, 2020. Under the law, emp...

Philadelphia’s Salary History Ban Upheld On February 6, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled in favor of the City of Philadelphia, upholding the constitutionality of the City’s Wage Equity Ordinance under the First Amendment. The City may now enforce the Ordinance and prohibit employers from asking applicants about their salary history. As one of the first jurisdictions to enact such a law, Mayor Kenney signed the Ordinance into law on January 23, 2017. The Ordinance made it unlawful for any business that employs individuals in the City of Philadelphia to ask applicants about their wage history (“Inquiry Provision”) or to rely on an applicants’ wage history to determine wages for the job for which the applicant applied (“Reliance Provision”). After the Ordinance was passed, the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia sued the City in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, contending the Ordi...

You can’t escape the panic spreading through mass and social media regarding the 2020 Wuhan Novel Coronavirus, a virus that has resulted in fatalities in China and infected thousands worldwide. Symptoms mimic that of influenza (fever, cough), but can include difficulty breathing, pneumonia, kidney failure, and death in severe cases. Despite the panic, there are only a handful of confirmed cases in the U.S., but this has done little to quell paranoia. With fear of the bug’s spread, many employers are bracing themselves the possibility of employee absences, either due to illness or fear of contagion in congested workplaces. Employers and human resources professionals can immunize themselves against some risk by implementing steps in advance. Familiarize yourself with state and local paid sick leave laws. Many U.S. states and municipalities now require that employers provide paid time off to employees to address their own illnesses or that of their family members. If you have...

Although the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), commonly referred to as the “coronavirus,” remains a developing situation, it has begun affecting the US in major ways.  With cases now reported throughout the US, every organization should have a plan of action in place concerning the coronavirus.  Although every business faces unique considerations, a cross-disciplinary team of Squire Patton Boggs attorneys have collaborated to prepare guidance – available here – for organizations to consider when addressing coronavirus-related employment, customer service, and other issues.

On March 18, 2020, the U.S. Senate approved a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing the coronavirus. After rejecting two attempted amendments to the House bill, the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” passed the Senate by a vote of 90-8. As we reported on March 17, the comprehensive emergency measure expands nutrition and food assistance, unemployment insurance benefits, and protections for workers exposed to risks by the pandemic. President Trump signed the Act the same day (March 18). Employers are advised that they have fifteen (15) days until the Act’s Effective Date – that is, until April 2, 2020 – to prepare for these changes. For full coverage of the Act’s provisions, click here. As a summary of the key provision most notable for employers, the law includes provisions requiring paid sick leave and family leave for certain individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the following provisions. A temporary, emergency expansion to t...

On March 18, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law providing emergency paid sick leave to New Yorkers. The proposed bill provides job-protected leave benefits for employees affected by COVID-19. Effective March 18, 2020, employees subject to mandatory or precautionary orders of quarantine or isolation issued by the state of New York, the department of health, local board of health, or any governmental entity duly authorized to issue such order due to COVID-19, will be entitled to paid sick leave as follows: Employers with 10 or fewer employees (as of Jan. 1, 2020) and a net income of less than $1 million shall provide unpaid sick leave until the termination of any quarantine or isolation, and guarantee employees access to Paid Family Leave and disability benefits (short-term disability), with no waiting period, for the period of quarantine including wage replacement for their salaries up to $150,000. Employers with 11-99 employees (as of Jan. 1, 2020) and employers ...

On March 18, 2020, the U.S. Senate approved a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing the coronavirus. After rejecting two attempted amendments to the House bill, the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” passed the Senate by a vote of 90-8. As we reported on March 17, the comprehensive emergency measure expands nutrition and food assistance, unemployment insurance benefits, and protections for workers exposed to risks by the pandemic. Most notably for employers, HR 6201 included provisions requiring paid sick leave and family leave for certain individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the following provisions. A temporary, emergency expansion to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Coverage From the effective date of the act (once signed by the President) through December 31, 2020, “eligible employees” will be entitled to take FMLA leave “because of a qualifying need related to a public health emergency.” Unlike under the e...

COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave On March 17, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a three-way agreement with the New York Legislature on a paid sick leave bill for New Yorkers. The proposed bill provides job-protected leave benefits for employees affected by COVID-19. Effective immediately upon passage (which is expected in the next few days), employees subject to mandatory or precautionary orders of quarantine or isolation issued by the state of New York, the department of health, local board of health, or any governmental entity duly authorized to issue such order due to COVID-19, will be entitled to paid sick leave as follows: Employers with 10 or fewer employees (as of Jan. 1, 2020) and a net income of less than $1 million shall provide unpaid sick leave until the termination of any quarantine or isolation, and guarantee employees access to Paid Family Leave and disability benefits (short-term disability) for the period of quarantine including wage replacement for their sal...

On Saturday, March 14, 2020, the US House of Representatives passed a version of HR 6201, referred to as the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Act).” The comprehensive emergency measure expanded nutrition and food assistance, unemployment insurance benefits, and protections for workers exposed to risks by the pandemic. Most notably for employers, HR 6201 included provisions requiring paid sick leave and family leave for certain individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the bill reached the Senate, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) insisted upon certain technical corrections to the bill. The House reconvened on Monday, March 16, 2020 to address these issues. Although the House rolled back many of the sweeping employee protections initially included in HR 6201, Representatives preserved certain significant employee protections described below. Before reviewing the below, it is important to note that the Act may (and will likely) change before it is presented to the...

In 2017, Arizona passed the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act, which requires all Arizona employers to provide paid sick leave (PSL) to their employees, whether they work full-time or part-time or on a permanent, temporary, or occasional basis. (A number of other US states have passed paid sick leave laws.)  Employers with fewer than 15 employees (including full-time, part-time and temporary employees) are required to provide at least 24 hours of annual PSL, whereas employers with 15 or more employees are required to provide at least 40 hours of annual PSL. Employers may award PSL hours in a lump sum at the start of the year, or employees may accrue PSL at a rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours worked up to the statutory cap or a more generous accrual cap in employers’ discretion. Although there are provisions requiring rollover of unused hours, employers can limit annual PSL usage at 24 or 40 hours. Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees fo...