Law and the Workplace

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Final Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Regulations Published and Other PFML Updates

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin & Thomas B. Fiascone on June 20, 2019

The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) has posted the much-anticipated final regulations regarding Massachusetts’ Paid Family and Medical Leave law (“PFML”). The final regulations come on the heels of Massachusetts lawmakers’ recent extension of key PFML compliance dates. While the final regulations are materially unchanged from the previous draft issued March 29th, the following substantive additions and clarifications are worth noting: Private Plan Clarifications: The bulk of the revisions to the…

Law and the Workplace

Oregon Aims to Prevent Harassment with the Workplace Protection Act

By Evandro Gigante & Arielle E. Kobetz on June 18, 2019

Employees in Oregon have greater protections against workplace harassment thanks to the recently-passed Workplace Protection Act (the “Act”), which would prohibit requiring nondisclosure agreements for employees or applicants that prohibits them from revealing sexual assault, harassment or discrimination. The new law also requires employers to implement a written anti-harassment policy and it extends the statute of limitations for filing complaints of harassment from one year to five years. Nondisclosure Agreements Under the new law, it…

Law and the Workplace

Connecticut to Enact Generous Paid Family and Medical Leave Law

By Evandro Gigante & Laura Fant on June 18, 2019

Connecticut is poised to become the latest state to join the paid family and medical leave bandwagon, enacting what is set to be one of the most generous laws in the country. The Act Concerning Paid Family and Medical Leave (the “Act”) was passed by both houses of the state legislature and is presently before Governor Ned Lamont, who has pledged to sign it. Under the Act, beginning in early 2022, employees will be eligible…

Law and the Workplace

Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Deadlines Extended

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin & Thomas B. Fiascone on June 14, 2019

With the original July 1, 2019 deadline for numerous provisions of the Commonwealth’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”) legislation approaching in mere weeks, Massachusetts lawmakers have now issued a much-welcomed enforcement extension. The extensions comes as employers in the Commonwealth worked to comply with the new law. The amended legislation, announced earlier this week and signed into law on June 13, provides as follows: Required withholding now begins on October 1, 2019, rather than July 1. When…

Law and the Workplace

Dems Introduce Bills to Raise Salary Minimum for Overtime Exemption

By Allan Bloom on June 12, 2019

Members of the House and Senate introduced companion bills on June 11, 2019 to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to raise the minimum salary threshold for exempt executive, administrative, and professional (“EAP”) employees to north of $50,000 and to automatically update the threshold every three years. The “Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2019” (H.R. 3197, introduced by Rep. Mark Takano of California) would legislate, for the first time in U.S. history, the…

Law and the Workplace

U.S. Supreme Court Holds That Filing an EEOC Charge Is Not a Jurisdictional Requirement for Title VII Suits

By Evandro Gigante, Laura Fant & Arielle E. Kobetz on June 4, 2019

In a unanimous decision in Fort Bend County, Texas v. Davis, the United States Supreme Court held that while an employee has a mandatory obligation to file a charge with the EEOC prior to bringing a discrimination suit under Title VII, such obligation is a procedural, rather than jurisdictional, requirement. The key takeaway for employers being: you must promptly raise a plaintiff’s failure to file a sufficient charge as an affirmative defense in litigation…

Law and the Workplace

Kansas City, Missouri Passes Ban on Salary History Inquiries

By Allan Bloom & Laura Fant on June 3, 2019

Kansas City, Missouri is the latest jurisdiction (and the second Midwestern city in recent weeks) to enact a law that will prohibit employers from asking job applicants about salary history. The ordinance, which takes effect on October 31, 2019, will apply to employers in Kansas City with six or more employees, and will prohibit such employers and their agents from: inquiring about the salary history of an applicant for employment; screening applicants based on salary…

Law and the Workplace

Maine Becomes First State to Require Paid Leave for Any Reason

By Evandro Gigante, Laura Fant & Arielle E. Kobetz on May 30, 2019

Maine’s Governor Janet Mills has signed into law an Act Authorizing Earned Employee Leave (the “Act”), which will require covered employers to provide employees with up to 40 hours of paid personal leave per calendar year. Unlike other paid family and sick leave laws that have been enacted around the country, Maine’s law would be the first law to allow employees to use earned paid leave for any purpose, including non-medical personal reasons. Effective January…

Law and the Workplace

New York City Council to Consider Expanding Earned Safe and Sick Time Act to Require “Personal Time”

By Evandro Gigante & Laura Fant on May 29, 2019

The New York City Council is considering a bill that would expand the NYC Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) to provide eligible employees with “personal time” that could be used for any reason. The bill would also expand protections and remedies applicable to all leave under the law, including sick and safe time. First introduced in April 2018 but never advancing out of committee, the bill is now back on the City Council’s…

Law and the Workplace

Dallas, Texas Enacts Paid Sick Leave Law, But Its Future Remains in Question

By Allan Bloom, Laura Fant & Arielle E. Kobetz on May 20, 2019

The Dallas, Texas City Council has enacted a sick leave ordinance that would require employers to provide eligible employees with paid leave for certain medical and safety-related needs. It remains to be seen, however, whether the ordinance will ultimately take effect. As we have previously reported, in late 2018, a Texas appellate court ruled that a similar paid sick leave ordinance enacted in Austin violated the Texas Minimum Wage Act and the Texas Constitution…

Law and the Workplace

Blog Authors

Final Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Regulations Published and Other PFML Updates

Oregon Aims to Prevent Harassment with the Workplace Protection Act

Connecticut to Enact Generous Paid Family and Medical Leave Law

Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Deadlines Extended

Dems Introduce Bills to Raise Salary Minimum for Overtime Exemption

U.S. Supreme Court Holds That Filing an EEOC Charge Is Not a Jurisdictional Requirement for Title VII Suits

Kansas City, Missouri Passes Ban on Salary History Inquiries

Maine Becomes First State to Require Paid Leave for Any Reason

New York City Council to Consider Expanding Earned Safe and Sick Time Act to Require “Personal Time”

Dallas, Texas Enacts Paid Sick Leave Law, But Its Future Remains in Question

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