Employers in Michigan should remain vigilant with respect to recent, dramatic changes to the state’s wage and hour laws, which include raising the minimum wage to $12.00 an hour, phasing out the tipped employee wage classification, and creating new sick leave obligations for employers.
Colorado has significantly revised its laws concerning noncompetition and nonsolicitation covenants and has drastically narrowed employers’ ability to both use and enforce them.
We wanted to take the opportunity to remind clients that defined contribution retirement plans must include a “lifetime income disclosure” on at least one benefit statement a year with the first disclosure included no later than the quarterly statement for the second quarter of 2022 (the quarter ending June 30, 2022).
Since 2019, 12 states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington – along with numerous cities) have enacted the CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of natural hairstyle.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a dispute between Mall of America and Transform Holdco LLC as to whether a lease Transform acquired at a bankruptcy sale can be challenged after that sale has closed. Sections 363(b)(1) and 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code are at play here. Section 363(b)(1) generally permits a bankruptcy trustee, after notice and hearing, to use, sell, or lease property that belongs to the bankruptcy estate outside of the ordinary course of business. Section 363(m) protects good faith purchasers at these bankruptcy sales, and states that the reversal or modification on appeal of a Section 363 bankruptcy sale does not affect the validity of that sale where the purchaser purchased the property in good faith, unless the sale was stayed pending appeal.
Effective July 1, 2022, Congress has revived the Superfund Excise tax on Taxable Chemicals and Taxable Substances that previously existed from 1980 through 1995.
As of July 1, 2022, employers in the City of Chicago have additional policy, posting and training obligations concerning sexual harassment. The Chicago Human Rights Ordinance (CHRO) now requires that every employer have a written sexual harassment policy, which must be provided to employees in their primary language within their first week of employment. Employers also must train their managers and employees on sexual harassment.
Last week the new USPTO Director, Katherine Vidal, issued an interim procedure for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that oversees post-grant proceedings.
In a decision as complicated as the PAGA statute itself, the United States Supreme Court just held that the Federal Arbitration Act partially preempts California’s “Iskanian rule” that prohibits submitting individual PAGA claims to arbitration.
Last week, the U.S. House and Senate released a discussion draft of the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA). This is the first bipartisan data privacy bill released at the federal level. The introduction of the ADPPA comes in the wake of a profusion of comprehensive state data privacy laws passed and considered over the last few months. To date, five states have passed comprehensive privacy laws, including Connecticut just last month. If passed, the ADPPA would largely preempt state privacy laws, with some narrow exceptions.
On June 1, 2022, the Ohio General Assembly passed Substitute Senate Bill Number 225 (S.B. 225) to expand the Ohio Opportunity Zones Tax Credit Program and the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program and amend certain other provisions.
On Wednesday, June 1, the Ohio General Assembly passed HB 430 that, among other things, includes a statewide prohibition against local rent control ordinances and regulations. The bill has been sent to the governor for his signature.
On May 18, 2022, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) issued the next generation of the Industrial Stormwater – General Permit, also known as the Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP).
Earlier this week, in the latest of a line of cases expanding the scope of potential liability for California employers in wage-and-hour litigation, the California Supreme Court ruled that premiums owed to employees for violations of the meal and rest break requirements constitute wages under California law.
On May 4, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Bank of America to pay a $10 Million civil penalty for its improper garnishment practices.
Currently, seven states require employers to provide (either proactively or upon request) a position’s wage or salary information to applicants, and, in some cases, to employees.
On May 3, 2022, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the Department of Homeland Security is temporarily amending existing regulations providing for the automatic extension of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs).
Under Washington law, employers are already prohibited from requiring employees sign nondisclosure agreements that restrict their ability to disclose workplace sexual harassment and assault.
