In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hawaii Legislature recently passed (and Governor David Ige signed) a measure lowering employers’ unemployment insurance (UI) contribution rate. Lawmakers also approved and sent...
Employment Law Letter
In 2019, Washington passed the first law in the nation requiring employees to fund a state-operated long-term care insurance program. The program, codified at RCW 50B.04 and set to begin on January 1, 2025, will be...
Maintaining a diverse workforce is increasingly necessary for companies to be competitive and successful in the global marketplace. But what happens when diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives collide head-on...
Disney’s next sure-to-be blockbuster movie, Cruella, tells the story of Cruella de Vil, the puppy-stealing psychopath who uses the animals’ fur for her over-the-top, sartorial splendor. She’s deranged and...
COVID-19 vaccine passports seem to be the hot-button issue of the day. Most of the media coverage and remarks from politicians have focused on companies requiring customers, guests, or students having proof of...
In response to mounting pressure from all sides, employers are racing to implement robust diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Increasingly, they're placing a greater emphasis on establishing goals to...
Otto von Bismarck noted that "politics is the art of the possible, the attainable." No one seems to have let our politicians in on that piece of wisdom. Senator Mitch McConnell is intent on making almost anything...
On June 8, Senate Republicans blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act from advancing to the Senate floor for consideration. The bill, which was aimed at closing the gender pay gap, needed 60 votes to move forward, but it was...
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to expand protections against COVID-19 for workers in the healthcare sector. How we got here As soon as Joe...
In a widely anticipated but nonetheless controversial move, President Joe Biden nominated David Weil to be the administrator of the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Labor Department. Weil will assume responsibilities...
Employers are under increasing pressure to make public workforce diversity data. The press and other stakeholders are turning to the Freedom of Information Action (FOIA) to force the disclosure of such data by demanding...
If the Paycheck Fairness Act had passed the Senate (see "Pay Equity Corner" on pg. 4), the Act specifically included requirements that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal...
On Friday, May 28, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its COVID-19 Technical Assistance (https://bit.ly/2SA7IX7). In its long-awaited return-to-work guidance, the EEOC answered some but not all of...
The New Jersey Appellate Division recently revived a sales consultant's hostile work environment claim against a car dealership after the case had previously been dismissed in the employer's favor. The employee claimed...
Virginia's wave of employee-friendly legislation continues. In 2020, the General Assembly greatly expanded the scope of the Commonwealth's employment discrimination laws and began the process of hiking its minimum wage...