Maryland became the 10th state in the nation (in addition to the District of Columbia) to enact a paid family and medical leave law when the democratic-led General Assembly overrode a veto of the bill by Governor Larry Hogan earlier this month. The Time to Care Act, as it is called, establishes an insurance program…
As we move closer to the New Year, we’ll focus more attention and provide you with details on upcoming increases in state minimum wages across the country. In the meantime however, we want to keep you abreast of some of the wage trends and initiatives we’re still seeing around the country. We told you a…
Washington DC is lifting its indoor face mask mandate for the first time since it was reimposed back in July. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who is running for a third term, will lift the mandate effective next Monday, November 22. Masks will still be required in a number of settings – transit, schools, libraries, nursing homes,…
As we advised you last week, a Maryland court in Baltimore had ordered the restoration of the federal $300 weekly premium for unemployed individuals, notwithstanding the severe labor shortage that businesses are currently facing. Well, this week in that same Baltimore City Circuit Court, Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill replaced his 10-day restraining order with a preliminary…
As the labor shortage continues to wreak havoc with small businesses across the country, the issue is being fought out in a host of different venues. First off, there are the many states that have announced (or already) that they are suspending or ceasing the extra bonus payments as we’ve reported in prior issues. That…
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…
Over the past few weeks, we have been glad to be able to advise you of some additional state-sponsored COVID relief and business assistance programs. This week, we’re happy to report on a couple of more that are in the works. First in Harrisburg last week, the Pennsylvania Senate passed a $912 million COVID relief…
Although they may not be offering immunity, a number of other states are offering additional business assistance programs and loosening their purse strings with more funds for business relief. In that vein, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy signed legislation last week that provides up to $14 billion in corporate tax relief to businesses in the…
As we approach the end of 2020, (aka the year from Hell) we note a number of other order that some governors, mayors, county executive or other elected officials have mandated that we weren’t able to include elsewhere and thought it would be best to just run through them. In that vein, Philadelphia Mayor Jim…
In many, albeit not all states, the employment application process prohibits a potential employer from inquiring into a job applicant’s salary history, ostensibly to avoid perpetuating gender bias in employee compensation. Maryland joined the ranks of states that “banned the box” back in February as relates questions about an applicant’s criminal history, but the provisions…
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