Wage & Hour Counsel : Wage & Hour Lawyer & Attorney : Littler Mendelson Law Firm : Employment Law, Labor Relations

Several new wage and hour bills made it through various state legislatures during the second half of the year. Below is a wrap up of some new developments (including regulatory updates) from July 1st through December 31st. Click here to read our post on changes to state minimum wages.

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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has revised a portion of its Compliance Manual addressing the timeliness of filing pay discrimination claims in light of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was enacted on January 29 of this year. This law overturned the Supreme Court’s decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Inc., 550 U.S. 618 (2007), which required plaintiffs to file a charge of compensation discrimination within 180 days (300 in jurisdictions that have a local or state law prohibiting the same form of pay discrimination) of the discriminatory act or decision. Continue reading on Littler's Washington D.C. Employment Law Update.

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Several new wage and hour bills made it through various state legislatures during the second quarter of the year. Below is a wrap up of new developments (including regulatory updates) from April 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009.

Alabama House Bill 144, Effective 5/19/2009. Modifying several aspects of the state child labor laws.

Colorado House Bill 1108, Effective 8/5/2009. Provides that an employer under specified circumstances is subject to penalties if an employee's paycheck is not paid because the employer's bank does not honor the paycheck.

Connecticut House Bill 6185, Effective 10/1/2009. Concerns equal pay discrimination.

Florida House Bill 569, Effective 7/1/2009. Allows wages to be paid by a payroll debit card.

Indiana Senate Bill 465, Effective 7/1/2009. Requires an employer to provide a pay stub to employees and post a notice regarding the state's minimum wage law. The notice must include an employee's basic rights and who to contact for information, questions or complaints.

Iowa House Bill 618, Effective 7/1/2009. Update to civil and criminal penalties, including increase of maximum penalty to $10,000 for the illegal use of child labor, and provides that wage discrimination is an unfair employment practice under the state civil rights act.

Kansas Senate Bill 160, Effective 1/1/2010. Increases the minimum wage from $2.65 an hour to $7.25 an hour.

Maine House Bill 280, Effective 9/18/2009. Requires break time for nursing mothers in the workplace and requires an employer to provide a sanitary space, which must be close to the work area and may not be a bathroom, for nursing mothers to express milk in privacy.

Maryland Code of Administrative Rules 09.12.02.01 -.02, Effective 6/19/2009. Amends rules relating to equal pay for equal work. Requires employers to collect certain employee data, such as the gender and racial classification of their employees and records must be maintained by the employer for 3 years.

Montana House Bill 133, Effective 10/1/2009. Amends the definition of “income” with respect to garnishments to exclude mandatory retirement and disability contributions and union dues.

Nevada Assembly Bill 84, Effective 7/1/2009. Expands exemption for salespersons to any employee in a retail or service business. In order to qualify for the exemption, the employee must earn at least half of his/her compensation through commissions and be paid more than 1½ times the minimum wage.

New Mexico House Bill 489, Effective 6/19/2009. Allows workers to collect treble damages against employers that violate the state's $7.50-an-hour minimum wage law.

North Dakota Senate Bill 2344, Effective 8/1/2009. Exempts the act of breastfeeding from the offense of indecent exposure. An employer may use the designation "infant friendly" on its promotional materials if the employer adopts a workplace breastfeeding policy that includes specific criteria.

Oklahoma Administrative Code sections 380:30-1-7, -3-4, -5, Effective 7/1/2009. Amends rules to clarify the requirements for a valid payroll deduction agreement.

Oklahoma Senate Bill 527, Effective 11/1/2009. Provides that if an employer pays an employee with a check that is subsequently returned by reason of the refusal of the bank to honor the check due to insufficient funds or a stop payment notice, the employer must reimburse the employee for any fees or costs incurred by the employee within 14 days.  Additionally requires employers to post a notice describing the pertinent provisions of the Oklahoma Minimum Wage Act. The notice must be not less than 8 1/2 by 11 inches and must be displayed and accessible to all employees in each establishment under the control of the employer.

Oregon House Bill 2826, Effective 1/1/2010. Increases the hours of the day during which children under 16 years of age may work; provides for additional hours of work during summer.

Oregon House Bill 3474, Effective 1/1/2010. Increases processing fee chargeable to employee by employer for garnishments of employee's wages.

