The tsunami of new employment laws and regulations in the last two months has challenged employers and human resources professionals, created a host of new employee rights, and caused many bouts of compliance head-scratching.
Earlier this year, Governor Murphy signed a package of legislation aimed at tightening worker misclassification enforcement in New Jersey. One of these new measures, Assembly Bill 5843, established a new posting requirement for employers.
Wrapped up in the pending NYC Essential Workers Bill of Rights is legislation that would expand the city’s Earned Sick and Safe Time Act to cover many workers currently classified as independent contractors.
On April 22, 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a decision affecting the classification of independent contractors for purposes of the state Unemployment Compensation Law (UCL).
The Court of Appeal in The Hague recently held that the Employment and Security Act precludes secondment agencies from terminating contracts with workers who are ill or injured at work, despite terms allowing such terminations in collective agreements.
The Department of Labor has clarified that gig workers qualify as “unemployed” under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program when they lose a significant amount of business because of COVID-19.
When the Democrats took control of the General Assembly in addition to the governorship in the November 2019 election, many predicted an expansion of workers’ rights. That prediction was realized with the 2020 Virginia General Assembly session.
