Regulatory Updates

On July 1, 2017, the Minneapolis Sick and Safe Time Ordinance along with the St. Paul Earned Sick and Safe Time Ordinance went into effect. At this time, both ordinances will only be enforced against those employers residing within each city. This is subject to change, however; and employers residing outside of Minneapolis and St.…

On June 30, 2017, the Minneapolis City Council approved a municipal minimum wage ordinance, raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour for nearly all Minneapolis employees. The requirement is scheduled to be phased in over a five-year period for large businesses and a seven-year period for small businesses. The ordinance defines large businesses as…

June 29, 2017 – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed a new December 1, 2017 deadline to receive electronic workplace injury and illness reports. The previous deadline was set for July 1, 2017. This updated deadline was proposed to provide the new administration an opportunity to review the new electronic reporting requirements prior to their implementation and…

On June 7, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew two guidances, one a 2015 administrative interpretation on classifying workers as employees or independent contractors, and the other a 2016 guidance regarding joint employment. Both withdrawals are effective immediately. Details regarding the impact these guidance withdrawals will have on employers are included below. Worker…

On May 2, 2017, the House of Representatives passed the Working Families Flexibility Act (H.R. 1180) and sent it to the Senate for review. If approved, H.R. 1180 would authorize private employers to offer compensatory time instead of overtime pay for nonexempt employees who work more than 40 hours per week. Compensatory time off is…

May 15, 2017 – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII) prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. The decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College, issued on April 4, 2017, makes it illegal to use an individual’s sexual orientation as…

On May 4, 2017, members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted 217-213 to pass the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the proposed legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The AHCA will now move on to be considered by the Senate. It is likely the Senate will make changes to the…

April 17, 2017 – As many organizations know by now, Federal OSHA has issued a new respirable crystalline silica standard for general industry and construction. State OSHA programs, like Minnesota’s, have adopted the rule in its entirety. The rule lowers the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for respirable crystalline silica to 50 micrograms per cubic meter…

On March 6, 2017, Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives issued two bills to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The draft legislation is collectively called the American Health Care Act. If enacted, the new law would not repeal the ACA entirely, although it would make significant changes to key provisions.…

Dec. 27, 2016 – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) final rule for modernizing injury data collection will go into effect Jan. 1, 2017. The rule requires certain employers to electronically submit data from their work-related injury records to OSHA, and also solidifies employee anti-retaliation protections for reporting work-related injuries and illnesses. Employers affected…