Following a number of other states, the District of Columbia Council passed The Wage Transparency Omnibus Amendment Act of 2023 (the 2023 Act), which was approved by Mayor Muriel Bowser on January 12, 2024, and is pending Congressional review. The 2023 Act amends the D.C. Wage and Transparency Act of 2014 (the 2014 Act) to compel openness in compensation by requiring employers to publish wage bands for advertised positions, prohibiting wage screening of applicants, and requiring disclosure of the existence of healthcare benefits prior to interviews.Continue Reading Show them the money: D.C. law to require employers to disclose compensation to job candidates
Wage and Hour
Are frequency of pay lawsuits in New York soon to be a thing of the past?
Employment legislation and litigation are often about trends. In the mid-to-late 2010’s, for instance, lawmakers across the U.S. enacted numerous bills concerning paid time off for employees, such as for sick and family leave. A more recent trend involves regulatory and legislative attempts to limit or even outright ban non-compete agreements.
In New York State, the unquestionable employment litigation trend over the past several years has revolved around frequency of pay claims under Section 191 of the New York Labor Law (NYLL). This trend was born out of a radical 2019 appellate court decision that broke from more than a century of judicial precedent.
As more fully discussed below, however, two recent developments – one legislative and one judicial – suggest that the flood of frequency of pay lawsuits may soon be a thing of the past.Continue Reading Are frequency of pay lawsuits in New York soon to be a thing of the past?
California enacts increase in the minimum wage for covered health care employees
Governor Gavin Newsom signed S.B. 525 into law adding new minimum wage requirements to Sections 1182.14 and 1182.15 of the California Labor Code. These new sections establish five comprehensive minimum wage schedules for “covered health care employees”, which includes contracted and subcontracted employees. Effective June 1, 2024, “covered health care facilities” will be required to implement the applicable minimum wage schedule, depending on the nature of the employer, as set forth by the law. In general, the law preempts any local ordinances setting wages for healthcare workers. To determine the law’s applicability, health care providers across California must consider (1) whether they meet the definition of a “covered health care facility” and, if so, (2) who within their workforce meets the definition of a “covered health care employee”.Continue Reading California enacts increase in the minimum wage for covered health care employees
New York makes wage theft a crime
Over the past decade-plus, New York lawmakers have passed several laws intended to combat perceived wage theft across the Empire State. On September 6, 2023, lawmakers in Albany continued this trend by passing a bill that codifies wage theft as criminal larceny.
Specifically, the bill adds a new subsection to the New York Penal Law’s…
U.S. Department of Labor clarifies how to calculate FMLA leave over holidays
In an opinion letter published this week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”) clarified how employers should calculate an employee’s Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave entitlement when the leave is taken during a week that includes a holiday.
The FMLA regulations are clear that when an employee takes a…
New York State amends forthcoming pay transparency law
As we previously reported, New York State recently adopted a salary transparency law that, effective September 17, 2023, will require employers to disclose the pay range for any job that is advertised, including those for internal promotion or transfer opportunities. Last month, however, Governor Kathy Hochul signed A999/S1326 into law, amending the impending salary…
New York State enacts broad wage transparency law
As we detailed in a recent Thomson Reuters article, wage transparency laws have become the latest trend in US workplace-related legislation. Such laws have, to date, been enacted in noteworthy locales such as California, Colorado and New York City. On December 21, 2022, New York State became the latest jurisdiction to adopt a wage transparency…
Reminder to New York City employers: The city’s wage transparency law goes into effect November 1, 2022
As we previously reported, effective tomorrow (November 1, 2022), New York City law will require that virtually all internal and external job postings include the minimum and maximum salary/wage rate that the employer in “good faith” believes it is willing to pay for the advertised job, promotion, or transfer opportunity. The New…
Pennsylvania on the path to increase threshold for tipped employees (part 2)
In our original post, we reviewed the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) approval of proposed new regulations by Governor Tom Wolf’s administration concerning tipped employees.
Since then, the Pennsylvania Attorney General completed its review and approved the regulation. The regulation will go into effect on August 5, 2022. Below is a review of…
Pennsylvania on the path to increase threshold for tipped employees
In November 2021, Governor Tom Wolf’s administration proposed a new regulation that will require tipped employees to earn at least $135 a month in tips before an employer is permitted to pay the $2.83 per hour tipped rate, rather than state’s minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Currently, in Pennsylvania, employers can pay tipped employees…