In most states, elections were held earlier this week and we want to just touch on a couple of results as they may become relevant to business issues in the future. First off, up in Portland Maine, incumbent progressive Mayor Ethan Strimling was eliminated before the final round in the ranked-choice local election. He defined…
Read More »Despite such reasonable rulings on overtime and the methods for overtime calculations proposed by the Trump administration, a number of states are dramatically pushing the overtime limits at the state level. On Thursday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) charged the state labor department with expanding overtime eligibility across the state, using the Obama figure as…
Read More »On the positive side of the ledger, one can point to the first increase in the median real wage for US workers in quite some time. But, there’s also a flip side to that coin, and it is taking a toll on restaurants in major cities such as New York City and San Francisco. The…
Read More »The New York City Commission on Human Rights is seemingly ramping up its restrictions on employers with a new Legal Enforcement Guidance on certain protections in the NYC Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). Specifically, a new guidance released this month provides that employers (as well as landlords) could be subjected to fines up to $250,000 for…
Read More »With his presidential campaign over, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is now back in the city full time – and it’s starting to show. What’s good for America, may not be great for New Yorkers with the Mayor back at Gracie Mansion full time. Last week, his administration brought action against Chipotle with…
Read More »In that same vein, we also wanted to remind readers that the first anniversary of the state of New York requirement for annual sexual harassment training is coming up on October 9, 2019. By that date, all employees in the state are required to have gone through their annual training session on sexual harassment. You…
Read More »We’ve got 3 dimensions of the nation minimum wage debate to report to you this week and each coming from a different east coast state. First, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu stayed true to his word when he vetoed legislation that would have increased the current state minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. SB 10…
Read More »With Governor Phil Murphy still on vacation last week, Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver signed legislation into law that significantly strengthens the penalties for wage theft in New Jersey. S.1790, which Oliver signed last Friday with much fanfare, updates the New Jersey Wage Payment and Wage Hour laws by increasing penalties and enforcement activities. Under the…
Read More »For a period of time, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan was said to be contemplating a primary challenge against President Donald Trump for the republican presidential nomination. He decided against that undertaking, and accepted the Chairmanship of the National Governors Association instead. That job might be equally challenging as the organization had been hemorrhaging staff since…
Read More »Liberal local communities continue their push to win and enforce their own paid leave mandates and the fights continue in courts in blue and red states. In Texas, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who last year convinced the 3rd District Court of Appeals to strike down an Austin paid sick leave ordinance, prevailed again –…
Read More »
