Workforce Bulletin

On March 10, 2023, a unanimous three-judge panel upheld an Oregon federal court’s ruling that time Amazon employees spent undergoing mandatory security screenings before and after work shifts and off-premises meal breaks was not compensable, as the screenings were not integral and indispensable to their jobs under state law.

In a continuing trend, employers are abandoning on-call scheduling as states and cities continue to pass predictive scheduling laws.

1. What is Predictive Scheduling?

Predictive scheduling laws require employers to give employees adequate notice of when they will work so that they can plan for and around their work shifts.  The idea is that, unlike on-call scheduling, predictable schedules make it easier for workers, especially part-time retail and restaurant workers, to meet their needs, such as working another job, attending school, or arranging childcare.  The laws generally ...

Take a deep breath. Now exhale. While the country awaits the results of the presidential race and many others that are still too close to call, the 2020 election made one thing clear: the march toward 50-state legalization of marijuana (and now perhaps other drugs) continues. On Tuesday, voters in five states decided to legalize recreational or medical marijuana, while Oregon voted to decriminalize most hard drugs, including heroin and cocaine. We summarize each ballot initiative and its outcome below.

Arizona

Ballot Summary: Although a similar initiative was narrowly defeated at ...

Colorado has joined a growing movement of states in passing laws that provide greater protections to employees and job applicants. Among these are the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and a ban the box law, which limits criminal history inquiries for job applicants. The following is a breakdown of Colorado’s newest employment laws and how their implementation may impact employers and employees alike.

Equal Pay

Effective January 1, 2021, the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (the “Act”) will expressly prohibit employers from paying employees of different genders different wages for ...

Our colleague Amanda M. Gomez at Epstein Becker Green have recently published a post on the Hospitality Labor and Employment Law blog that will be of interest to our readers in the technology industry: “Colorado Joins Wave of States to Offer Heightened Employee Protections.”

Following is an excerpt:

Additionally, employers that can demonstrate a good faith effort through proactive measures to comply with the Act may be able to mitigate liability should a claim arise. Similar to “safe harbor” provisions in equal pay laws in Massachusetts and Oregon, such ...

Our colleague Amanda M. Gomez at Epstein Becker Green have recently published a post on the Hospitality Labor and Employment Law blog that will be of interest to our readers in the financial services industry: “Colorado Joins Wave of States to Offer Heightened Employee Protections.”

Following is an excerpt:

Additionally, employers that can demonstrate a good faith effort through proactive measures to comply with the Act may be able to mitigate liability should a claim arise. Similar to “safe harbor” provisions in equal pay laws in Massachusetts and Oregon ...

This Employment Law This Week^® Monthly Rundown discusses the most important developments for employers in July 2019. Both the video and the extended audio podcast are now available.

This episode includes:

• State Legislation Heats Up
• NLRB Overturns Another Long-Standing Precedent
• SCOTUS October Term 2018 Wraps Up
• Tip of the Week: How inclusion and trust can increase innovation in the workplace

See below to watch the full episode - click here for story details, the video, and the extended audio podcast.

Stay tuned: Sign-up for email notifications and subscribe to the ...

[Update: The measure was signed into law by Governor Mills on April 12, 2019.]

On April 2, 2019, the Maine Legislature celebrated Equal Pay Day by passing two significant amendments (“Amendments”) to the Maine Equal Pay Act. If, as expected, Governor Janet Mills signs the measure, certain salary history inquiries and employer policies prohibiting employee wage discussions will be deemed “evidence of discrimination.”  While the Amendments do not directly “prohibit” such inquiries and policies, in effect, they operate as a ban on such conduct.

Specifically, the ...

Voters in the District of Columbia on June 19, 2018 approved an initiative (Initiative 77) that would incrementally increase the minimum cash wage for tipped workers to $15.00 per hour by July 1, 2025, and starting July 1, 2026 to the same amount as the then-minimum wage for all other workers, effectively eliminating the tip credit. If the initiative takes effect, the District would join seven states that do not have a separate minimum wage for tipped workers, i.e., Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

The D.C. Council previously enacted ...

On March 1, 2016, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a law raising the state’s minimum wage. The law is an unusual one, and it will create challenges for many employers with employees in the state, particularly those with operations or employees in multiple counties.

The first increase to the state’s minimum wage will take effect on July 1, 2016, with a new increase scheduled to take effect each July thereafter. The law provides a schedule of annual increases through 2022. Beginning in 2023, the minimum wage will be adjusted annually to account for inflation.

Starting July 1, 2016 ...