Law and the Workplace

Category Archives: Workplace Policies and Procedures

Subscribe to Workplace Policies and Procedures RSS Feed

Kansas City, Missouri Passes Ban on Salary History Inquiries

By Allan Bloom and Laura Fant on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Hiring/Background Checks, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Kansas City, Missouri is the latest jurisdiction (and the second Midwestern city in recent weeks) to enact a law that will prohibit employers from asking job applicants about salary history. The ordinance, which takes effect on October 31, 2019, will apply to employers in Kansas City with six or more employees, and will prohibit such … Continue Reading

Maine Becomes First State to Require Paid Leave for Any Reason

By Evandro Gigante, Laura Fant and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Leave of absence formMaine’s Governor Janet Mills has signed into law an Act Authorizing Earned Employee Leave (the “Act”), which will require covered employers to provide employees with up to 40 hours of paid personal leave per calendar year. Unlike other paid family and sick leave laws that have been enacted around the country, Maine’s law would be … Continue Reading

New York City Council to Consider Expanding Earned Safe and Sick Time Act to Require “Personal Time”

By Evandro Gigante and Laura Fant on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
The New York City Council is considering a bill that would expand the NYC Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) to provide eligible employees with “personal time” that could be used for any reason.  The bill would also expand protections and remedies applicable to all leave under the law, including sick and safe time. … Continue Reading

Dallas, Texas Enacts Paid Sick Leave Law, But Its Future Remains in Question

By Allan Bloom, Laura Fant and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
The Dallas, Texas City Council has enacted a sick leave ordinance that would require employers to provide eligible employees with paid leave for certain medical and safety-related needs. It remains to be seen, however, whether the ordinance will ultimately take effect. As we have previously reported, in late 2018, a Texas appellate court ruled that … Continue Reading

Westchester County, New York to Require Paid Leave for Victims of Domestic Violence

By Allan Bloom and Laura Fant on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Leave of absence formEffective October 30, 2019, Westchester County, NY employers will be required to provide paid leave to employees who are victims of domestic violence or human trafficking.  Leave under the new ordinance will be in addition to paid time off already required to be provided to employees under the Westchester County paid sick leave law, which … Continue Reading

[Podcast]: Medical Marijuana and the Potential NYC New Law

By Harris Mufson and Evandro Gigante on Posted in Hiring/Background Checks, The Proskauer Brief Podcast, Workplace Policies and Procedures
In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, partners Harris Mufson and Evandro Gigante discuss recently passed legislation by the New York City Council, which would prohibit some employers in NYC from requiring job applicants to submit to drug tests for marijuana use. Specifically, the bill would amend the City’s Fair Chance Act to make it … Continue Reading

New Jersey Employees to Be Entitled to Pre-Tax Transportation Fringe Benefits

By Allan Bloom, Laura Fant and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
New Jersey will soon become the first state to require certain employers to offer employees tax-favored transportation benefits. S.B. 1567, also known as An Act Concerning Pre-Tax Transportation Fringe Benefits (the “Act”), will require New Jersey employers with 20 or more employees to offer employees the opportunity to make pre-tax elections from their gross pay … Continue Reading

Washington State Legislature Passes Ban on Salary History Inquiries

By Allan Bloom and Laura Fant on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Hiring/Background Checks, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Washington is poised to become the ninth state to pass a law that would prohibit employers from asking job applicants about their salary history. The state legislature recently passed HB 1696, which would, among other things, prohibit employers from inquiring into the prior “wage or salary history” of an applicant for employment. The bill has … Continue Reading

The EEO-1 Saga Continues — An Appeal, Additional Requirements, and More…

By Guy Brenner and Kate Gold on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
Employers would be forgiven for feeling figurative whiplash from all of the developments surrounding the EEO-1 in recent weeks. After understanding they would not have to submit pay data with their EEO-1 submissions (referred to as “Component 2 data”), in a series of rulings. Judge Tanya Chutkan reinstated the obligation. Since then, employers have been reading … Continue Reading

Westchester County Issues Guidance on its Earned Sick Leave Law

By Harris Mufson and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
As we previously reported, Westchester County, NY recently enacted an Earned Sick Leave Law (the “ESSL”), which provides eligible employees with up to 40 hours of paid leave for their own medical needs, those of a family member, or other covered reasons. The Westchester County Human Rights Commission has established a dedicated webpage regarding the … Continue Reading

Judge Orders Employers to Submit Pay Data on Revised EEO-1 Form by September 30, 2019

By Guy Brenner, Kate Gold and Jordan Simon on Posted in Wage and Hour, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Introduction: On April 25, 2019, Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to collect detailed data on employee compensation and hours worked from covered employers sorted by job category, pay band, race, ethnicity, and gender (“Component 2” of the EEO-1 form) by September 30, 2019.  The reporting requirement applies to all … Continue Reading

