Many Massachusetts employers conducted pay equity self-audits in 2018, just before or soon after the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (MEPA) went into effect. Although it probably seems like it was only yesterday, July 1, 2021, will mark the third anniversary of the MEPA's implementation. If your organization conducted a self-evaluation in 2018, you need to schedule another soon so you can continue to rely on an affirmative defense built into the Act.

It’s one of the most horrific cases with employment implications to be decided in recent years. The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers South Carolina employers) recently held the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) (a statute passed to implement the Thirteenth Amendment against slavery or involuntary servitude) requires a person found guilty of obtaining forced labor to compensate the victim for the “full amount” of his losses, including the value of his labor as provided by the “minimum wage and overtime guarantees of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).” In short, the TVPA’s guarantee extends to the FLSA’s liquidated damages provision. The appellate court sent the matter back to the district judge in South Carolina to recalculate the victim’s compensation to include the liquidated damages.

Last November, Portland voters approved a referendum mandating “emergency pay” for workers on-site in the city. During state and city emergencies, employees are entitled to at least 1.5 times the minimum wage. Proponents assumed the referendum would become effective within 30 days of certification, establishing an $18 minimum wage during the COVID-19 pandemic. On February 2, Justice Thomas Warren from Maine’s Superior Court ruled the referendum was constitutional but that the emergency pay doesn’t take effect until January 2022.

Virginia’s wave of employee-friendly legislation continues. In 2020, the General Assembly greatly expanded the scope of the Commonwealth’s  employment discrimination laws and began the process of hiking its  minimum wage toward a $15-per-hour target. This year, lawmakers turned  their attention to overtime protections by enacting the Virginia  Overtime Wage Act, which takes effect July 1, 2021.

Employment law attorneys from the Employers Counsel Network comment on the effects employers will feel now that the Trump administration's rule on employee classification has been withdrawn.

It’s hard to believe many of us have been working from home because of the COVID-19 outbreak for more than a year. In addition, many teleworkers have been operating on flexible schedules. The consistent question for employers is: How do we pay nonexempt employees working flexible schedules from home? Here is the answer (at least for now).

While some portions of the Trump administration tipped worker rule will go into effect on April 30, the more controversial portions of the rule, including civil money penalties and tip credits for workers who perform both tipped and nontipped work, are being delayed until December 31.