Clean Slate Law Effective Next Week

Speaking of Connecticut, it’s new so-called Clean Slate Law was scheduled to become effective with the turn of the calendar on January 1, 2023, but earlier this month some of the provisions were delayed until later in 2023. Connecticut has long barred employers from using certain criminal convictions in hiring and promotion decisions, but this…

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New Year’s Day Triggers

It’s not only minimum wages (as we advised last week) and the Connecticut Clean Slate Law that become effective on January 1st this year, but rather a number of new laws in other states around the country. Small businesses are advised to be cognizant of the many law changes that come with the New Year,…

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Minimum Wages Rising with New Year

With the turn of the calendar in another two weeks, many employers across the country will see their minimum wage obligations rise. In fact, no fewer than 29 individual states will be raising their mandated minimums come January 1, 2023 along with another 59 local jurisdictions. Effective New Year’s day, the state of Washington will…

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Michigan Minimum at Appeals Court

Earlier this week, the Michigan Court of Appeals heard oral arguments over a Court of Claims decision rendered earlier this year that voided a legislative amendment to a 2018 ballot measure and reinstated the ballot measure. The ballot question mandated a $12 per hour minimum wage and phases out the current tip credit, so the…

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Bereavement Leave Mandated

Back in early September, when California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1949 into law, the state of California became the third state to mandate bereavement leave for workers. The provisions of AB 1949, effective on January 1, 2023 and applicable when a business employs 5 or more workers, were adopted as an amendment to the…

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COVID 2.0 Obligations

No, it’s not another pandemic, but these changes will still cost small business owners. Both Colorado and Oregon have expanded leave obligations for employers in the event of a public health emergency (PHE), which now can include RSV, the flu and other respiratory illnesses. The Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act requires employers to provide…

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Protecting Employee Absences

In one of her first acts after being elected in her own right by the voters of New York, Governor Kathy Hochul signed SB 1958 into law prohibiting an employer from penalizing an employee for any absence that is protected by federal, state or local law. The legislation, which takes effect on February 19, 2023,…

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Right to Unionize Adopted

Illinois will become the first state to ban “right to work” laws after voters approved the ballot measure constitutionally securing the right of workers to unionize and bargain collectively. The Illinois Constitution allows for two methods by which an amendment can be added: be approved with 60% or greater margin, or collect more a simple…

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Business Groups Sue Connecticut

Earlier this month, a number of major business associations – led by the United States Chamber of Commerce – filed a federal lawsuit challenging a ban on captive audience meetings in the Constitution State. A Connecticut law prohibits employers from requiring employee attendance at “captive audience” meetings where the employer shares their opinion on broadly…

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Ballot Questions: Election Post-Mortem

It was an even split on election day for questions on keeping a tipped wage as Portland Maine voters resoundingly rejected a ballot proposal to eliminate the tipped wage and hike the minimum within the city to $18 per hour. Question D, as the initiative was known went down to defeat by a 61-39% margin.…

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