COVID-19
New Jersey – The governor announced that the state will distribute bonuses for workers and wage subsidies for businesses struggling to hire amid a nationwide labor shortage. The new program, called “Return and Earn,” will be a $10 million pilot program funded with federal relief money. Businesses that pay at least $15/hr and have 100 or fewer workers are eligible to apply for these subsidies. Those businesses are eligible to receive a $10,000 wage subsidy per employee, for an overall cap of $40,000 for the business. Workers who are hired at these businesses will receive a $500 bonus in their first paycheck. More details.
Wages
Colorado – The state labor department is proposing an increase in the state minimum wage to $12.56/hr effective Jan. 1, an increase of 24 cents over the current wage. By law, the wage is reviewed every year in Sept. when the agency publishes a proposed rulemaking followed by a comment period that ends with a public hearing on Nov. 1. More details.
New York -The state labor department approved a minimum wage increase for the region north of New York City. Beginning Dec. 31, that region’s minimum wage will rise by 70 cents from the current $12.50/hr to $13.20/hr. The increase is part of the law approved in 2016 to phase-in a minimum wage of $15/hr for all workers. That means the labor department must increase minimum wage each year until it reaches that benchmark. More details.
Paid Leave
Federal – The federal COVID-related paid sick tax credits expired Sept. 30. For context, large employers for a time period were required to provide COVID-related paid sick leave. Effective January 1, 2021, that requirement became optional. Participating employers could still utilize tax credits to offset paid leave costs. At this juncture, neither the Biden Administration nor Congressional leadership have indicated they intend to further extend the tax credits.
California – The state’s supplemental paid sick requirement expired Sept. 30 and there are no bills pending to extend it further nor is any executive action planned. An employee who begins their leave prior to that date can complete their leave even if it runs past Sept. 30. However, employees are not entitled to supplemental paid sick leave if they request it on Oct. 1. More details.
Massachusetts – The governor signed legislation extending the state’s COVID-19 paid leave policy. In May, the legislature passed a bill creating a new $75 million emergency COVID-19 sick leave program offering workers up to one week of paid leave, capped at $850. The program was set to expire Sept. 30 but was extended until April 1, 2022. Just over $2 million has been used of the original $75 million pool. More details.
Labor Policy
NLRB – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reached a settlement with HMS Host resolving an unfair labor charge filed by a local UNITE HERE chapter. A regional office claimed that employee’s rights were violated when the company’s management separately directed two Starbucks baristas employed by the company to remove masks bearing the words “Black Lives Matter” or “BLM,” stating that the masks’ political messaging violated company policy. The company agreed to resolve the complaint through a settlement agreement with the agency requiring that it pledge to employees that it will not “tell [them] to remove masks that have Black Lives Matter or BLM printed on them” or otherwise violate workers’ federal labor rights. The charge is among the first cases in the nation to take on the question of whether workers have a right under federal labor law to wear BLM masks—or other masks with social justice messages—at work. The NLRB recently filed a lawsuit addressing similar issues at Home Depot. More details.
Bellingham, Washington – The city attorney certified for the Nov. ballot an initiative regarding both hazard pay and scheduling. If passed, the law would require certain employers to: pay their employees a hazard pay supplement of $4/hr during a declared state of emergency; require employers to provide good faith estimates of weekly hours to new employees upon hire, and; require employers to provide work schedules to hourly-wage employees two-weeks in advance. Additionally, it would require advance notice of any schedule changes, require employers to compensate employees for changing their work schedules without sufficient notice, and prohibit adverse actions by employers. More details.
Activism
Chicago, IL – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled Thursday that a secret ballot election be held at the landmark Italian Village restaurant on Oct. 22. Employees had filed a petition for representation by a local chapter of UNITE HERE. Voting will be open to all current employees, as well as anyone who was laid off for picketing or engaging in no-show protests. More details.Top
Sustainability
Federal – Legislation has been introduced in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate that would essentially create a national deposit fee program on pre-packaged beverage containers, such as aluminum cans, bottles, metal, plastic, and paper products among other things. As of now, beverages covered would include alcoholic and carbonated beverages, milk, plant-based milk alternatives, juice, coffee, tea, sports drinks, and water. Under the program, retailers would pay their suppliers a 5-cent per container deposit fee (which would increase to 10 cents by 2030) and pass on the fee to customers when the beverage product is sold. Retailers would be required to act as collection centers and accept returns of beverage containers at their retail locations, with some exceptions. Retailers would need to pay consumers, at the prescribed rate, for empty, returned beverage containers, but with some exceptions. Many states, most notably Maine and Oregon, have passed landmark new product stewardship laws in the last few months and much of this federal legislation is based on the Oregon model. More details.
Key Takeaways
- The NLRB’s settlement agreement on Black Lives Matter face masks may have immediate, direct operational impacts but more importantly, it is indicative of the Board’s expansive view of protected concerted activity and speech within the workplace. Employers are going to need to recalibrate their expectations around workplace speech under the Biden NLRB.
- The newly-introduced federal recycling legislation is going to establish a template for both federal and state action in this space. The sponsors have invited stakeholder input and brands should take full advantage of that opportunity to shape what is likely to become model legislation. Brands should engage quickly.