MONDAY MORNING MINUTE: June 24, 2019

Monday Morning Minute

In This Issue

Dallas Employers! Prepare for Paid Sick Leave

Oregon Wants Paid Leave

Massachusetts: Updates to Paid Family Medical Leave

Illinois Requiring Mandatory Training on Harassment

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June 24, 2019

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DALLAS EMPLOYERS TO START PREPARING FOR PAID SICK LEAVE

Dallas' new ordinance requiring all employers in the city to provide paid sick leave will take effect August 1.

O rganizations that lobbied in favor of the paid sick leave plan an information session from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25 at the Oak Cliff Tower, 400 Zang Boulevard in Dallas.

Should you need further information on this ordinance, please reference an earlier edition of the Monday Morning Minute or contact any Spognardi Baiocchi attorney of your choice.

OREGON ATTEMPTING TO PASS PAID LEAVE

Oregon lawmakers, in a 43-15 vote in the House last week Thursday, approved a bill that would create a statewide family and medical leave insurance fund. The bill now heads to the Senate, where the fate of all bills is uncertain as Senate Republicans have literally left the building in protest of ongoing issues.

Should the paid leave bill pass the Senate and be signed into law, employees can combine the paid leave offered by the state with federal unpaid leave time. The leave cannot exceed 16 weeks in a year or 18 weeks for women who have experienced complications due to pregnancy. Vacation time offered by employers are not included in the cap rate, and could be added to exceed 16 or 18 weeks. The rate of pay an employee receives during their leave is based on their wages.

MASSACHUSETTS DELAYS COLLECTION OF TAX FOR PAID FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill last Thursday to delay t he state planned collection of new payroll taxes which will be used to fund the new paid leave program beginning July 1, 2019. Benefits are set to start in January 2021. This new tax is now slated to begin in October.

The bill signed on Thursday also sets aside $3.5 million to fund the new Department of Family and Medical Leave, which will oversee the benefit, and makes other technical changes to the law.

Also on Thursday, th e Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave ("DFML") posted the much-anticipated final regulations regarding Massachusetts' Paid Family and Medical Leave law ("PFML"). Those regulations can be found HERE.

ILLINOIS PASSES NEW SEX DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT LAWS

Illinois has joined several other states in approving additional legislation to prevent harassment and discrimination. Both the Sexual Harassment Bill (SB 75) and the new Equal Pay Act have been sent to Governor Pritzner to be signed into law.

SB 75 requires all employers to hold a yearly sexual harassment training program to educate their employees about the issue. The law also places a limit on unilateral nondisclosure agreements and requires employers to disclose the number of sexual harassment settlements they have every five years to the Illinois Department of Human Rights. In addition, employees who are victims of sexual harassment are allowed unpaid leave and isolated work spaces must be equipped with panic buttons to prevent and protect employees from sexual harassment.

The Equal Pay Act provides that any pay differential for similarly situated positions must be job related, and not based on sex or any other protected characteristic. The Act prohibits employers from screening their employees based on their previous salaries, and prohibits employers from discussing compensation, or waiving rights to discuss the same with others.

SPOGNARDI BAIOCCHI llp is a law firm dedicated to partnering with companies of all sizes to address the full spectrum of legal concerns for its business. Our commitment is to find common sense solutions that fit each clients' unique situation to labor, employment, human resources and general business needs.

With over 50 combined years of experience among its 2 founding partners in these areas, we can assist businesses in developing custom solutions to today's tough issues. And as litigators, who combined have over thousands of trials "under their belts" before state and federal courts as well as administrative agencies (such as the NLRB) you will find no better advocate and partner.

For more information on the firm, please go to our website at www.psb-attorneys.com or Lisa at lab@psb-attorneys.com