One of the most difficult things for human resource and absence management professionals to do is to keep up with changing state and local laws. Below is a brief summary of some new laws of interest:
Posters: A number of jurisdictions have updated posters, including:
- California – Family Rights Act and Pregnancy Disability Leave
- Cook County, Illinois – Paid Sick Leave
- Emeryville, California – Paid Sick Leave
- Minneapolis, Minnesota – Paid Sick Leave
- Montgomery County, Maryland – Paid Sick Leave
- Paul, Minnesota – Paid Sick Leave
Arizona: The Industrial Commission has issued proposed regulations and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs). The FAQs clarify that employers only need to allow a carryover of 40 hours from one year to the next.
Chicago, Illinois: Chicago has issued final paid sick leave rules.
Cook County, Illinois: Cook County has issued final paid sick leave regulations.
Emeryville, California: The City of Emeryville has updated its paid sick leave law.
Florida: Florida now requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide up to 15 days of unpaid leave to employees engaged in a Civil Air Patrol mission or training.
Hawaii: Hawaii now permits employees to take family leave to care for siblings with a serious health condition.
Massachusetts: There is a new Massachusetts employer assessment intended to deter enrollment in MassHealth.
Nevada: Effective January 1, 2018, employers will be required to provide leave of up to 160 hours for employees who have been victims of domestic violence.
Effective October 1, 2017, employers will be required to provide reasonable accommodations to female employees and applicants for pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.
New York: New York State has adopted final regulations for the Paid Family Leave Law. Employers must maintain existing health benefits for the duration of leave. The definition of wages includes tips.
Oregon: Oregon has amended its paid sick time law to clarify a number of items. It is now clear that employers can cap accruals at 40 hours. The law does not cover corporate directors, LLC members, LLP partners or sole proprietors.
Washington: The State of Washington has enacted paid family leave. The legislature had approved paid family leave 10 years ago, but it was never implemented because they never found a way to pay for it.
Effective July 23, 2017, a new law also requires covered employers to provide reasonable pregnancy accommodations.
