Legal Updates

Lehigh County, Pennsylvania has passed a Human Relations Ordinance. The ordinance prohibits employers from engaging in discrimination based on “actual or perceived race, ethnicity, color, religion, creed, national origin or citizenship status, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical ... Read More

The state of New York has passed a new budget bill that, in part, requires employers to provide paid breaks for breastfeeding employees to express milk. Currently, employers must offer reasonable unpaid break time for breastfeeding employees to express milk at least ... Read More

Vermont has amended its Fair Employment Practices Act to provides that the term “race” as a protected class includes traits associated with or perceived to be associated with race, including hair type, hair texture, hairstyles, and protective hairstyles. “Protective hairstyles” include hairstyles such as ... Read More

The Maryland state legislature has passed a flurry of laws affecting employers moving forward. Labor and employment-related changes include the following: Employers should review the above changes to ensure compliance by the laws’ effective dates.

Maine has passed Senate Bill 179, which increases enforcement and accountability for wage and hour violations. Prior to the amendment, employers or other individuals responsible for any wage violations could only be fined up to $1,000 per violation. However, the new ... Read More

Illinois has published final regulations, implementing the state’s Paid Leave for All Workers Act. The final regulations differ slightly from the proposed regulations issued last year. Specifically, the regulations impose the following new requirements on employers: The final regulations are effective ... Read More

New York state has amended its labor code to require employers to provide employees up to 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave during any fifty-two week calendar period.  “Paid prenatal personal leave” means leave taken for the health care ... Read More

The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a final rule revising the regulations issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) implementing the exemptions from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees (i.e., “white ... Read More

The Phoenix City Council has recently approved Ordinance G-7241 in response to a stark increase in heat-related illnesses and deaths, with a record of 395 fatalities in 2023. The ordinance requires every city contractor and subcontractor to develop a heat safety plan ... Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the requirement that a claimant must show that they have suffered “significant” or “serious” harm to prevail on a Title VII discrimination claim. Instead, in a recent decision, the court held that a plaintiff may ... Read More

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released final regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The PWFA, issued last year, requires employers with at least 15 employees to provide reasonable accommodations to a qualified employee’s or applicant’s known limitations related ... Read More

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a final rule that promotes competition by banning noncompete agreements nationwide (with few exceptions). The FTC has announced that the final rule will be published in the Federal Register on May 7, 2024, ... Read More