New Year will bring significant changes to the local employment laws affecting Silicon Valley-area employers, with measures aimed at reducing the expansion of the part-time workforce and increasing the minimum wage.
The end of the year brings many reasons to celebrate, and the vast majority of employers intend to make merry by hosting a holiday party of some sort. Nonetheless, a holiday party can create unintended negative consequences.
On a very limited legal basis, a federal district court has declined to enjoin OSHA from enforcing portions of its new recordkeeping rule related to potentially retaliatory post-accident drug testing and safety incentive programs.
On November 21, 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued enforcement guidance addressing national origin discrimination under Title VII.
Many employers are considering pulling back previously-announced salary increases and re-classifications in light of the preliminary injunction barring the DOL from implementing the overtime rule. However, there are state-law limitations to keep in mind.
New bills passed in 2016 expand the scope of required sexual harassment training to an estimated additional 570,000 private-sector workers, the vast majority of whom will be rank-and-file, non-supervisory employees.
