Cal/OSHA’s emergency temporary standard (ETS) addressing COVID-19 safety in the workplace has been readopted through the end of the year. Some requirements stay the same (e.g., exclusion pay) and some have significant changes. Here is a summary look at key changes employers should be aware of.

1. CDPH Rules Control

Since 2020, Executive Order N-84-2020 states that CDPH/local rules control for exclusion and return-to-work periods to the extent they are longer than those in the ETS. Now, the ETS specifically references requirements issued by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), stating that CDPH rules control to the extent they exist.

2. Vaccination Status Removed

Previously, safety standards were based on whether or not individuals were “fully vaccinated.” Now, reference to “fully vaccinated” has been completely removed from the ETS, bringing it in line with current CDPH quarantine/isolation guidance. This affects numerous rules:

• Employers must provide respirators, and employees have a right to request respirators, regardless of vaccination status.
• Face coverings are not required indoors, regardless of vaccination status, except in certain settings.
• Workplace exclusion rules (see below) now eliminate reference to vaccination status.
• Employers must make testing available to all employees with COVID-19 symptoms, regardless of vaccination status.

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Florida recently enacted the Stop W.O.K.E. Act, amending the Florida Civil Rights Act. While much has been written about the law nationally, there has been little focus on the items of the bill that impact employers – specifically an employer’s efforts to provide training on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), discrimination, and harassment in the workplace.

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Beginning January 1, 2023, HP 160 will require private employers with 11 or more employees to pay all accrued, unused paid vacation when an employee leaves employment. Payment must be made no later than the next payday following exit. “Cessation of employment” includes the sale of a business. This means that all employees would be paid their unused vacation time when the business they work for is sold, even if they continue employment under the new ownership.

Violations for unpaid wages will also include unpaid vacation time, including interest, plus an amount equal to twice the amount of unpaid vacation for damages, costs, and attorney’s fees. Notably, the new law’s language is very similar to Maine’s recent Earned Paid Leave law regulations, so employers should watch for regulations from Maine’s DOL on how to comply with both laws and potentially overlapping requirements.

Action Items

1. Review the bill here.
2. Update employee exit procedures, including coordination with payroll administrators.
3. Have appropriate personnel trained on new requirements.
4. Subscribers can call our HR On-Call Hotline at (888) 378-2456 for further assistance.

Disclaimer: This document is designed to provide general information and guidance concerning employment-related issues. It is presented with the understanding that ManagEase is not engaged in rendering any legal opinions. If a legal opinion is needed, please contact the services of your own legal adviser. © 2022 ManagEase

HB 770 implements equal pay protections for full-time Mississippi employees, following similar rules under the federal Equal Pay Act. Specifically, employers with five or more employees are prohibited from paying workers less than they pay workers of the opposite sex in the same establishment for equal work requiring equal skill, education, effort, and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions.

Pay disparities are permitted only if the employer can show that the differential is based on a seniority system, a merit system, a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or any other factor other than sex. “Any other factor other than sex” includes, but is not limited to: (1) the salary history or continuity of employment history as compared to an employee of the opposite sex; (2) the extent to which there was competition with other employers for the employee’s services as compared to employees of the opposite sex; and (3) the extent to which the employee attempted to negotiate for higher wages as compared to employees of the opposite sex. Violators must pay back wages, interest, and attorneys’ fees and costs.

Employers may not discharge, discriminate, or retaliate against any employee for taking any action to enforce the bill. There is a two-year statute of limitations on remedies under the bill. Also, the bill purports to remove employee protections under the state law if an employee pursues equal pay protections under federal law, and vice versa. This last provision is expected to be challenged in court.

Mississippi was the last state in the country to enact its own equal pay law. However, employers should note that the bill is more expansive in employer permissions than those of other states or under federal law. Employers must take care to follow the rules of the states in which they operate, as well as applicable federal equal pay laws.

Action Items

1. Review the bill here.
2. Update hiring and pay practices and procedures for compliance.
3. Have appropriate personnel trained on equal pay requirements.
4. Subscribers can call our HR On-Call Hotline at (888) 378-2456 for further assistance.

Disclaimer: This document is designed to provide general information and guidance concerning employment-related issues. It is presented with the understanding that ManagEase is not engaged in rendering any legal opinions. If a legal opinion is needed, please contact the services of your own legal adviser. © 2022 ManagEase

SB 47 will align the state’s overtime exemption rules with sections of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Specifically, the Portal-to-Portal Act, which amended the FLSA, stated that an employer is not required to pay employees overtime wages for regular commuting time, pre or post-work activities, or de minimis time, provided that they occur before employees start or after employees stop their principal work activity. Ohio courts have generally applied the Portal-to-Portal Act to state law, but SB 47 formally makes the rule part of state law.

Notably, the overtime exclusions don’t apply if the employee performs the activity during their regular workday or prescribed hours, at the employer’s specific direction, pursuant to an express contractual obligation, or pursuant to a custom or practice applicable to the activity.

The bill also requires plaintiffs to “opt-in” to join wage and hour lawsuits, eliminating “hybrid” collective/class action lawsuits for Ohio wage and hour claims. Plaintiffs will be required to file their written consent with the court in order to join a lawsuit for state overtime violations.

Action Items

1. Review the bill here.
2. Review and have timekeeping and payroll procedures updated for compliance.
3. Have appropriate personnel trained on applicable requirements.
4. Subscribers can call our HR On-Call Hotline at (888) 378-2456 for further assistance.

Disclaimer: This document is designed to provide general information and guidance concerning employment-related issues. It is presented with the understanding that ManagEase is not engaged in rendering any legal opinions. If a legal opinion is needed, please contact the services of your own legal adviser. © 2022 ManagEase