Please note the list below is not intended to be comprehensive. Our team is constantly monitoring for updates that may impact organizations across the country.
In this installment of our Regulatory Roundup, your monthly guide to the world of compliance, we look at changes that may affect organizations among 15 states.
Legislative updates by state:
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Illinois
Iowa
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Virginia
Washington
California
Effective Jan. 1, 2022, Senate Bill 657 authorizes an employee to receive, sign and acknowledge legally required notices and certain documents electronically.
On July 15, the California Supreme Court ruled the calculation of premium pay for a noncompliant meal, rest, recovery period, or rest and recovery period must also account for nondiscretionary payments — like bonuses and commissions — in addition to hourly wages.
Colorado
Effective July 1, Senate Bill 39 eliminates the subminimum wage for individuals with disabilities.
Connecticut
Effective immediately, Senate Bill 658 requires employers to recall certain workers — specifically those laid off in response to the 2020 pandemic — by order of seniority.
Delaware
Effective Jan. 1, 2022, Senate Bill 15 increases the minimum hourly wage to $10.50.
Illinois
Effective immediately, House Bill 118 entitles an employee to recover damages of 5% of underpaid wages for each month they were underpaid.
Effective Jan. 1, 2022, House Bill 53 requires that employers relying solely on AI to determine qualified applicants for an in-person interview must report certain demographic data to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for determination if this data reflects a possible racial bias.
Effective immediately, Senate Bill 1847 requires employers who have over 100 employees to submit their EEO-1 reports on the state level in addition to the federal government, as well as employee wage records. In addition to the new EEO-1 reporting, these employers will need to obtain an Equal Pay Registration Certificate as early as March 2022. The bill also requires employers to submit an “Equal Pay Compliance Statement” certifying compliance with this bill.
Iowa
In two recent decisions, the Iowa Supreme Court clarified employee drug-testing requirements related to safety, notices and standards under Iowa Code section 730.5. This includes a requirement to notify a current employee of a positive test result by certified mail, as well as clarification for an employer’s ability to implement random drug tests.
Maine
Effective Oct. 18, Legislative Document 1294 amends the state’s Human Rights Act to prohibit employment discrimination against victims of domestic violence who received a protection order.
Effective Oct. 18, Legislative Document 610 redefines “overcompensation” to exclude paid leave and reduces the amount an employer may withhold to recover overcompensation to 5%. Additionally, it limits an employer’s timeframe to recover overcompensation to three years up to error’s discovery.
Effective Oct. 18, Legislative Document 1167 prohibits criminal history inquiries on initial applications, with exceptions for limited circumstances specified within the bill, such as a state or federal law that automatically disqualifies a candidate for certain convictions.
Effective Oct. 18, Legislative Document 1688 clarifies the scope of the state’s Human Rights Act regarding education by extending sexual orientation provisions to gender identity. It also includes age as a protected class in public, familial status as a protected class in employment and makes adult dependent family members eligible for care.
Effective Oct. 18, House Paper 1103 raises the minimum amount of tips an employee must receive to be considered a “service employee” to $175.00 monthly.
Massachusetts
House Bill 90 enacts temporary changes to employers’ contributions to their unemployment insurance trust fund and further specifies COVID-19 emergency paid sick leave.
The state also updated its consolidated wage-hour laws poster.
New Hampshire
Effective immediately, Senate Bill 137 amends the minimum hourly rate for tipped employees to $3.27 contingent on a federal minimum wage increase.
New Jersey
Senate Bill 3922 establishes that purposely misclassifying employees to evade insurance premiums is a violation of the New Jersey Insurance Fraud Prevention Act and outlines penalties.
Oregon
House Bill 3398 delays the implementation requirements for paid family and medical leave.
Pennsylvania
Effective Aug. 29, House Bill 196 extends the state’s military leave law to employees enrolled in another state’s National Guard or reserve.
Effective immediately, a new ordinance in Pittsburgh extends its COVID-19 paid sick leave and entitles covered employees to leave for their own or a family member’s vaccination or booster.
Rhode Island
Starting Jan. 1, 2022, Senate Bill 688 increases temporary caregiver benefits to five weeks, with a subsequent increase to six weeks beginning 2023.
Effective Jan. 1, 2023, Senate Bill 270 expands equal pay requirements to include race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, origin or other characteristics. It also enables employees to discuss their wage without consequence, prohibits employers from considering or inquiring about an employee’s wage history and requires them to disclose a position’s wage range. The bill also details penalties for violations.
Virginia
The state has updated its new hire reporting information for employers.
Washington
Per the state’s Department of Labor and Industries (DLI), dairy workers are now eligible for overtime. All other agricultural workers will be eligible beginning Jan. 1, 2022.
Administrative Policy ES.A.14 updates employment relationships under the Minimum Wage Act and revised Administrative Policy ES.C.2 on hours worked.
Effective Sept. 1, 2022, Ordinance 126373 establishes labor standards for independent contractors.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided herein does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional legal, tax, accounting or other professional advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a professional adviser who has been provided with all pertinent facts relevant to your particular situation and for your particular state(s) of operation.
