The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released the text of the final regulations and interpretative guidance implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) on April 15, 2024. They were formally published in the April 19, 2024, Federal Register and will be effective 60 days later. The EEOC received more than 100,000 public comments, including comments from Jackson Lewis, in response to the Commission’s notice of the proposed regulations issued on Aug. 11, 2023. Although largely unchanged from the proposed regulations, the final regulations provide important cl ..read more

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued final regulations and Interpretative Guidance to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The PWFA went into effect on June 27, 2023. The PWFA requires that employers with at least 15 employees provide reasonable accommodations, absent undue hardship, to qualified employees and applicants with known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The PWFA required the EEOC to publish final regulations by December 29, 2023. However, the EEOC did not issue final r ..read more

Leave laws, regulations, and ordinances continue to change in Minnesota. The city of Duluth, Minnesota, repealed its Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) ordinance effective Jan. 17, 2024. The Duluth ESST had guaranteed paid leave for qualifying employees working in the city since Jan. 1, 2020. Minnesota’s statewide ESST statute went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. The Duluth City Councilors who moved for repeal of the ESST ordinance  stated that Minnesota’s state-wide ESST law rendered the city’s ordinance unnecessary. The ESST ordinances in Minneapolis and St. Paul remain i ..read more

New Oregon law will change the administration of employee leaves for baby bonding and for a serious health condition. Since 2005, Oregon’s Family Leave Act (OFLA) has provided employees protected absences from work for various family- and medical-related reasons. In 2019, the legislature created a new statutory scheme in Paid Leave Oregon (PLO). PLO established a family and medical leave insurance program to provide employees compensated time off from work to care for and bond with a new child, provide care for a family member who has a serious health condition, or recover from the employee’s ..read more

The Puerto Rico Secretary of Health issued Administrative Order No. 2024-589, declaring a public health emergency due to the prevalence of cases of dengue fever on the Island. Administrative Order No. 2024-589, signed on March 25, 2024, went into effect immediately and will last for 90 days or until June 23, 2024, unless its duration is extended. Learn more here ..read more

It has been almost exactly four years since the COVID-19 pandemic changed the American working landscape. Many of us followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through multiple changes and guidance, including from no mask, to mask, to no mask. On March 1, 2024, the CDC changed the isolation guidance for those with COVID-19. Find out more here ..read more

Congress improperly passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, including the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), a federal court in Texas has ruled. State of Texas v. Department of Justice et al., No. 5:23-cv-00034 (N.D. Tex. Feb. 27, 2024). The court permanently enjoined the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Department of Justice from enforcing the PWFA against the State of Texas and its agencies. Learn more here ..read more

The North Carolina legislature added nondiscrimination and nonretaliation protections for employees who serve in the North Carolina Wing – Civil Air Patrol. Effective December 1, 2023, it is unlawful for any employer to discriminate or retaliate against any employee who is a member of the NC Wing Civil Air Patrol based on membership status or an authorized absence required to perform duties. There are specific criteria defining an authorized absence.  An absence is authorized if: (1) the employee is required to perform duties for a State approved mission or US Air Force authorized mission ..read more

Continuing the wave of new rules and regulations related to paid leave in Minnesota, on January 8, 2024, the St. Paul Department of Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity (HREEO) issued guidance on its interpretation of St. Paul’s Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) Ordinance. St. Paul revised its ESST Ordinance in October 2023 to align with Minnesota’s ESST law, which went into effect January 1, 2024. The new guidance called “Final Rules” helps employers understand how the HREEO will enforce the recently revised St. Paul Ordinance. Employers with employees in St. Paul should review the Fina ..read more

The D.C. Department of Employment Services (DOES) has issued a new Paid Family Leave notice/poster. This notice must be posted in a “conspicuous place”, such as where the employer posts employment-related information, and must be provided to employees, on or before February 1, 2024. The new notice, effective October, 2023, is identical to the previous notice, which was issued in October 2022, except that the maximum weekly benefit has increased. The new maximum weekly benefit is $1,118. From October 2022 to October 2023, the maximum weekly benefit was $1,049.   Under the Universal Paid Le ..read more