On Tuesday, June 20, 2023, join Mark Ishu and Megan Shaked for a webinar regarding Hot Topics in Wage and Hour Law.
Wage and hour issues continue to be hotly litigated under the numerous federal and state laws governing employee wages, hours worked, meal and rest breaks and more. The availability of class actions and representative actions raise the stakes even higher for employers.
Participants in this webinar will learn: Continue reading
The federal government and individual states have prohibited inequity in compensation based on protected categories such as sex, race, ethnicity, and many others for decades under general anti-discrimination laws. For instance, at the federal level, it is impermissible to pay someone less because of their sex under the Equal Pay Act, which requires that men and women in the same workplace be paid equally for equal work. More broadly, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discriminating against someone in the terms and conditions of employment, including pay, based on sex, race, color, national origin, and religion. And many states have similar laws with more extensive applicability and additional protected categories. However, it is only more recently that the discussion regarding pay inequity has moved to the foreground propelled by national social movements such as the MeToo and BlackLivesMatter movements, among others. With this more recent discourse around pay equity, there have also been some accompanying changes in the law, including a number of cities and states adopting pay transparency laws that give broader, more public access to pay information.
What are Pay Transparency Laws
Pay transparency laws generally require that employers disclose specific pay information to applicants, such as the wage, salary range, or pay scale for the position. The timing of such disclosures, the context in which such disclosures are required to be made, and the content of such disclosures varies depending on the state or local law. The goal of these laws is to more effectively address existing wage gaps and prevent against future wage gaps by providing greater openness and standardization of the salary range for a specific position no matter the applicant. Indeed, per recent earnings data at the end of 2022, White women earned about 83% percent as much as their White male counterparts while Black men earned about 79.6% of the median income of White men, among several other gaps identified based on sex, race, ethnicity, and age, per data collected by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Traditionally, specific employee salaries have been a subject treated as private information, not broadly shared or discussed. However, pay transparency laws require that this information be proactively provided, often through the actual job posting or at least some time during the application process upon an offer being made or by request of the applicant. Pay transparency laws also frequently go hand in hand with limitations on the information an employer can obtain about an applicant’s own pay history to avoid the potential of perpetuating a pay gap by using that information to determine current compensation.
Most Recent States that Have Adopted Pay Transparency Laws
Continue readingOn Thursday, January 19, 2023 at 1 p.m. EST / 10 a.m. PST, join Andrew J. Sommer, Megan S. Shaked, and Samuel S. Rose for a webinar regarding a California Employment Law Update.
2023 brings changes for California employers to a range of topics touching on pay equity and marijuana use, as well as wage and hour compliance. This webinar will review compliance obligations for companies doing business in California, as well as discuss the practical impact of these new laws and best practices for avoiding potential employment-related claims.
Participants in this webinar will learn: Continue reading
The legal landscape facing employers seems as difficult to navigate as it has ever been. Keeping track of the ever-changing patchwork of federal, state and local laws governing the workplace may often seem like a full-time job whether you are a human resources professional, in-house attorney or business owner. Change appears to be the one constant. As we enter Year 3 of President Biden’s Administration, employers will continue to closely track the changes taking place at the NLRB, the DOL and the EEOC. At the same time, a number of states will continue introducing new laws and regulations governing workplaces across the country, making it more important than ever for employers to pay attention to the bills pending in the legislatures of the states where they operate.
Conn Maciel Carey’s complimentary 2023 Labor and Employment Webinar Series, which includes monthly programs (sometimes more often, if events warrant) put on by attorneys in the firm’s national Labor and Employment Practice, will focus on a host of the most challenging and timely issues facing employers, examine past trends and look ahead at the issues most likely to arise.
To register for an individual webinar in the series, click on the link in the program description below. To register for the entire 2023 series, click here to send us an email request, and we will register you. If you missed any of our programs from the past eight years of our annual Labor and Employment Webinar Series, here is a link to an archive of recordings of those webinars.
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California Employment Law Update Thursday, January 19, 2023 |
Wednesday, February 22, 2023 |
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Whistleblower/Retaliation Issues Tuesday, March 21, 2023 |
Pay Transparency & Non-Compete Laws Wednesday, April 20, 2023 |
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Managing Internal Investigations Thursday, May 11, 2023 |
Hot Topics in Wage and Hour Law Tuesday, June 20, 2023 |
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Tuesday, July 18, 2023 |
Privacy Issues in the Workplace Wednesday, September 20, 2023 |
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Wednesday, October 18, 2023 |
Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace Tuesday, November 21, 2023 |
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NLRB Issues and Joint Employer Update Thursday, December 14, 2023 |
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By: Kara M. Maciel
As hurricane season begins, and Hurricane Ian being the first to make landfall in the Southeastern United States, employers need to make sure their employees, customers, and guests are safe from the storms.
Natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes have posed unique human resource (HR) challenges from wage-hour to FMLA leave and the WARN Act. The best protection is to have a plan in place in advance to ensure your employees are paid and well taken care of during a difficult time.
