Notwithstanding the unprecedented challenges that small businesses across the country have faced and will continue to confront as we (hopefully) come out of the coronavirus crisis over the next few months, municipal officials from the east coast to the west continue to dictate to businesses how they should be run, who they should employ and…
Read More »Last week, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law several bills to address issues raised in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic. Among those signed by Murphy were more amendments to the New Jersey Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (NJ WARN Act) as well as expansions of the New Jersey Family Leave Act (FLA)…
Read More »In response to a proposal by Governor Ralph Northam, of which we advised you last week, the Virginia legislature has approved a delay in the minimum wage increase that was scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2021. Under the amendments passed this week however, the initial increase (from the current $7.25 to $9.50…
Read More »In what one could argue is an acknowledgement of the negative impact minimum wage increases can have on businesses, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam last week proposed an amendment to delay a planned increase in the state minimum wage, rather than veto the measure outright. Virginia became the latest democratic trifecta state in 2019 (both branches…
Read More »Apparently President Trump is not the only elected official itching to open the economy back up as quickly as possible. The Pennsylvania legislature passed legislation this week that would override Governor Tom Wolf’s current stay-at-home order and require the state to align with federal guidelines on which businesses will be allowed to reopen during the…
Read More »The California Insurance Commissioner and the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance both took actions this week to put more money in the pockets of insurance customers. In California, a Bulletin from the Office of Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara requires insurance companies to provide a premium credit, reduction, return of premium or other appropriate…
Read More »Last week saw new unemployment claims set a new record with 3.3 million claims in one week. Well, that record didn’t last long as the Department of Labor (DOL) yesterday reported that new claims for unemployment benefits reached over 6.6 million – more than double last week’s record! To put those numbers in perspective, the…
Read More »Resurrecting an issue that has popped up around the country over the past few years, the state senate last week passed legislation that would outlaw single use plastic bags as well as paper bags in New Jersey. The legislation, SB 865, which requires a warning for first offenses, but then provides for a fine of…
Read More »New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy, who in each of his two prior years in the corner office has proposed an additional surcharge on incomes in excess of $1 Million, has done it again. Murphy submitted a $40.9 billion budget to the New Jersey legislature this week, and included some $494 million in new revenue generated…
Read More »On a party-line vote last week, the Virginia House of Delegates voted 55-45 to pass HB 395, a bill that will increase the current state minimum wage of $7.25 per hour to $15 by July 1, 2023. The legislation moved through the lower chamber at lightning legislative speed and is now pending in the state…
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