The State of Texas does not require private employers to provide paid sick leave to any employee. In three Texas cities, however, recent ordinances have been passed that will require almost all employers with employees in the cities of Austin, Dallas, or San Antonio to provide paid sick leave. While many anticipated that the Texas legislature would pass legislation that prohibited these ordinances, the legislature failed to do so. Instead, the legislature became distracted by…

Minnesota’s legislature recently passed the Jobs and Economic Development Omnibus Bill, which became effective as of July 1, 2019. The bill alters existing state laws and creates both civil and criminal penalties for wage theft in addition to establishing new record keeping requirements for employers. Changes Brought on by New Bill Minnesota’s new law makes it an offense to commit wage theft, which is classified as engaging in any of the following offenses with…

One of the most hotly debated issues in wage and hour law is what constitutes a “living wage.” Depending on who you ask, you are likely to get a very different answer. While the minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 an hour, some states, as well as some corporations, are experimenting with paying workers a much higher minimum wage. A “Living Wage” Based on federal guidelines, a two-person household in the United States…

In the beginning of June 2019, the governor of Alabama signed legislation to combat gender-based wage discrimination which will become effective on September 1, 2019. With the enactment of this legislation, Alabama will join several other states including California, Colorado, Maryland, and Massachusetts which have new equal pay laws designed to combat gender-based wage discrimination. Despite this recent change in law, however, it is still important for workers to understand how to combat pay disparity…

Each year millions of workers throughout the county are victims of wage theft. To combat wage theft, several states have passed legislation that supplement federal law to strengthen workers’ rights and prevent wage theft. Most recently, the states of Colorado and Minnesota passed legislation that will create harsh criminal penalties for employers who fail to pay employees proper wages. In order to ensure you are not a victim of wage theft, it is critical for…

Under the Obama administration, the minimum salary threshold for salary exempt employees increased to $47,476. However, the increase was short-lived when a Court overruled the Obama- rule in December of 2016. Since that time, the salary threshold has remained at a paltry $23,660. Recently (in early 2019) the United States Department of Labor proposed increasing the salary threshold to $35,308 – with the comment period for the DOL’s proposed rule closing on May 21, 2019.…

Under the Obama administration, the minimum salary threshold for salary exempt employees increased to $47,476. However, the increase was short-lived when a Court overruled the Obama- rule in December of 2016. Since that time, the salary threshold has remained at a paltry $23,660. Recently (in early 2019) the United States Department of Labor proposed increasing the salary threshold to $35,308 – with the comment period for the DOL’s proposed rule closing on May 21, 2019.…