The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) has, at long last, issued proposed rules implementing its equal pay registration certificate requirements. As a reminder, Illinois is setting deadlines for covered employers to apply for certification on a rolling basis. The deadline for the first round of employers to file for certification is just days away.
On March 30, 2022, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 5761, a measure that requires employers to affirmatively disclose in each job posting open to applicants the salary range or wage scale to be offered, as well as a general description of all benefits and other compensation for the position.
We had been holding off on publishing an update on the Illinois Equal Pay Act requirements in hopes that the State of Illinois would publish its proposed rules implementing the law. Those rules have not yet come. Accordingly, we are publishing this interim update. When the state announces its rules, we will issue further information.
While the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 205) is stalled in the U.S. Senate, the White House has called for action on issues relating to pay equity. On March 15, 2022, which was women’s “Equal Pay Day” for 2022 in the United States, President Biden issued an executive order “promoting pay equity and transparency” within the federal workforce and among federal contractors.
Some employers have a practice of periodically conducting statistical analyses of employee compensation, under attorney-client privilege, to identify potential areas of risk related to pay equity concerns. These analyses are usually focused on gender and race or national origin. Through these statistical analyses, employees are placed into comparator groups and the compensation of the employees in those groups is analyzed for differences that remain after controlling for relevant factors available in the data set. Such factors may include data points such as job title, tenure with the company, time in position, location/market, and performance ratings. Once the analysis has controlled for the available factors, the statistical model will flag those comparator groups where the pay differences are statistically significant and adverse to a particular demographic.
Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee signed pay equity legislation (H 5261A, S 0270A) that will go into effect on January 1, 2023. The new legislation amends Rhode Island’s existing pay equity law and contains the following key provisions.
Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act went into effect on January 1, 2021. The act creates significant compliance burdens for employers with even one employee in Colorado. In fact, the act is the only law in the United States to require employers to (1) post compensation and benefits information with each job posting for Colorado jobs and (2) internally post promotional opportunities to current Colorado employees on the same day and sufficiently in advance of promotion decisions.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 has extended the tax credits available to employers with fewer than 500 employees under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) through September 30, 2021. As has been the case since January 1, 2021, leave is no longer mandatory under the law, but employers may offer leave for qualifying reasons and take the tax credits on the same bases as identified in the original FFCRA, with a few modifications.
Within days of the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, employees who were observed as part of the mob entering the Capitol were discharged by their employers. Some of the individuals involved in the events at the Capitol were knowingly filmed as part of the insurrection (and many were seen posing for selfies).
Parents, employers, and communities across the country are managing uncertainty around returning to school this fall. Many schools have opened, or soon will open, using some element of virtual learning. As we discussed earlier this summer, parents and employers have had to show flexibility and grace during this back to school season.
In March 2020, everyone thought we just need to occupy our children at home for a few weeks, maybe through spring break, and we would be fine. Then it was “just make it to summer.” Now summer is winding down and many kids are not going back to school full-time (at least not in person) any time soon. This creates tremendous challenges for families as well as employers.
Many people have commented on social media regarding the anti-racist movement that has been gaining strength in the wake of police officers killings around the country. Unfortunately, some of these posts are inflammatory, derogatory, offensive, or racist. Even though employees are generally posting on their personal social media pages and are often doing so outside of work time, coworkers and even community-members to employers are increasingly complaining about offensive comments employees are posting on various social media platforms. While sometimes the conduct is so severe that employers can easily determine the appropriate consequences, in other cases employers must balance a variety of legal requirements, employee and public relations concerns, and their own company values. The following are answers to frequently asked questions about these issues.
On April 16, 2020, Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm issued an updated Safer at Home Order (Emergency Order #28), which extends and makes certain adjustments to the agency’s original order that took effect on March 25, 2020. The updated order is effective April 24, 2020, and will remain in effect until 8:00 a.m. on May 26, 2020. The state also issued a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to the order.
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C. could impact your business.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) went into effect on April 1, 2020, and, just in time, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued temporary regulations to implement the new provisions of the Expanded Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA). The regulations largely align with the DOL’s updated “Questions and Answers” (Q&As) that it issued on March 28, 2020. The DOL’s Q&As addressed furloughs, intermittent leave, exceptions for very small businesses, exemptions for health care providers, telework, among other aspects of the law.
On March 18, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus and the illness it causes, COVID-19. Among other fiscal packages, the act does three things: (1) expands the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) temporarily (until the end of December 2020) to cover leave needed for the care of children out of school because of COVID-19 and also makes weeks 3 through 12 of its effective period paid leave; (2) creates 2 weeks of paid sick leave for childcare and other leave related to the coronavirus; and (3) provides for tax credits related to the paid leave provisions created by the act.
On February 27, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in Rizo v. Yovino, (again) found that salary history is not a “factor other than sex” that can justify a pay disparity in defense of a claim under the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA). The Ninth Circuit made the same finding in 2018, but the Supreme Court of the United States remanded the case because the judge who authored the original opinion died before it was published.
On August 8, 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued an opinion letter confirming that a parent is entitled to time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to attend a meeting at school to discuss his or her child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).
As we previously reported, the Illinois legislature passed House Bill 834 and Governor J. B. Pritzker signed the bill into law. It will become effective September 29, 2019. The new law prohibits employers from requesting or requiring prospective employees to provide their salary histories as a condition of being considered for employment.
After ending 2018 with a slew of new employment laws, Illinois continues to enact legislation impacting employers. Following the example set by California, Washington, and other states recently, the Illinois legislature passed four new bills targeting equity, transparency, and discrimination last week, and Governor J. B. Pritzker is expected to sign them into law.
One year ago today, 10 days after the Harvey Weinstein story broke, Alyssa Milano tweeted: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.”
Vermont and likely Connecticut will soon join California, Delaware, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Puerto Rico (along with various cities and counties) in prohibiting salary history inquiries.
Wisconsin Statutes Section 111.70(4)(d)(3) provides that, “Annually, the [Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission] shall conduct an election to certify the representative of the collective bargaining unit that contains a general municipal employee.”
The Wisconsin-based employer is reportedly the first in the United States to offer microchips (at a cost to the employer of $300 each) to employees on a voluntary basis.
During his campaign, President Trump proposed a plan to offer six weeks of paid maternity leave to mothers who give birth. The program would be funded through the unemployment compensation system. The Family and Medical Leave Act provides unpaid job protection, but it does not provide for paid leave.
