OSHA Issues Final Rule on Handling ACA Retaliation and Whistleblower Complaints

/in

APPLIES TO

All Employers

EFFECTIVE

October 13, 2016

QUESTIONS?

Contact HR On-Call

(888) 378-2456

On October 13, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) released final regulations regarding whistleblower complaints under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”).  The Final Rule (“Rule”) is intended to protect employees who report alleged violations of the ACA, or who receive a premium tax credit or cost-sharing reduction for enrollment in a qualified health plan.  Overall, the rule is very similar to the interim rule implemented in 2013.  However, there are some changes that address procedures and timeframes for employee complaints, OSHA investigations, administrative review procedures, and more.

Read more

Federal Contractors Must Now Provide Paid Sick Leave

/in

APPLIES TO

All Employers with a Federal Contract

EFFECTIVE

January 1, 2017

QUESTIONS?

Contact HR On-Call

(888) 378-2456

Executive Order 13706 (the “Order”) mandates that federal contractors provide paid sick leave to all employees who work on or in connection with certain federal contracts that result from solicitations issued on or after January 1, 2017.  This applies to contracts solicited on or after January 1, 2017, or to existing contracts before January 1, 2017 if they are renewed, extended, or modified on or after January 1, 2017.

Read more

Court Injunction Blocks Federal Contractors’ Fair Pay and Workplace Protections

/in

APPLIES TO

All Employers with a Federal Contract

EFFECTIVE

October 24, 2016

QUESTIONS?

Contact HR On-Call

(888) 378-2456

The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order (the “Order”), originally slated to go into effect on October 25, 2016, has been blocked from implementation.  A Texas court granted a nationwide preliminary injunction, which immediately stops enforcement of the Order until the lawsuit presented by industry groups reaches its final resolution.  The Order contains three major components, two of which have been enjoined by the injunction:

Read more

Tenth Circuit: “Job-Protected” Leave Does Not Necessarily Protect Employees from Misconduct

/in

APPLIES TO

All Employers with Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming Employees

EFFECTIVE

August 26, 2016

QUESTIONS?

Contact HR On-Call

(888) 378-2456

The Tenth Circuit recently stated that employers can implement disciplinary action against employees who are currently on job-protected leave when evidence of misconduct is discovered during the employee’s leave of absence.

Read more

California: New Workers’ Comp Law Expands Coverage Requirements

/in

APPLIES TO

All Employers with California Employees

EFFECTIVE

January 1, 2017

QUESTIONS?

Contact HR On-Call

(888) 378-2456

AB 2883 revises the definition of “employee” in workers’ compensation insurance policies, adding officers, directors, and working members of partnerships and limited liability companies.  Currently, such individuals are generally not required to be covered under a business’s workers’ compensation policy.   Under AB 2883, such workers will be generally required to be covered; a narrow exclusion permits certain individuals to opt out by signing and filing a waiver with the insurance carrier.

Read more

California: Choice of Law and Venue Prohibition in Employment-Related Contracts

/in

APPLIES TO

All Employers with California Employees

EFFECTIVE

January 1, 2017

QUESTIONS?

Contact HR On-Call

(888) 378-2456

A new California Labor Code provision limits employment contract provisions that dictate when another state’s law or location will be used to adjudicate employment disputes for employees who primarily live and work in California.  This law applies to contracts entered into, modified or extended on or after January 1, 2017, and to contracts that employees are required to assign as a condition of employment.

Read more

California: Employers Required to Offer State-Run Retirement Fund to Employees

/in

APPLIES TO

All Private Employers with at least five California Employees

EFFECTIVE

Varies; see below

QUESTIONS?

Contact HR On-Call

(888) 378-2456

SB 1234 will require all California private employers with at least five employees, who do not offer their own retirement plan, to enroll their workers into the state-run California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program, which will operate like a 401(k).  The retirement fund will be overseen by a state board and administered by private companies that have not yet been selected.  Employees are expected to be able to enroll and start investing money in 2018.

Read more

San Francisco, California: Important Amendments to Paid Parental Leave Ordinance

/in

APPLIES TO

All Employers with 50+ San Francisco, CA Employees

EFFECTIVE

January 1, 2017

QUESTIONS?

Contact HR On-Call

(888) 378-2456

Earlier this year, we reported on San Francisco’s bill requiring 6 weeks of fully paid parental leave.  The Paid Parental Leave Ordinance (“PPLO”) was recently amended to provide clarity on an employer’s obligations for supplementing compensation.

Read more

Cook County, Illinois: Newly Mandated Countywide Paid Sick Leave

/in

APPLIES TO

All Employers with Cook County, IL Employees

EFFECTIVE

July 1, 2017

QUESTIONS?

Contact HR On-Call

(888) 378-2456

Following shortly after Chicago’s recent minimum wage and paid sick leave ordinance comes Cook County’s countywide Earned Sick Leave Ordinance (the “Ordinance”).  This encompasses the city of Chicago and is the first county in the Midwest to issue a far-reaching ordinance.  Note that this paid sick leave (“PSL”) mandate will also be affected by the state of Illinois’s recent Employee Sick Leave Act.

Read more

Minneapolis, MN: Sick and Safe Time Ordinance Recently Amended

/in

APPLIES TO

All Employers with Minneapolis, MN Employees

EFFECTIVE

July 1, 2017

QUESTIONS?

Contact HR On-Call

(888) 378-2456

Minneapolis’s Sick and Safe Time Ordinance has been amended to more closely align with its neighboring city St. Paul’s recent Earned Sick and Safe Time Ordinance.  Key amendments to Minneapolis’s Ordinance include the following:

Read more