Employment Law – Industry Insights

16-02-2015

Employment Law – Industry Insights

Draft n Craft

February 2015

Paternity Leave for Fathers – Massachusetts

Burning Issues

$7.6 Million Wrongful Discharge Claim against Goldman Sachs

Two former employees of Goldman Sachs recently won a wrongful discharge claim against the company and earned award of $5.2 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages. Additionally, one of the plaintiff was awarded $100,000 for a discrimination charge The case was two-folds – one involving withheld payments and the other involving… Read More

Construction Contractors under Fair Chance Employment Act

In California, Governor Jerry Brown signed the Assembly Bill 1650, the Fair Chance Employment Act, authored by Assembly member Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer last year. The new law took effect on January 1, 2015. As per the new law, State contractors may not ask about conviction history in initial hiring process of construction workers. This will decrease the… Read More

DWBR broadens Protections to Domestic Workers in Massachusetts

After New York, California and Hawaii, Massachusetts becomes the fourth state to extend employment protections particularly to domestic workers. Domestic workers have usually have been viewed as outside of the traditional workforce, largely because they are often immigrants, doing the work historically done by housewives and servants. As a result of the lack of… Read More

Employee Transfer Requests Turns Harmful for Employer

The US Supreme Court has denied certiorari in Kalamazoo County Road Commission v. Deleon, 135 S. Ct. 783 (2015). This means that the decision of the Sixth Circuit given in Deleon vs. Kalamazoo County Road Commission, 739 F.3d 914 (2014) stands and employers may soon need to reevaluate their approach to internal… Read More

New Amendments to Wage Theft Prevention Act

The Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA) eliminating the burdensome annual wage notice requirement that was previously placed on employers and few other changes are remarkable and has brought certain relief. It was on December 29, 2014 when Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill (A 8106-C, S5885-B) that intends to bring amendments into the State’s Labor… Read More

On January 7, 2015, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law the Parental Leave Bill. The Massachusetts Parental Leave Act will come into effect from April 7, 2015. The new law expands the scope of the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act that provided only the female employees with eight weeks of job-protected leave in connection with the… Read More

Wage and Hour Lawsuits on a rise

For the past several years wage and hour lawsuits have become extremely prevalent. Cases under FLSA have made a hefty jump from 7,882 in 2013 to 8,066 by the end of last year. Additionally, while on one hand there has been an increase in wage and hour lawsuits, there has been a decrease in settlements on the other. The general decrease in settlement was in… Read More

Events to Watch Out for!!

Nonprofit Employment Law Academy: Managing Smarter in Tough Times

Location: Houston, TX

Date: February 17, 2015

Details & Agenda

The 2015 Nevada Employer Conference
Location: Las Vegas, NV	Date: February 24, 2015	Details & Agenda

Beyond the Protected Category: Spotting and Managing EEO Issues in the Modern Workplace
Location: Seattle, WA	Date: February 26, 2015	Details & Agenda

Remarkable Addition to California Employment Laws in 2015

AB 1522: Mandated Paid Sick Leave for California Employees

AB 2751: Expansion of “unfair immigration-related practices” and clarification of discrimination

AB 1660: Discrimination against employees with undocumented drivers’ license

AB 1897: Expanded liability for staffing agencies’ wage/hour violations

AB 1443: Discrimination and harassment protection for unpaid interns and volunteers

AB 2053: Harassment Prevention Training: Prevention of Abusive Conduct

AB 1723: Payment of wages & AB 2743: Waiting Time Penalties

State Minimum Wage Changes

New York: $8.75 per hour. The state minimum wage is also scheduled to increase to $9.00 effective December 31, 2015.

West Virginia: $8.00 per hour. The state minimum wage is also scheduled to increase to $8.75 effective December 31, 2015.

Alaska: $8.75 per hour. The minimum wage is also scheduled to increase to $9.75 per hour on January 1, 2016.

Maryland: $8.00 per hour. The minimum wage is also scheduled to increase to $8.25 per hour on July 1, 2015, $8.75 per hour on July 1, 2016, $9.25 on July 1, 2017, and $10.10 on July 1, 2018.

Ohio: $8.10 per hour for businesses with annual gross receipts in excess of $297,000 per year.

Washington D.C: $10.50 per hour. The minimum wage is also scheduled to increase to $11.50 per hour effective July 1, 2016.

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