2021 continues the trend of increasing regulation of the workplace by state and local governments. Although it is not possible to discuss all state and local laws, this update provides an overview of recent and upcoming legislative developments to help you and your organization stay compliant. (Please note that developments specifically related to minimum wage rates and COVID-19 are not included.)
Continue reading “State & Local Employment Law Developments: Q3 2021”
On April 29, 2021, the Ontario government passed Bill 284, COVID-19 Putting Workers First Act, 2021 (the “Act”), which amended the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”). The Act requires employers to provide employees with up to three days of paid leave if they miss work for COVID-19-related reasons. The paid leave entitlement is retroactive to April 19, 2021 and will end on September 25, 2021, the same day that the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit ends. The Act may be extended beyond that date.
On January 1, a number of new and revised state and local workplace regulations went into effect, including requirements related to the legalization of recreational marijuana. This update reviews these new requirements to help you and your organization stay in compliance.
For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis recently signed the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, which will soon require Colorado employers to provide workers with up to six paid sick days per year. In addition, the new law immediately broadens the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, requiring Colorado employers to provide two weeks of paid sick leave to employees affected by COVID-19, regardless of the number of employees they have.
Continue reading “Colorado Adopts New Paid Sick Leave Requirements for Employers”
Early in the morning on Saturday, March 14, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congress’ second sweeping legislative package in response to the COVID-19 epidemic, with a bipartisan 363-40 vote. The legislation, The Emergency Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201), is the result of swift negotiations between Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Speaker Pelosi. The bill includes not only public health and health sector provisions but also paid leave and other policies intended to help American families in the coming weeks. This latest action comes after President Trump signed an $8.3 billion public health bill into law earlier this month to expand access to care, support local public health departments and fund vaccine research development.
Over the past two years, city councils in three of the four largest cities in Texas — Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas — each have passed ordinances requiring local employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave. In each instance, the new proposed ordinance was met with fierce resistance from local businesses, staffing agencies and professional associations. Those aligned against the ordinances promised that their adoption would be followed swiftly by lawsuits. What’s more, the opposition was supported by none other than Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who took a hardline stance that such ordinances violate the Texas Minimum Wage Act. The purpose of the Minimum Wage Act, Paxton argued, was to set a uniform statewide policy with respect to wage requirements that municipal governments had no right to circumvent. Despite all of this pushback, the city council in each city overwhelmingly voted to adopt the ordinance.
The ordinances in all three cities are similar and contain some of the same key features but each also has its own distinguishing characteristics:
Continue reading “Uncertainty Remains for Texas Paid Sick Leave Ordinances”