A Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled this week that lawmakers violated the Michigan state constitution back in 2018 when they passed a pending ballot petition and then amended it to a format more to their liking. A provision in the state constitution, known as the adopt and amend provision seemingly allows the legislature to…
Read More »Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has filed a set of ordinances with the City Council, that would dramatically change the landscape for businesses within the Windy City. The Mayor’s package, which she has dubbed the “Chi Biz Strong Initiative”, defines a business as guilty of wage theft if it fails to timely pay a covered employee…
Read More »The Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) along with other advocacy groups One Fair Wage and Mothering Justice this week filed a lawsuit against Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel alleging that legislative changes made to the state minimum wage law were unconstitutional. To put the issue in context, One Fair Wage initiated a petition drive in 2018…
Read More »Last Friday, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued revised regulations for the implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). If I’m not mistaken, that would make at least a couple of times that the agency has issued new or updated FFCRA regulations. The FFCRA was first enacted back on March 18 and…
Read More »Effective September 30, the state of New York will have a second sick leave law taking effect – one specific to the COVID-19 pandemic and the other, a new general employment mandate. The new benefit, which was approved as part of the state budget and ironically becomes effective on the exact same date as Governor…
Read More »Notwithstanding the adoption of the FFCRA and its expanded paid leave for all employees across the country, the New York state legislature passed its own permanent paid leave benefits for all employees in the Empire State. Just a few weeks after passing a COVID-19 specific paid leave law, legislators approved a state budget that also…
Read More »As the COVID-19 crisis continues to wreak havoc with the American business landscape, several states and cities have put laws and executive orders on the books to address different issues arising in their communities. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper on Tuesday of this week signed an Executive Order prohibiting utilities in the Tar Heel State…
Read More »As of this writing, COVID-19 has caused 48 of the 50 United States to declare public emergencies at the state level to some degree or another. Only Oklahoma and West Virginia have yet to make such a declaration. In each of the states, the public emergency declaration gives the governments additional tools, flexibility and power…
Read More »The old adage that ‘it depends on whose ox is being gored’ sprung to mind when we read the position of the AFL-CIO relating the coronavirus economic recovery steps floated by the Trump administration this week. True to form, the national federation of organized labor was totally supportive of proposed emergency paid leave benefits for…
Read More »As more news of the coronavirus spreading across the globe is reported, it seems timely to review some of the information available about Covid-19 (the formal name for the virus) and what steps employers should consider taking to protect themselves, their employees and their business to minimize the risk of contagion. In that regard, we…
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