Seyfarth Policy Matters Newsletter - February 20, 2020

In the wake of the impeachment proceedings, the State of the Union, the Administration’s budget proposal, and the initial rounds of the battle to see who gets the Democratic Presidential nomination, it’s been pretty quiet on the labor and employment front here in DC. We expect a busy spring and summer as the parties position themselves for November’s elections. Speaking of which . . .

Minimum Wage & Future of Work. Over the past few months, Seyfarth’s Employment Law Lookout blog has been providing readers with a series of posts on the Presidential candidates’ positions on critical labor and future of work issues. In the most recent edition, our team focuses on minimum wage, which is likely to return to the spotlight in Congress this summer.
 
DOT Warns on CBD. With the significant number of cannabidiol (CBD)-containing products hitting the nation’s shelves, and the increase of the number of individuals using those products, the US Department of Transportation recently issued guidance to employers on the use of CBD by regulated workers. For more on the issue, see the best-named blog in America, Seyfarth’s The Blunt Truth.

Meanwhile, in Colorado. Despite the relative calm inside the Beltway, the states continue their labor and employment activity at a frantic pace. For example, in Colorado, the Department of Labor and Employment announced new standards that will apply to all employers in the state, including daily overtime after 12 hours, 30-minute meal periods, and 10-minute rest breaks. Although the new standards apply to non-exempt employees, Colorado also has tightened up the standards for meeting exempt status under its wage and hour law, both on the duties side and on the minimum salary side. For a detailed description of the order, see Seyfarth’s Wage & Hour Litigation blog.

Virginia Tries All the Things. The current legislative session in Virginia is the first with a Democratic trifecta (House, Senate, Governor) since 1993. And there has been no shortage of efforts to make up for that nearly-30-year gap on the labor front. Bills have been introduced to increase the minimum wage, require parental leave for children’s school activities, create a prevailing wage law and criminalize prevailing wage violations, create joint and several liability for general construction contractors, repeal right to work, prohibit inquiries into wage histories, ban non-compete agreements, eliminate a number of exemptions from the minimum wage, require employers to provide sick leave (including paid sick leave), change the rules regarding tip credit, create a private right of action for any failure to pay wages, adopt the ABC test for independent contractor status (in some industries), and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Some of these proposals have already died on the vine. Others are well on their way to becoming law. Given the unique situation in the Commonwealth – and the preview it may give of future federal activity – we will provide a comprehensive update of Virginia’s labor and employment developments at the end of the legislative session.

New Jersey Proposes to “Overhaul” Workplace Harassment Laws. Earlier this week, New Jersey’s governor announced proposed legislation “clarifying” the standard for sexual harassment claims, requiring employers to implement training, mandating reporting for large employers, and extending the statute of limitations. For more, see Seyfarth’s Legal Update.