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Effective January 1, 2021, 20 states increased their minimum wage. All 20 of these states have a minimum wage that is greater than the $7.25 per hour minimum wage mandated by federal law, which means that employers are required to pay eligible workers that higher rate of pay.

The New York City Council recently enacted two bills that will enhance job security for its fast food workers starting July 1, 2021. The bills prevent large fast-food chains (those operating 30 or more restaurants nationwide) from firing or substantially reducing the hours of their workers unless the employer can demonstrate bona fide economic reasons for the decision or that the employee committed misconduct or failed to satisfactorily perform job duties.

MSE partner Molly Elkin provided legal perspective on the Department of Labor’s final rules on tipping in the restaurant industry in a recent article in The Washington Post. 

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) Act is a federal law that requires employers with one hundred or more employees to provide sixty days written notice of a plant closing or the mass layoff of more than 50 workers, which includes circumstances where an employee will be furloughed for more than six months.

On New Year’s Eve, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued an Opinion Letter addressing whether travel time during the workday is compensable. DOL Opinion Letters generally answer questions about federal labor laws, explaining how federal laws apply in specific circumstances and clarifying federal labor laws that may have otherwise been confusing.

On January 1, 2021, as the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and the Colorado Department of Labor’s implementing rules go into effect, Colorado will usher in a new era of wage transparency and protections against wage discrimination by employers. 

In 2019, California enacted legislation requiring most employers to provide anti-harassment training to their employees by January 1, 2021. The deadline for compliance is looming.

On December 17, the D.C. Council unanimously passed the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020 which, if it is not vetoed, will “make void and unenforceable non-compete” agreements entered after the law’s effective date. A non-compete agreement is a contract between an employee and their employer that limits the employee’s ability to work for a competitor.

On Monday, December 14, 2020, Pinterest settled a gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed in August 2020 by its former chief operating officer for $22.5 million, making it one of the largest publicly announced individual gender discrimination settlements in history.

A favorable decision for 115 Kentucky federal prison employees came the other day when the US Court of Federal Claims rejected the government’s attempts to dismiss their hazardous duty pay case.