Although no one can ever be fully prepared for such natural disasters, it is important to be aware of the federal and state laws that address these situations. Our guidance can be used by employers in navigating through the legal and business implications created by events such as hurricanes. In addition, the information may be applicable to other crises and disasters, such as fires, flu epidemics and workplace violence.
Frequently Asked Questions
If a work site is closed because of the weather or cannot reopen because of damage and/or loss of utilities, am I required to pay affected employees? Continue reading
By Samuel Rose and Megan Shaked
A few months ago, we wrote a blog article on the California Supreme Court’s decision in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., which held that premium pay for meal and rest break violations is considered “wages,” paving the way to award waiting time and wage statement penalties based on meal/rest period violations alone. 
We noted that the practical impact of the Naranjo decision could be to encourage class action and PAGA (Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act) litigation within California by providing further remedies in meal and rest period litigation and inflating the settlement value of these cases.
Now, we are starting to see the real impacts of the Naranjo decision. The California Court of Appeal has issued its decision in Betancourt v. OS Restaurant Services, LLC after remand from the Supreme Court with instructions to reconsider its initial opinion in light of Naranjo. Originally, the Court of Appeal decided in Betancourt that, based on Kirby v. Inmoos Fire Protection, Inc. (2012) 53 Cal.4th 1244, an action brought for failure to provide meal and rest breaks is not based on nonpayment of wages. That meant that the Plaintiff could not recover for waiting time penalties and wage statement violations, and that the Plaintiff could not recover attorney fees under Labor Code section 218.5(a).
In applying Naranjo, the Court of Appeal in Betancourt had to reverse course, confirming that Continue reading
On Thursday, August 11, 2022, Ashley D. Mitchell, Megan S. Shaked, and Samuel S. Rose for a webinar regarding Wage and Hour Best Practices.
Employers are subject to numerous federal and state laws governing employee wages, the hours of work for which an employee must be paid, and the frequency and duration of breaks an employee is entitled to during the workday. Wage and hour issues are further complicated by a shift to remote work during the pandemic. Even the best-intentioned employers could face a multimillion-dollar wage and hour class action. This webinar will give you a blueprint for best practices and common pitfalls to avoid and mitigate the risk of future wage and hour litigation.
Participants in this webinar will learn about: Continue reading
On Thursday, August 11, 2022 at 1 p.m. EST, join Andrew J. Sommer and Ashley D. Mitchell for a webinar regarding Wage and Hour Best Practices.
Employers are subject to numerous federal and state laws governing employee wages, the hours of work for which an employee must be paid, and the frequency and duration of breaks an employee is entitled to during the workday. Wage and hour issues are further complicated by a shift to remote work during the pandemic. Even the best-intentioned employers could face a multimillion-dollar wage and hour class action. This webinar will give you a blueprint for best practices and common pitfalls to avoid and mitigate the risk of future wage and hour litigation.
Participants in this webinar will learn about: Continue reading
On Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 1 p.m. EST, join Daniel C. Deacon and Ashley D. Mitchell for a webinar regarding Employment Law Updates in D.C., MD, VA and Illinois.
The District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia have enacted or are considering a host of changes that employers need to keep track of in 2022, including increases to the minimum wage and amendments to anti-discrimination laws. Maryland revised its Fair Employment Practices Act to extend the time period for filing a charge of discrimination alleging an unlawful employment practice other than harassment, introduced new requirements for employers to comply with when conducting mass layoffs, amended its leave laws to account for paid bereavement leave, and passed a law permitting employers to file for peace orders on behalf of an employee facing threats or acts of violence in the workplace. The District of Columbia passed a law banning non-compete agreements for almost all employees. Virginia amended its Overtime Wage Act, which now provides overtime protections for employees under state law and establishes a three-year statute of limitations. Virginia also added “disability” to the list of characteristics protected from discrimination under the Virginia Human Rights Act (VHRA), which came shortly after the VHRA was expanded last year to cover most Virginia employers.
Participants in this webinar will learn about: Continue reading
Just two years after the enactment of Universal Paid Family Leave Act, it appears that thousands of private-sector employees in Washington, D.C. will receive a substantial increase in the annual amount of paid leave to which they are entitled. At the same time, D.C. employers will receive a significant tax cut to the amount they are required to pay to fund this program.
The Universal Paid Family Leave Act, which took effect in July 2020, allows eligible D.C. employees to take up to (i) eight weeks for parental leave; (ii) six weeks for family medical leave; and (iii) six weeks for personal medical leave. This program, which is funded through employer-paid taxes, has cost less than previously forecast and now has excess funds.
As a result, in a letter sent last week to Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, D.C.’s Acting Chief Financial Officer Fitzroy Lee stated that by as early as July 1, 2022, employees will now receive (i) twelve weeks for parental leave; (ii) twelve weeks for family medical leave; and (iii) twelve weeks for personal medical leave. In other words, eligible employees will now be able to take double the amount of paid leave for family medical leave and personal medical leave, and 66% more parental leave, than they currently receive. Eligible employees also will now be entitled to a new benefit of two weeks of paid prenatal leave, which was not previously available.
Employees will not be the sole beneficiary to the changes to the Universal Paid Family Leave Act. Because of the excess funds currently available, the private employers who pay for this leave program will Continue reading
