The Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently announced an increase in penalties for workplace safety violations, as well as a renewed focus on specific industries for inspections. The new measures are aimed at improving workplace safety and reducing accidents in the state.
Ogletree Deakins’ OSHA Tracker shows that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted 988 inspections in Nevada in 2022, of which 2.5 percent resulted in citations. Reno, with twenty-seven citations, incurred more citations than any other city in Nevada.
In December 2022, Ogletree Deakins launched its OSHA Tracker based on analysis of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) publicly available inspection and citation data, which dates back to the 1970s. Now, in addition to featuring individual state data and OSHA regional information, the OSHA Tracker has been enhanced with city information.
Several state and local minimum wage rates will increase in 2023, with a majority of the changes effective on January 1, 2023. The following chart lists state and certain major locality minimum wage increases for 2023—and future years, if available—along with the related changes in the maximum tip credit and minimum cash wage for tipped employees.
Millions of voters across the United States went to the polls on November 8, 2022, for the midterm elections, but as of November 9, 2022, control of both chambers of Congress for the second half of President Biden’s first term still hangs in the balance.
In a decision issued on August 11, 2022, the Nevada Supreme Court declined to recognize recreational marijuana use as a “lawful” activity for purposes of the state’s law providing employment protections for “lawful activities” or “lawful off-duty conduct” outside of work.
Many employers with business operations in Nevada are aware by now that Assembly Bill 456, enacted in June 2019, increases the minimum wage in increments of 75 cents annually on July 1 of each year through 2024.
Several state and local minimum wage rates will increase in the latter half of 2022, with most of these changes effective on July 1, 2022. Increases to minimum wage rates for nonexempt employees and tipped employees in Florida will occur later in the year, on September 30, 2022.
Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Nevada OSHA) is performing targeted inspections of Nevada’s hospitality establishments. Even though Nevada OSHA’s “Inspection Targeting Plan and Emphasis Programs” document was last updated in August 2021, the programmed inspections are continuing with local emphasis programs related to hotels (NAICS 721110) and casino-hotels (NAICS 721120).
In 2022, while the federal minimum wage will remain at $7.25 per hour for non-tipped employees and $2.13 per hour for tipped employees, several states’ minimum wage rates will increase. The chart below lists the state (and certain major locality) minimum wage rate increases for 2022—and future years if available—along with the related changes in the maximum tip credit and minimum cash wage for tipped employees.
On May 25, 2021, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed into law Assembly Bill (AB) 47, which amends Nevada’s noncompetition statute, NRS 613.195 and the Nevada Unfair Trade Practices Act. The changes will go into effect on October 1, 2021.
Several states’ minimum wage rates will increase in 2021. The following chart lists the state (and certain major locality) minimum wage increases for 2021—and future years, if available—along with the related changes in the maximum tip credit and minimum cash wage for tipped employees.
Elections in the United States are scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Not only will the office of president of the United States be contested, but all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate are up for grabs. At the state level, elections will be held for the governorships of 11 U.S. states and 2 U.S. territories.
In Davidson v. O’Reilly Auto Enterprises, LLC, No. 18-56188 (August 3, 2020), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed whether a district court abused its discretion in denying class certification for an employee’s claim for improper rest breaks under California law where the employer allegedly had a facially defective written rest break policy.
An increase in the number of scams involving false unemployment benefits claims are emerging in Nevada and across the country. Third parties are filing claims for unemployment insurance benefits using the names and personal information of employees who have not lost their jobs. They are often using accurate personal information, including Social Security numbers.
As most employers are aware, Nevada has a two-tier minimum wage system. Currently, Nevada employers are required to pay their employees a minimum of $8.25 per hour unless they qualify to pay the lower tier minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour. Employers seeking to qualify for the lower tier minimum wage must meet the following requirements: (1) the employer must offer qualifying health insurance benefits; (2) those benefits must be offered to the employee and any dependents; (3) the employee’s share of the cost of the premium for health insurance benefits cannot exceed 10 percent of the employee’s income; and (4) the employer must provide a benefit in the form of health insurance at least equivalent to the one dollar per hour in wages that the employee would otherwise receive. Nevada employers that believe they qualify to pay the lower minimum wage should consider reviewing their health insurance benefits to ensure the benefits meet the stringent requirements of Nevada Administrative Code sections 608.102 and 608.104.
