Unemployment Claims Hold Near 8-Month High

?States reported that 260,000 workers filed for new unemployment benefits during the week ending July 30. The number of workers continuing to claim unemployment benefits—1.4 million—is still well below the prepandemic average of... Read more »

New Rules Require Japanese Companies to Disclose Their Gender Wage Gap

?In June, the Japanese government announced its framework policy plan called the “Framework Policies.” The policies require Japanese companies to increase the transparency of their gender wage gap in two ways: (a)... Read more »

Monkeypox at Work: Keep ADA Guidelines in Mind

?U.S. employers are reminded to keep the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in mind as monkeypox spreads throughout the U.S. and into the workplace. ADA compliance requires keeping employee medical information confidential,... Read more »

USCIS Must Address Ballooning Backlogs, Ombudsman Says

?Severe and growing backlogs, inadequate funding and an increasing number of lawsuits continue to plague the agency that oversees the processing of employment visas for foreign workers. The public’s liaison to U.S.... Read more »

Tension Between Employers and Remote Workers in Canada

?When law firm Levitt Sheikh recalled their employees to the office in June 2020, there was initially some resistance. It was early in the pandemic, and many law firms in the Toronto... Read more »

Jiffy Lube Reaches $2 Million Agreement in No-Poach Claim

?Approximately 1,250 hourly Jiffy Lube employees in the Philadelphia metropolitan area will share a $2 million settlement of a claim that the company prohibited its franchisees from hiring existing employees of its... Read more »

Michigan Court Upholds Prohibition Against LGBTQ Discrimination

?Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), prohibits sex-based discrimination, which includes discrimination based on sexual orientation, the Michigan Supreme Court recently held in Rouch World v. Department of Civil Rights. This opinion,... Read more »

California Proposition to Raise Minimum Wage Delayed

?California voters almost had the opportunity to vote on an $18 per hour minimum wage in November 2022. The state has a unique administrative process by which California citizens can propose laws... Read more »

Change to Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act Vetoed

?A provision in the enacted state budget for fiscal year 2023 would have amended the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) to provide employers and employees more flexibility to use... Read more »

Massachusetts Court Rules Home Inspectors Are Independent Contractors

?The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently held that home inspectors were independent contractors and, therefore, ineligible for unemployment benefits. Tiger Home Inspection, Inc. v. Director of the Department of Unemployment Assistance overturned a... Read more »
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