With the passage of Initiative 82 in D.C. last November, the capital will be phasing out tipped minimum wage by July 1, 2027. This means that employers in the District will be responsible for paying all employees the standard minimum wage. Currently, employers with...
Employment Law
VA to Include Sexual Harassment in NDA
Changes to NDA and Confidentiality Agreements As of July 1, 2023, Virginia prohibits clauses in NDA, confidentiality, or non disparagement agreements which have the purpose or effect of concealing sexual harassment. Previously existing law in Virginia prevented...
New Accommodation for Pregnant Employees
Congress signed The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) into law December 29, 2022, which went into effect on June 27, 2023. Discriminating against pregnant workers was already prohibited under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA), which amended Title VII...
Reminder for Employers with 100+ Employees, OSHA’s Vaccine/Weekly Testing Mandate Becomes Effective January 10, 2022
In November 2021, we detailed the requirements set forth in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). As you may know, the ETS was temporarily stayed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. ...
If OSHA’s Vaccine Mandate Is a Go, What Employers with More Than 100 Employees Need to Know
Pursuant to President Biden’s promise to use his Administration’s regulatory authority to increase the number of vaccinated American workers, on November 5, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS)...
Virginia’s New Overtime Law Creates More Exposure for Employers than the FLSA
On July 1, 2021, the Virginia Overtime Wage Act (“VOWA”) will go into effect. Previously, employers in Virginia only had to worry about the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). But now, Virginia has added its own law, subjecting Virginia employers to greater...
New Washington, D.C. Law Bans Non-Competes Nearly Entirely; the District Becomes the Latest (and Most Prohibitive) Member of the DMV to Restrict Employer Use of Non-Competes.
In 2019, Maryland enacted a law that essentially voided non-compete provisions for employees making $31,200 or less annually. In 2020, Virginia took it a step further with its ban and private right of action for employees making less than Virginia’s average weekly...
Non-Competes for “Low”-Wage Virginia Workers are Now Unlawful
NON-COMPETES FOR “LOW”-WAGE VIRGINIA WORKERS ARE NOW UNLAWFUL Restrictive covenants, like non-competition agreements or non-solicitation clauses, find their way into numerous agreements, whether during onboarding in an employment agreement, as a stand-alone contract,...
New Virginia Law Forces Employers to Reconsider Their Staffing and Independent Contractor Relationships ASAP
Effective July 1, 2020, employers who utilize independent contractors (and potentially even staffing companies or sub-contractors) are looking at a completely new legal landscape in Virginia. Virginia Code Sec. 40.1-28.7:7, titled “Misclassification of Workers,”...
New Virginia Non-Discrimination Law Will Be a Game Changer for Employers
On April 11, 2020, Governor Northam signed into law the Virginia Values Act (the “Act”) making Virginia the first southern state to enact legislation protecting LGBTQ workers by prohibiting sexual orientation or gender identify discrimination. Given the ongoing...
COVID-19 Employer Notice Obligations PLUS DOL FAQs
REMINDER – Employee Notice Obligations PLUS the U.S. DOL Addresses Small Business Exemption, Interplay of FMLA and Emergency FMLA, and other Issues In Updated FAQs on Families First Coronavirus Response Act. As a reminder, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act...
USDOL Issues First FAQs on Families First Coronavirus Response Act
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued its first set of FAQs concerning the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”). According to the DOL, the Act will apply to leave taken between April 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. Of note, the DOL states that...
Overview of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”) will become effective on April 2, 2020. The Act contains two key provisions for employers with fewer than 500 employees and also addresses employer tax credits. Emergency FMLA What employers/employees are covered...