Austin, Texas Passes Paid Sick and Safe Leave Law                                                                

Early this morning the Austin City Council passed a long-discussed ordinance requiring employers to provide employees with paid sick and safe leave (“PSL”). Austin is the first city in the South ever to enact such a law.

Highlights of the New Austin Ordinance:

  • Effective October 1,

The grace period is over. Effective January 1, 2018, the City of Santa Monica’s minimum cap on accrued sick leave for eligible employees will increase from 40 to 72 hours for businesses with 26 or more employees. The accrual-cap for businesses with 25 or fewer employees will increase from 32 to 40 hours.

Santa Monica’s sick leave requirements have been in effect since January 1, 2017 under the City’s Minimum Wage Ordinance (the “Santa Monica Ordinance”). Under the Santa Monica Ordinance, the first year required a 32-hour accrual cap for small businesses and a 40-hour accrual cap for large businesses with the planned increase going into effect January 1, 2018.
Continue Reading City of Santa Monica Minimum Paid Sick Leave Accrual Limits to Increase January 1, 2018

CaliforniaAs we recently reported regarding the City of Los Angeles, both the City of San Diego and the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (“DLSE”) have updated their “Frequently Asked Questions” (“FAQs”) related to the respective local and state sick leave requirements. Below are some of the more salient points from each.

Continue Reading Both the City of San Diego and the State of California “Clarify” Their Sick Leave FAQs

California          The sick leave landscape is constantly evolving, and the City of Los Angeles is no exception to that rule. This past month the City of Los Angeles Office of Wage Standards (“OWS”) revised its rules and regulations (“Revised Rules”) as well the FAQs regarding its Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave Ordinance (the “Ordinance”).  As reported on our website (click here), the City’s Ordinance originally was effective July 1, 2016. The OWS has now provided further clarification regarding several issues as detailed here:

Continue Reading The City of Los Angeles Quietly Updates Its Rules and FAQs Regarding the Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave Ordinance

On Tuesday, February 7, 2017, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) reintroduced the Family And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would create a national system of paid leave for employees. This is the third attempt in the last five years by these same legislators to create federal paid leave.  But, with

The Village of Rosemont and the City of Oak Forest have become the latest suburban Cook County municipalities to join the Village of Barrington in opting out of the Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance.  (They both passed ordinances either superseding or opting out of the Cook County Minimum Wage Ordinance.)  In rejecting the Cook County Ordinances, local officials claimed that the requirements put an increased burden on local businesses and negatively impacted their ability to compete with businesses outside of Cook County.  Stay tuned for further updates regarding whether additional suburban municipalities will follow suit (we expect Palatine may be the next municipality to opt-out) or if the County will pursue legal action regarding the enforceability of the municipal ordinances. 
Continue Reading The Saga Continues: Recent Opt-Outs and Other Developments Relating to the Cook County Earned Sick Leave Act, Illinois Employee Sick Leave Act

Imagine you operate multiple business locations in Columbus, Ohio where 3 counties comprise the city proper and as many as 11 counties comprise the larger Columbus Metropolitan Area. Now imagine that each of those counties adopts their own local ordinance requiring paid sick leave as well as advance notice (and extra pay) to employees before you can change their work schedule. Perhaps a few of the counties also enact an increased minimum wage of $15 an hour –much like the proposal to increase the minimum wage that was supposed to be voted upon in Cleveland in May of 2017. Would you want to continue to do business in Columbus or would you curtail your growth in that city and look for a more employer friendly home for your future business locations?
Continue Reading Ohio Means Business: New Law Prohibits Cities and Counties From Enacting Paid Sick Leave, Predictive Scheduling, and Minimum Wage Laws

ACaliforniare you sick of sick leave yet? Beginning on January 1, 2017, the new paid sick leave provisions under Santa Monica City’s recently adopted Minimum Wage and Sick Leave law will go into effect.  Since our California Workplace Law Blog article first outlined key provisions of the law, the ordinance was amended later this