Many state and local legislatures are taking action in several areas of employment law due to the confusion, sluggishness, and\/or inaction on the federal level. Some laws passed are part of long-evolving trends such as restricting inquiries into criminal and pay history, while others are responses to new social movements such as #MeToo. The following is a list of the prevailing laws that are popular. Note that the laws vary and may or may not apply to your business. Our best advice is to keep an eye out and if you are unsure if any of these apply to you and your locations, you can contact your local labor attorney or HR professional, or contact us at Affinity HR Group to evaluate your particular situation.<\/p>\n
Harassment \/ Sexual Harassment:<\/p>\n
Goal: to prevent harassment \/ sexual harassment in the workplace and to protect victims of harassment \/ sexual harassment<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Mandates specific policy language as well as regular training for supervisors, new hires, and\/or all employees<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Prohibits use of non-disclosure agreement and\/or confidentiality clauses and requiring an employee to waive his \/ her rights to legal remedies allowed for harassment claims<\/p>\n
\u00b7 May require reporting certain sexual harassment settlements to state authorities<\/p>\n
Discrimination:<\/p>\n
Goal: to expand discrimination protection to vulnerable employees in certain minority groups such as LBGTQ, religious, and national origin<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Allows employees to use bathrooms that matches their gender identity<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Expands national origin protection to include \u201cphysical, cultural, and linguistic attributes\u201d of a national origin group, as well as attendance in an organization, school, or religious institution associated or identified with a certain group<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Prohibits English-only requirements except in certain circumstances (usually safety-related)<\/p>\n
Pay Equity:<\/p>\n
Goal: to eliminate pay inequity for traditionally disadvantaged groups such as women and minorities<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Requires fair pay for equal or \u201csubstantially similar\u201d work<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Prohibits asking about wage or salary history so new hire pay is based on fair wage for job to be done, not what they were paid previously<\/p>\n
\u00b7 May allow asking for limited information about other compensation previously received such as benefits and bonuses (i.e., employer can ask if applicant had them but not their value)<\/p>\n
Fair Chance or \u201cBan-the-Box\u201d Laws:<\/p>\n
Goal: to provide applicants a fair chance at employment by moving criminal history inquiries later in the process so employers get to know applicant before judging them on past<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Prevents asking about criminal history on employment application except in certain industries such as child and elder care, security guards, and financial institutions<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Allows asking applicant in the interview, but some laws delay inquiry until after conditional offer of employment is extended<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Prohibits considering certain convictions (such as old convictions, misdemeanors, or convictions unrelated to the job) in employment decisions<\/p>\n
Paid Family and\/or Medical Leave:<\/p>\n
Goal: to provide employees paid protected leave for eligible reasons such as their own medical condition, caring for a family member, or to bond with newborn, newly adopted, or foster child<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Pay usually coordinated through insurance funded by employee deduction and\/or company contribution<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Note: many states have similar laws regarding unpaid leave<\/p>\n
Required Sick Time:<\/p>\n
Goal: to provide employees paid and protected time off to care for themselves when sick or injured<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Offers sick time off for all employees, including part-time, based on number of hours worked and time of service<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Delineates which companies have to provide paid vs. unpaid time based on number of employees (in state or total)<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Requires allowing employees to use available time to care for family members who are sick or injured<\/p>\n
Marijuana Use (recreational and\/or medical use):<\/p>\n
Goal: to dictate how to handle legal medical and\/or recreational marijuana<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Does not permit an employee to use marijuana in the workplace just like you would not be required to allow an employee to drink on the job<\/p>\n
\u00b7 May require companies to change drug testing standards and disciplinary policy if usage from off-hours use could show up in results<\/p>\n
Pregnancy Accommodation:<\/p>\n
Goal: to provide reasonable accommodation when needed for pregnant employees (Note: discrimination is already prohibited.)<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Requires workplaces to be readily accessible to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with medical needs arising from pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, including lactation<\/p>\n
Scheduling Flexibility \/ On-Call:<\/p>\n
Goal: to provide employees, especially in service & retail industries, with a fair workweek<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Requires predictability in hourly employee\u2019s work schedule so employee can consistently schedule a second job, child care, personal appointments, etc.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Requires employers give advanced notice before changing an employee\u2019s schedule<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Requires written permission from employee before adding or changing hours<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Restricts on-call shifts, requiring providing employee with certain notice before scheduling or cancelling a shift<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Prohibits employees being scheduled to work two shifts with less than 11 hours between them (i.e., closing one day and opening next day)<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Establishes premium pay rates for employers who do not follow requirements<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Requires filling open, more desirable shifts with current employees before hiring new people<\/p>\n
Data Breach Protection and Notification:<\/p>\n
Goal: to protect the sensitive personal and financial information of clients, customers, and employees<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Must implement and maintain reasonable security measures to protect sensitive personally-identifying information against breach<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Must conduct prompt, good faith investigation into any breach and notify any customer, client, or employee impacted<\/p>\n
\u00b7 May need to notify law enforcement<\/p>\n
Weapons:<\/p>\n
Goal: to regulate an employee\u2019s ability to bring legal weapons to workplace (Note: varies from state-to-state as to making it more restrictive or more permissible)<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Some states are allowing companies to prohibit anyone (employee or third-party) from bringing a weapon on company premises regardless of any carry permit<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Some states are making companies allow employees with concealed carry permits to keep weapon hidden in locked personal vehicle in company parking lot (companies can still prohibit in building or company vehicles if properly posted)<\/p>\n
All companies have to be aware of the ever-changing employment laws that impact their workplace. State and local laws tend to change quicker and without much warning, so staying plugged into what your state is doing is essential. And, if you operate in multiple states, you must be aware of the different state-to-state \/ city-to-city laws which may require your policies and procedures to be changed. Again, to assess whether these evolving laws and regulations apply to you, we recommend you contact your HR counsel. As always, we at Affinity HR Group are always on hand to help!<\/p>\n
By Paige McAllister, SPHR, HR Compliance \u2013 Affinity HR Group, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Many state and local legislatures are taking action in several areas of employment law due to the confusion, sluggishness, and\/or inaction on the federal level. Some laws passed are part of long-evolving trends such as restricting inquiries into criminal and pay history, while others are responses to new social movements such as #MeToo. The following […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n