Maryland Adopts Salary History Ban and Wage Transparency Law

September 16, 2020
Effective October 1, 2020, Maryland employees have more power in salary negotiations with employers.  House Bill 123 amends certain provisions of Maryland’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Law.  HB123 requires that employers provide a wage range for a position upon request of the applicant and it also creates a salary history ban.  HB14 protects employees from retaliation for asking about their own wages.  Prior to the amendment, the law only protected employees from asking about co-worker wages.
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Employment Law

Virginia Pregnancy Accommodation Law

July 17, 2020

Effective July 1, 2020, Virginia employers with five or more employees must provide reasonable accommodation to employees and applicants due to such person’s pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition (including lactation), unless the employer can demonstrate that such accommodation would impose undue hardship on the employer.  Similar to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the law requires that an employer engage in an interactive process with the employee/applicant to determine if a reasonable accommodation i

Substantial Changes to Virginia Employment Law on July 1, 2020

June 12, 2020

Effective July 1, 2020, the Virginia employment law will drastically change to the benefit of those employed in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Heretofore, Virginia’s laws could be counted on to favor employers.  Employees had little protection in the state anti-discrimination law, wage and hour laws, and, though increasing protections through case law existed in employee favor in the restrictive covenant arena, Virginia had no laws that regulated non-competes.  The Virginia General Assembly with Governor Northam approval enacted legislation in these three areas which will

Client Alert – Paycheck Protection Program Audits

May 13, 2020
One of the signature provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), signed into law by President Donald J. Trump on March 27, 2020, was the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), which was designed to incentivize small businesses to keep employees on their payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic when businesses might otherwise be forced to furlough or lay off employees.  Subsequent developments from the Small Business Administration and the Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, have put businesses on alert that that may, or perhaps even will, be audited to verify that they met all of the qualifications for the PPP.
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New Law

DOL REGULATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PAID SICK LEAVE AND PAID EXPANDED FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT LEAVE UNDER THE FAMILIES FIRST CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE ACT

April 19, 2020

The United States Department of Labor published its regulations implementing the provisions of Paid Sick Leave and Expanded Family Medical Leave Act Leave.  This guidance supersedes our prior guidance issued on March 25, 2020. 

The model notice/poster has been issued and subsequently re-issued.  The poster can be found at:

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Non-Federal.pdf.

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Employment Law

Guidance for Employers for Compliance with Families First Coronavirus Act

March 25, 2020
President Trump signed the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” (the “Act”) on March 18, 2020. The Act becomes effective on April 1, 2020 and expires on December 31, 2020. This comprehensive legislation requires employers with less than 500 employees to provide employees with paid Family Medical Leave Act Leave for qualifying needs related to a public health emergency and paid sick leave for certain leave necessitated due to a public health emergency (COVID-19). The Act also provides for tax credits to employers that are required to provide additional paid leave under the Act. Finally, the Act provides for expanded unemployment insurance benefits.
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Employment Law

DOL ISSUED GUIDANCE FAMILIES FIRST CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE ACT

March 25, 2020
The United States Department of Labor has just published its first guidance for employers and employees on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Our guidance issued on March 23, 2020 will be updated in accordance with the DOL Guidance. The model notice has not yet been issued. However, the DOL Guidance clarifies that the paid leave portion of the Act does not stack for childcare leave – it runs concurrently. In a situation where an employee cannot work due to the unavailability of school or childcare due to COVID-19, all employees (of covered employers) are entitled to two weeks of paid leave (at the employee’s regular rate of pay) for this purpose. After the expiration of these two weeks (or 10 days), any employee who has worked for 30 days for the employer and is unable to work, is entitled to receive an additional 10 weeks of paid leave (2/3rds pay subject to caps/limitations) to take care of a son or daughter.
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Employment Law