Oregon Senate Bill 373, Effective 1/1/2010. Provides that an obligor and obligee under a support order may bring a civil action for damages against an employer or other person who withholds money under an order to withhold, but who fails to pay the withheld amounts within the time allowed by law.

Vermont House Bill 313, Effective 6/1/2009. Amends the state minimum wage law to clarify that annual adjustments to the state minimum wage are not to result in a decrease in the minimum hourly wage rate.

Washington House Bill 1596, Effective 7/26/2009. Protects a woman's right to breastfeed in a place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement.
 

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To commemorate Equal Pay Day, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) reintroduced the Fair Pay Act (S. 904, H.R. 2151).  Continue reading on Littler's Washington DC Employment Law Update blog.

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Several new wage and hour bills made it through various state legislatures during the first quarter of the year. Below is a wrap up of new developments (including regulatory updates) since the beginning of the year.

Arkansas House Bill 1552 Effective 7/17/2009.  Requires employers to provide unpaid break time and reasonable locations for expressing breast milk.

California Assembly Bill x2 5 Effective 1/1/2010.  Eases the requirements for an alternative work week. For additional information see our previous Blog entry, Requirements for Use of Alternative Workweek in California Eased Slightly.

Iowa Senate File 618 Effective July 1, 2009. Updates civil and criminal penalties of up to $10,000 for the illegal use of child labor and from $100 to $500 per violation for workplace labor violations.  For additional information see our previous Blog entry New Mexico and Iowa Toughen Penalties for Wage and Hour Violations.

Massachusetts Senate Bill 2438 Effective 4/9/2009.  A mother may breastfeed her child in any public place or establishment or place which is open to and accepts or solicits the patronage of the general public and where the mother and her child may otherwise lawfully be present. The statute doesn't specifically mention employment, however it can be construed to include places of employment.

Montana House Bill 101 Effective 3/20/2009.  Revises the time period that an employer may withhold money from an employee's final paycheck in cases of theft or property or theft of funds.

Missouri Regulation 8 MO-ADC 4.010 et seq Effective 3/30/2009.  The Missouri Department of Labor's minimum wage regulations expressly adopts interpretations of the FLSA, and federal regulations.  For additional information see our previous Blog entry, New Missouri Wage and Hour Rules Reintroduce Federal Interpretations.

Nevada Minimum Wage and Overtime Rates Announced Effective 7/1/2009. For more details see our previous blog entry here.

New Mexico House Bill 849 Effective Jun 19, 2009.  Allows workers to collect treble damages against employers that violate the state's $7.50-an-hour minimum wage law.  For additional information see our previous Blog entry New Mexico and Iowa Toughen Penalties for Wage and Hour Violations.

North Dakota Senate Bill 2344 Effective September 5, 2009.  Provides that if the woman acts in a discreet and modest manner, a woman may breastfeed her child in any location, public or private, where the woman and child are otherwise authorized to be.  Although this portion of the new law it does not expressly mention employers, its terms are broad enough to apply to the workplace.

Oregon Regulation OR-ADC 839-020-0050 Effective 1/12/2009.  Clarifies meal and rest period requirements in situations where providing a 30-minute uninterrupted meal period is not feasible. For additional information see our previous blog entry here.

US House Resolution 11 Effective 5/28/2007.  The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which Congress made retroactive to May 28, 2007, extends the time period for employees to assert pay discrimination claims by making each paycheck a discriminatory act; not just the initial pay determination. For further information, see Littler ASAP Paycheck Rule Revived for Pay Discrimination Claims with Signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Virginia Senate Bill 1264 Effective 7/1/2009.  Allows employers to utilize prepaid credit cards or a debit card without employee's consent for employees hired after January 1, 2010, when the employee has not designated a financial institution to receive direct deposit of the employee's wages.

Wisconsin Regulations DWD 272.01 et seq. Effective 7/24/2009.  Changes the state minimum wage to $7.25 an hour effective July 24, 2009. Also changes opportunity wage and allowance for boarding.

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Ten years after it was first enacted, and as part of the resolution of California's budget crisis, California Labor Code section 511 authorizing the use of an alternative workweek was amended for the first time (AB X2 5) last week.

The bill itself was a model of expedited lawmaking - its creation, passage, and signing took less than ten days. AB X2 5 was introduced in the Assembly as a budget trailer bill on February 11, modified to its final form on February 14, and passed finally by the Senate on February 19, with the Governor signing it the next day. The bill was never reviewed by any budget or legislative policy committee.

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