Category: Legislative Developments

Citing the lack of paid sick days for workers, and the associated costs of sick workers showing up for work, Senator Tom Harkin (D–Iowa) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D–Connecticut) on March 20, 2013 reintroduced the Healthy Families Act (Sen. 631 and H.R. 1286).   The bill would allow workers to accumulate up to 56 hours of paid sick time to be used when they or family members were ill.  The bill was first introduced in 2004. Affecting...

A new law in New York State makes it illegal to require a person to disclose his or her social security number for any purpose.  The new law, which goes into effect on December 12, 2012, adds a new Section 399-ddd to the state’s General Business Law. Significantly, the prohibition on disclosure extends to “any number derived from” a person’s social security number. As a result, employers cannot require employees to disclose the last four...

Maryland employers are not permitted to require an employee to use accrued time off when appearing in response to a jury summons. Employers are also not permitted to take (or threaten to take) an adverse employment action against an employee who fulfills his or her civic duty. This past session, the General Assembly has added to the list of what an employer cannot do vis-à-vis an employee involved in jury duty. Effective October 1, 2012, an employer...