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
Workplace Laws and Regulations
Virginia further limits confidentiality and non-disparagement agreements and restricts the use of employee social security numbers
As the 2023 Virginia legislative session comes to a close, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed into law two new pieces of legislation that will expand the Commonwealth’s existing restriction on employee confidentiality agreements and restrict how employers may use employee social security numbers. Both new laws go into effect July 1, 2023.
Expanded prohibition on confidentiality…
Newly enacted “Speak Out Act” limits pre-dispute nondisclosure and nondisparagement clauses in employee agreements
On December 7, 2022, President Biden signed into law the much-heralded “Speak Out Act.” As the name suggests, the Act is designed to “empower survivors [of sexual harassment and sexual assault] to come forward” and “hold perpetrators accountable for abuse” while improving the safety and productivity of the workplace. The Act notes that “nondisclosure and…
New York City proposes bill to effectively eliminate “at will” employment
On December 8, 2022, three New York City Council Members proposed a workplace-related bill that would essentially do away with the concept of “at will” employment in the Big Apple. Suffice it to say, the proposed bill would, if passed, be an absolute game changer for businesses in one of the country’s largest commercial markets.…
California employment law legislative update: Employers must ring in 2023 with a host of new obligations
The deadline for California’s Governor to sign, approve without signing, or veto bills on his desk was September 30, 2022. We have compiled a comprehensive list of the major new laws and obligations that employers in the Golden State should know. As always, it is wise to consult with counsel to ensure that workplace policies…
NLRB aiming to take pro-labor action in the areas of technology-based monitoring and surveillance and blocking charges
Last week, the National Labor Relations Board signaled two additional areas in which it intends to pursue its labor-favorable agenda over the remainder of the 2022 year and beyond.
First, on October 31, 2022, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memorandum stating her intention to zealously enforce the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) with respect to what she has called “intrusive or abusive electronic monitoring and automated management practices.”
Second, on November 3, 2022, the Board issued a proposal to roll back 2020 amendments to its election regulations with respect to so-called blocking charges.
Technology-based monitoring and surveillance
In her October 31 memorandum, the General Counsel expressed concern that “close, constant, surveillance and management through electronic means” constitutes a threat to “employees’ ability to exercise their rights” under the Act. The General Counsel specifically stated that electronic surveillance and automated systems can limit or prevent employees from engaging in protected activity, including conversations about the terms and conditions of their employment or of unionization. She also claimed that employer-issued devices or required applications on employees’ personal devices may extend surveillance to nonworking areas, including to rest areas within an employer’s facilities and non-work areas outside of the workplace. This, the General Counsel speculated, “may prevent employees from exercising their Section 7 rights” from engaging in concerted activity anywhere and may lead to retaliation and discrimination on the basis of protected activity. The memorandum goes on to provide a two-pronged approach towards dealing with these perceived threats to employees’ rights.…
Do we need to give employees paid time off to vote in the upcoming midterm elections?
With Election Day just around the corner, private employers should carefully review state voting leave laws to ensure they are in compliance. Voting leave laws vary by state, and depend on where the employees are actually located. We have prepared a quick-reference summary of the voting leave laws in those jurisdictions that have them, which…
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…
NLRB reverses precedent on dues checkoff obligations
Continuing a string of pro-union decisions, the National Labor Relations Board recently overruled a 2019 Board decision and held that employers violate federal law if they fail to transmit membership dues to unions after the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement.
In its 2019 decision in Valley Hospital Medical Center, Inc., 68 NLRB No.
New York City to lift workplace vaccine mandate
In early December 2021, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that all private sector employers in New York City would need to adopt a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for their workers. This meant that all private sector employees in New York City needed to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to perform in-person services within the…