Aside from minimum wage increases, the calendar is replete with different changes on a seemingly monthly basis that you need to be aware of. Among these, we would point out that a change in employment law took effect yesterday in the Commonwealth of Virginia imposing a requirement that most employers must now include information in…
Read More »It seems a bit ironic that it will officially take effect on Independence Day, but New York City’s new ‘just cause termination law’ will require a fast-food employer to prove a valid or just cause reason before terminating an at-will employee effective July 4, 2021. The law provides that once an employee has survived a…
Read More »Last week on a straight party-line vote of 26-15, the Delaware General Assembly passed legislation, already approved by the state senate, that will incrementally raise the state minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. The proposal, which Governor John Carney is expected to sign, makes the President’s home state the latest to adopt a…
Read More »Notwithstanding that the current labor shortage is driving wages up without any kind of government mandate being necessary, efforts continue to impose a $15/hour minimum wage. While there’s still no movement in Congress on the national minimum (currently $7.25), Delaware – the home state of President Biden – is moving towards setting a $15 state…
Read More »Virginia employers have more negative hits on their horizon. The minimum wage, which jumped $2.25 per hour to $9.50 on May 1, 2021, is slated to rise by another $1.50 to $11/hour on January 1, 2022; and then another $1 in 2023 to $12/hour. However, if the General Assembly chooses to reenact these rate increases…
Read More »On the first of May, the minimum wage in Virginia will exceed the federal minimum for the first time, rising from the current $7.25 per hour to $9.50 an hour. The Old Dominion is one of only five that will raise their minimum wage before next January with Connecticut 8/1/21, Florida 9/1/21, Nevada 8/1/21 and…
Read More »According to a federal District Court in Virginia, the use of salary history in employment decisions is a reasonable – and legal – tool for employers to consider in making employment decisions. Early this month, the court applied a precedent set by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Spenser v. Virginia State University) versus a…
Read More »A Boston-based federal district court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed last May by the Massachusetts-based high-end seafood chain, Legal Sea Foods. US District Court Judge Nathaniel Gorton agreed with defendant Strathmore Insurance Company that the COVID-19 virus did not result in the requisite physical damage to Legal Sea Foods’ property, notwithstanding government ordered shutdowns…
Read More »Following more slowly on the trend set by Texas and Mississippi when last week they removed all COVID related restrictions and shutdowns, a number of states this week have further relaxed their COVID related mandates on businesses operating at a percentage of full capacity. Specifically, the states of Arizona and Maryland have each announced that…
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Dunkin’ franchise owners were standout performers in the challenging times that followed the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic last spring. While the rest of the restaurant industry has struggled to stay above water, Dunkin’ and other quick-service restaurants have done a remarkable job adapting to difficult circumstances, quickly shifting their focus to app-based delivery and…
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