Many employers have opted to use technology to their advantage by adopting biometric timekeeping systems or similar systems for workplace access. But adopting such technology is not without risk. Indeed, with data breaches on the rise, employees and consumers have become more vigilant about protecting their personal data and using state privacy laws and the like to do so. The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Law is one such law that places restrictions on businesses that collect biometric information of individuals. That law defines biometric information as “any information, regardless of how it is captured, converted, stored, or shared, based on an individual’s biometric identifier [i.e. ‘a retina, iris scan, fingerprint, voiceprint, or scan of hand or face geometry’] used to identify an individual.” 740 ILCS 14/10.
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New York City’s New Lactation Room Law
Federal law requires most employers to provide reasonable break time to employees who need to express breast milk during the workday and to provide a place free from intrusion (not a bathroom) where an employee can express milk, unless doing so presents an undue hardship. Many states and localities have adopted similar lactation laws, in some cases providing rights beyond those afforded under federal law. New York City law currently requires that employers with four or more employees provide reasonable break time to employees who need to express breast milk during the work day and to make reasonable efforts to provide a private room to do so.
Effective March 18, 2019, New York City employers will have to ensure that the room provided for expressing milk is in reasonable proximity to the employee’s work area, has a refrigerator for storing break milk, an electrical outlet, a chair, and a surface on which to place a breast pump and other personal items. The lactation room must also have nearby access to running water. And if the lactation room is not solely used for expressing milk, then when the room is being used by an employee to express milk the employer must provide notice to other employees that the room is given preference for use as a lactation room.
Work It: What California Employers Should Know About New Laws for 2019
*Originally published by CalCPA in the January/February 2019 issue of California CPA — the original article can be found here.
As the #MeToo movement gained momentum to right the wrongs of sexual harassment alleged against Hollywood, business and politicians, so too has the California Legislature responded by declaring, in essence, #TimesUp.
Of the nearly 600 bills introduced in 2018 that mention “employer,” compared to 304 bills in 2017) 455 mentioned “sexual harassment,” (compared to 347 the prior year). While most of those bills did not pass, and of the ones that did, Gov. Brown did not sign several into law, many of the new laws will have significant impact on our state.
Continue reading “Work It: What California Employers Should Know About New Laws for 2019”
Philadelphia Enacts a Fair Workweek Law
On December 6, 2018, the Philadelphia Council voted 14-3 to pass a Fair Workweek bill, which Mayor Kenney is expected to sign. Once signed, the ordinance would take effect on January 1, 2020, and is expected to impact roughly 130,000 workers. The Fair Workweek ordinance will apply to employers with more than 250 employees and over 30 locations (including Philadelphia) worldwide. It will require employers in the retail, fast-food, and hospitality industries to provide advance written notice of work schedules and predictability pay to their service workers. Other cities that enacted similar Fair Workweek laws include New York, San Francisco, San Jose, Emeryville and Seattle.
Continue reading “Philadelphia Enacts a Fair Workweek Law”New Jersey Department of Labor Releases Required New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Poster and Proposed Paid Sick Leave Regulations
The New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act (NJPSLA) takes effect on October 29, 2018. For information about the law’s provisions, please see our prior blog. The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) also released an FAQ regarding the new law, as well as proposed regulations in connection with the law and the required notice that employers must post in the workplace and provide to all New Jersey employees.
The NJDOL released the notice on October 3, 2018. Employers can find a copy of the notice on the NJDOL’s website. A New Jersey employer is required to post the notice in a conspicuous place that is accessible to all employees in each of the employer’s locations. Employers must also (1) provide all employees with the notice by November 29, 2018; (2) provide all subsequently hired employees with the notice at the time of hiring; and (3) provide every employee with the notice upon his or her first request. Employers do not have to obtain signed acknowledgments from employees indicating that they have received the notice, but employers may wish to do so to avoid disputes over whether they have satisfied this requirement.
Summary of Key New California Laws for 2019 (and Beyond): What Employers Should Know
In 2018, Governor Brown signed several laws impacting California employers. A summary of some of the key new laws follows. The effective date of each new law is indicated in the heading of the Assembly Bill (AB) and/or Senate Bill (SB).1 The list below is in numerical order by AB or SB.