Labor & Employment Law Update

Shortly following his inauguration on Friday, President Trump signed an Executive Order affirming his intent to eliminate the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The executive order is not a repeal of the ACA and does not make any changes to the law or regulations thereunder, but rather addresses the actions of federal agencies in enforcing the existing law. The executive order directs the agencies responsible for overseeing ACA enforcement (Health and Human Services, Treasury Department, and Department of Labor) to, “take all actions consistent with the law to minimize the ...

We are now almost three weeks into the New Year and while it might be tempting to ease into 2017, the time is now to ensure that the required compliance updates have been made to your payroll and Form I-9 procedure to comply with the 2017 changes.

Minimum Wage

The following 21 states have updates to their minimum wage that affect your payroll for 2017:

1. Alaska (Effective 1/1/17) – minimum wage increases from $9.75 to $9.80.
2. Arizona (Effective 1/1/17) – minimum wage increases from $8.05 to $10.00.
3. Arkansas (Effective 1/1/17) – minimum wage increases from $8.00 to $8.50.

The NLRB has, once again, struck down work rules the Board deemed overly broad. This time, the employer is Whole Foods Market, and the rules at issue essentially barred employees from photographing or making audio or video recordings during working hours—that is, when employees were being paid to do their assigned work. These rules did not apply while employees were on break.

Readers may remember that the NLRB’s rationale for striking down various employer policies in recent years has hinged on protecting employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act to engage in ...