NEW HAMPSHIRE: Governor Vetoes Minimum Wage Increase

New Hampshire’s Senate passed a bill that would increase the state’s minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2022.  The very next day, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu vetoed it.

EEOC Criminal History Guidance Struck Down

On August 6, a three-judge panel held that the Guidance was a substantive rule the EEOC had no authority to issue and that the EEOC can no longer enforce the Guidance or treat it as binding in any respect.

NEW JERSEY: Landmark Wage Theft Law Passed

New Jersey employers will face toughened penalties and increased exposure for failure to pay wages, benefits and overtime. Employers should take immediate notice. The new law:

• makes employees eligible to receive 200% liquidated damages for all unpaid wages and benefits and recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs;
• permits employees to bring collective actions on behalf of “similarly situated” employees;
• increases potential fines and provides for jail time for repeat offenders;
• extends the statute of limitations to six years;
• broadens protections against retaliation; and
• lowers employees’ burdens of proof.

CALIFORNIA: Employers Must Take Steps to Protect Workers from Wildfire Smoke

In preparation for wildfire season, California legislators approved an emergency regulation requiring employers to monitor air quality for particle pollution. 

The new regulation applies to workplaces where the AQI for PM 2.5 is 151 or greater and where employers should reasonably anticipate that employees may be exposed to wildfire smoke.

Under the new rule, employers must take the following steps to protect workers who may be exposed to wildfire smoke:

• Check the AQI for PM 2.5 before each shift, and periodically thereafter, as needed to protect the health of the employee, to determine if it is at or above 151; and
• Reduce harmful exposure to wildfire smoke if feasible—for example, by relocating work to an enclosed building with filtered air or an outdoor location where the AQI for PM 2.5 is 150 or lower.

NEW YORK: Harassment Laws Overhauled

Governor Cuomo signed the last of several bills that massively overhauls New York State’s discrimination and harassment laws.

• Plaintiffs are no longer required to establish that the harassing conduct was “severe or pervasive.” 
• Employers can no longer rely on the Faragher/Ellerth defense.
• Plaintiffs are no longer required to show the existence of comparators—i.e., similarly-situated individuals outside of their protected class who were treated more favorable.
• Attorney fees awards are now mandatory for prevailing Plaintiffs.
• Punitive damages are available for all discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims.
• Non-disclosure/confidentiality clauses in settlement agreement are now banned for all discrimination and harassment claims unless it is “the complainant’s preference.”
• Pay equity protections are now expanded to all protected classes—not just gender.
• Employers are severely limited in requesting and relying upon an applicant’s prior salary history before making an employment offer.

I doubt this will surprise anyone, but expect some site outages as Hurricane Dorian travels over Florida. We're likely to be without power for several hours, at the very least. (In rare cases, we'll lose power for a day or two.) Should that happen, we'll have everything back online as soon as service has been restored.