The Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act  has been amended to expressly identify pregnancy “or any condition related to the employee’s pregnancy, including, but not limited to, lactation or the need to express breast milk for a nursing child,” as a protected ...

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee signed the “Lactation in the Workplace Ordinance” (“Ordinance”), increasing protections for nursing mothers working in San Francisco. The Ordinance becomes effective January 1, 2018, and it applies to anyone employed within the “geographic ...

According to the Supreme Court of Minnesota, discharging an employee for refusing to share tips is illegal under the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act (MFLSA).  In Burt v. Rackner, Inc., the plaintiff, who was employed as a bartender, was told that he needed to give more of his tips to the ...

On October 5, 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown signed 11 bills, making California a sanctuary state. The Immigrant Worker Protection Act  (IWPA) is one of the 11 bill signed, and it is the most relevant to employers.   With the signing of the IWPA, California became the first ...

The New York State Department of Labor (NYDOL) recently issued an amendment to its Minimum Wage Order for Miscellaneous Industries and Occupations (Wage Order) in response to recent court decisions finding that non-residential 24-hour home care attendants, also referred to as aides, must be paid ...

On October 12, 2017, California became the fourth state to outlaw inquiries into an individual’s salary history.  Assembly Bill 168 (AB 168), which takes effect on January 1, 2018, will apply to all employers, including state and local governments.   The new law continues the ...

Finding it wholly inconsistent with the statute and the regulation it purports to interpret, the Ninth Circuit, in Marsh v. J. Alexander’s, LLC, has held invalid the United States Department of Labor “80/20” tip credit rule, or “20% Rule,” which limits the ...

On November 6, 2017, the Maine House of Representative upheld Governor Paul R. LePage’s veto of a bill to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana. The 74-62 vote fell 17 votes short of the two-thirds margin required to override the Governor’s veto.  The bill had been ...

California Employer Challenges in 2018 The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of some of the major laws that may impact your operations and to help you plan and prepare for these new compliance challenges.   It is part of our broader commitment to helping clients meet ...

H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Act), was passed by both the House and Senate on December 20, 2017, and signed into law on December 22. H.R. 1 includes several significant changes that are relevant to employers for payroll, employment tax and employee benefits purposes, and are generally ...