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,…
Read More »A few weeks ago, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the launch of a new toll-free confidential hotline for reporting sexual harassment at the workplace. The hotline, which will be administered by the New York State Department of Human Rights (NYSDHR), was authorized by legislation signed into law back in March. The hotline (1-800-HARASS-3) went…
Read More »Federal mandates that employers provide paid sick leave and extended family and medical leave during the coronavirus pandemic (FFCRA) is proving insufficient to some states and municipalities around the country. The state of Maine will become the first in the nation to mandate leave that can be used for any reason or no reason when…
Read More »Although most businessmen and women during the past three months of the coronavirus pandemic have rightly focused on keeping their business operating or how to get their business back in operation when the shutdown ends, some in government have continued to focus their energies on what new dictates they can legislate on others. Washington DC…
Read More »Earlier this week, Congress passed a defense policy bill that also included a mandate for paid family medical leave. Although currently, this particular mandate only applies to the federal workforce, we can fully expect it to be expanded to cover all workers – in both the public and private sectors – in relatively short order.…
Read More »As more states and localities have rushed to mandate higher wages, paid leave benefits and predictive scheduling (Fair Workweek laws), many business interests and economic-focused organizations have cautioned about the impact these mandates may have on business over time. It would appear that those cautions are starting to come to fruition if one looks more…
Read More »As we’ve tried to do over the past several months, now seems a good time to advise you of state law changes that will be taking effect within a few weeks, on or around the first of November. Those of you who live or have business interests in Missouri, New York, Oklahoma and Virginia might…
Read More »Despite movement toward agreement on increasing the state minimum wage and adopting a statewide paid sick leave law, negotiation broke down with a fanfare as the House abruptly adjourned last week until January 7 of 2020. It had been reported that House and Senate leadership had broken a stalemate and reached agreement on increasing the…
Read More »The legislature in the state of Maine last week approved An Act Authorizing Earned Employee Leave (LD 369) and sent it to Governor Janet Mills for her signature. Mills is expected to sign the legislation as she was instrumental in negotiating the final product. Taking effect on January 1, 2021, the bill requires employers in…
Read More »The state of New York has long mandated that private employers provide paid sick leave for its workers, but now they’re taking leave mandates to a whole new level. In the FY 2020 state budget passed just about a month ago, legislators saddled private businesses with more mandates as they approved a $175 billion spending…
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