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Courtney Blanchard News Archive

Newsroom image for the post Does Your State Prohibit Asking Salary History?

Posted September 9, 2021 with Tags

Does Your State Prohibit Asking Salary History?

Nevada and Rhode Island will soon join the growing list of state and local governments prohibiting employers from requesting salary history from applicants, the most common form of pay equity legislation. As employers transition to remote workforces and attract applicants …

Newsroom image for the post Pay Equity and the Pandemic: A Primer for Higher Ed

Posted May 24, 2021 with Tags

Pay Equity and the Pandemic: A Primer for Higher Ed

After a year unlike any other, colleges and universities are grappling with historical challenges. While adjusting to reduced attendance, converting to online programming, and ensuring a healthy and safe environment, many higher education institutions operated with significant budget shortfalls. The resulting furloughs, layoffs, and work reductions may add a wrinkle—pay equity complaints. 

Posted May 13, 2020 with Tags ,

Returning to Work: Health Checks & Compensable Time

After sheltering-in-place, remote working, and business closures, employers across the country have started planning to bring employees back to work. The first item of business is how to ensure the workplace is safe for employees and the general public. For this, many employers are turning to employee health checks.

Newsroom image for the post Managing Off-the-Clock Time During the Pandemic

Posted April 23, 2020 with Tags , ,

Managing Off-the-Clock Time During the Pandemic

Ensuring that hourly employees accurately record their work time—and that employees are paid for all work time—can be a challenge even under the best of circumstances. But it’s crucial to avoid or defend costly class litigation or audits from the Department of Labor. These “off the clock” issues may be exacerbated for employers who now have hourly employees working remotely during the pandemic. Remote work means employers have less oversight and ability to enforce timekeeping rules. This is made even more complicated because employees may be working—and responding to work requests—during odd hours as they navigate other home obligations.

Posted April 9, 2020 with Tags , ,

How Employers Can Take Advantage of Tax Credits under the New FFCRA Legislation

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) creates, for the first time, a federal requirement to issue paid sick leave and paid FMLA benefits for most private employers with fewer than 500 employees. To help offset the cost, the legislation permits employers to claim tax credits on qualifying paid leave wages, certain health plan expenses, and the employer's share of Medicare taxes.

Newsroom image for the post New York Employers: New COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Law Explained

Posted March 20, 2020 with Tags , , ,

New York Employers: New COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Law Explained

On March 18, 2020, the New York State Assembly passed and Governor Cuomo signed into law a response to the novel coronavirus that provides certain employees sick leave and job protection in the event they are subject to quarantine or isolation due to an order by a public health official. The new law also expands protections to certain employees under the New York Paid Family Leave and the New York disability benefits law to provide some measure of salary continuation during a quarantine or isolation order period.

Posted March 12, 2020 with Tags , ,

Coronavirus FAQs for Employers

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has created significant workplace concerns for U.S. employers. Companies are balancing the need to continue their operations against the desire to keep their employees safe. The Frequently Asked Questions below, and those answered by Courtney Blanchard on this news broadcast, address some of the more difficult employment law-related issues that have arisen as employers confront the coronavirus threat.

Newsroom image for the post Employers and Coronavirus: A Brief Guide

Posted March 2, 2020 with Tags , ,

Employers and Coronavirus: A Brief Guide

The circumstances surrounding COVID-19 (commonly referred to as the “coronavirus”) are unfolding each day. Currently, there is no evidence of widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the U.S. Indeed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advise that most American …

Posted October 24, 2019 with Tags

Overview for Employers: More State Pay Equity Laws Coming Online

New pay equity requirements have already taken effect in 2019 in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Oregon, and the State of Washington. And this trend isn’t slowing down, as even more requirements are slated to take effect in fall 2019 and beyond, including in Colorado, Oregon, New York, and New Jersey. Employers should take care to review their recruiting, interviewing, and other hiring practices—many of these new laws join the growing, nationwide trend banning pre-employment inquiries about salary history.

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