Breaking: Judge Orders Employers Must Submit EEO-1 Pay Data By September 30, 2019

By Guy Brenner on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
According to published reports, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a ruling from the bench today ordering employers to submit the pay data component of the EEO-1 form (“Component 2”) by September 30, 2019. In March, Judge Chutkan lifted the stay on collection of Component 2 data that had been imposed by the Office of … Continue Reading

EEO-1 Update: More Wait and See

By Guy Brenner on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
Yesterday, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan held a hearing on the pay data component of the EEO-1 form (“Component 2”). In March, Judge Chutkan lifted the stay on collection of Component 2 data that had been imposed by the Office of Management and Budget, leading to much uncertainty about when employers would be expected to … Continue Reading

New York City Council Passes Bill Limiting Pre-Employment Drug Testing for Marijuana

By Evandro Gigante and Jordan Simon on Posted in Hiring/Background Checks, Workplace Policies and Procedures
The New York City Council overwhelmingly passed legislation which would prohibit most City employers from requiring job applicants to submit to drug tests for marijuana use. Specifically, the bill would amend the City’s Fair Chance Act to make it an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer (including employment agencies and their agents) to require a … Continue Reading

New Updates to Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen and Thomas B. Fiascone on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Clock and calendar[UPDATE: On June 11, 2019, state officials issued a joint statement noting that the state has agreed to a three month postponement before companies will be assessed fees pursuant to the PFML, meaning the taxes will begin in October, 2019 rather than on July 1, 2019 as previously anticipated. In May, 2019, the Department of … Continue Reading

Proskauer Unveils Employment Law Toolkit and Hosts #Metoo Panel at HR Transform

By Harris Mufson, Danielle J. Moss and Samantha Regenbogen on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Workplace Policies and Procedures
On March 26 – 28, 2019, Harris Mufson, Danielle Moss, and Samantha Regenbogen attended the second annual HR Transform conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Proskauer was the exclusive legal sponsor of the conference. The HR Transform conference brought together business leaders and HR executives to discuss cutting edge issues regarding human resources and employee workplace … Continue Reading

New York City Releases Model Lactation Room Policies

By Allan Bloom and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
As we previously reported, pursuant to a recent amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law, covered employers must now develop and implement a written policy regarding the provision of a lactation room, to be distributed to all new employees upon hire.  Among other requirements, the policy must include a statement that employees have … Continue Reading

The Regulation of Employers’ Workplace Violence Prevention Programs Under OSHA’s General Duty Clause

By Gillian Egan and Mark A. Linscott on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety
Last week, Gillian had the distinct pleasure of attending the ABA Occupational Safety and Health Law Meeting in sunny and beautiful San Juan, Puerto Rico.  The meeting included more than a dozen presentations and panels on workplace safety put on by management and union lawyers, OSHRC Commissioners, the Solicitor of Labor’s office, safety professionals, administrative … Continue Reading

The Third Circuit Finds No Age Discrimination Related to Virgin Islands Law That Encouraged Long-Tenured Employees to Retire

By Evandro Gigante, Samantha Shear and Nayirie K. Mehdikhani on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Workplace Policies and Procedures
The Third Circuit recently issued a significant opinion in Bryan v. Government of the Virgin Islands, Case No. 18-1941, 2019 WL 661822 (3rd Cir. February 19, 2019) holding that the Virgin Islands did not violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) when, in an effort to keep the retirement system solvent, it required employees … Continue Reading

[Podcast]: Can-My-Employees Participate in Political Activities?

By Elise M. Bloom and Michelle Gyves on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
In this episode of the “Can My Employees Do That?” series, partner Elise Bloom and associate Michelle Gyves discuss whether employers can lawfully limit an employee’s participation in political activities, protests, and similar activities. We also discuss whether an employer can restrict an employee’s association with groups or publications on social media or elsewhere which espouse ideologies that are at odds … Continue Reading

The NYCCHR Issues New Enforcement Guidance on Appearance and Grooming Policies

By Evandro Gigante and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Workplace Policies and Procedures
On February 19, 2019, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (“NYCCHR”) issued new enforcement guidance on appearance and grooming policies that ban or restrict naturally curly hair, dreadlocks, braids, cornrows and other hairstyles. Such policies constitute a violation of the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) because, according to the City Commission, … Continue Reading

New Jersey’s New Paid Family Leave Law Provides Greater Benefits for Employees

By Evandro Gigante, Arielle E. Kobetz and Vanessa P. Avello on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
A new bill seeking to expand paid family leave in New Jersey passed the Senate and Assembly on January 31, 2019, and was signed by Governor Phil Murphy today. The bill makes sweeping changes to the New Jersey Family Leave Act that provides greater benefits for more employees. Following are some highlights of the bill: … Continue Reading
LexBlog