NEW: California: West Hollywood Paid and Unpaid Time Off (For Non-Exempt Employees)
We have added a new policy for employers in West Hollywood that must comply with the new paid and unpaid time off requirements that take effect July 1, 2022. Under the West Hollywood Ordinance, all employers must provide eligible non-exempt employees with up to 96 hours of paid sick, vacation and personal necessity leave each year, as well as up to 80 hours of unpaid leave for personal and family member illnesses. The policy also addresses the provisions of California’s Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act.
This policy is not required but is strongly recommended to show compliance and to explain the paid and unpaid leave requirements to employees.
NEW: Illinois: Chicago Discrimination and Non-Harassment (Including Sexual Harassment)
We have added a new policy for employers that must comply with the new sexual harassment policy requirements mandated by the City of Chicago Human Rights Ordinance that take effect July 1, 2022. The new policy addresses the Ordinance’s sexual harassment prevention requirements and also includes notice to employees of their right to be free from discrimination in the workplace, their right to reasonable accommodation based on pregnancy and disability and their right to be free from sexual harassment as required by the Illinois Human Rights Act to be included in employee handbooks. The policy is required and should be used for employees in Chicago.
NEW: Illinois: Chicago Non-Harassment Complaint Form (Including Sexual Harassment)
We have added a new form for employees in the City of Chicago to use to report complaints of harassment. Every employer in the City of Chicago is required to adopt a sexual harassment policy and provide an internal complaint form for employees to use to report incidents of sexual harassment. We have provided this model complaint form to be included in the employee handbook for employers’ convenience.
DELETE: Illinois: Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Notice
We have deleted this policy and included the required employee handbook information providing notice to employees explaining their right to be free from discrimination in the workplace, their right to reasonable accommodation based on pregnancy and disability and their right to be free from sexual harassment in the new Illinois: Discrimination and Non-Harassment (Including Sexual Harassment) policy.
NEW: Illinois: Discrimination and Non-Harassment (Including Sexual Harassment)
We have added a new policy for employers in Illinois that is a combined discrimination and non-harassment policy prohibiting harassment and discrimination as well as providing notice to employees explaining their right to be free from discrimination in the workplace, their right to reasonable accommodation based on pregnancy and disability and their right to be free from sexual harassment as required by the Illinois Human Rights Act to be included in employee handbooks. This policy replaces the Illinois Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Notice which has been deleted.
NEW: New Mexico: Sick and Safe Time
We have added a new policy for employers that must comply with the Healthy Workplaces Act (HWA). Effective July 1, 2022, the Act requires all employers in New Mexico to provide employees with one (1) hour of paid sick and safe time per 30 hours worked. Employers may cap the amount of paid time employees may use each year at 64 hours, but there is no cap on accrual. The new policy also addresses employee eligibility, accrual of paid time off, covered reasons for leave and notice and documentation requirements.
This policy is not required but is strongly recommended to show compliance and to explain the HWA requirements to employees.
UPDATE: Bernalillo County, New Mexico Earned Paid Time Off
We have updated the advisory notes (Explain this to me), policy description, and the policy to reflect the final increase to the amount of paid time employers must provide employees in Bernalillo County, effective July 1, 2022. We have added a new interview question to allow employers to include in the policy the maximum number of hours of paid time off employees will receive based on the size of the organization (28, 44 or 56 hours). In addition, the grant option has been updated to remove the prorated amount of paid time off for new employees in the first year of employment to eliminate the need to track leave if the grant is not equivalent to the accrual rate.
UPDATE: Washington: Paid Family and Medical Leave
We have updated the advisory notes (Explain this to me) and the policy to include the new paid bereavement leave available for new parents and to include an expanded discussion of the information employees should provide to establish eligibility for benefits. We also have updated the policy to include changes to the waiting periods for the Paid Family and Medical Leave benefits to indicate that no waiting period is required where leave is for the medical leave for the birth parent taken upon the birth of a child, and a waiting period will not reduce the maximum duration of an employee's available paid family or medical leave. These changes are effective June 9, 2022.
UPDATE: Oregon Sick Time
We have updated the policy to include two new public health emergencies that are covered under the Oregon sick leave law. Under a new rule, which made permanent a temporary rule issued last year, employers must provide sick leave to employees who need time off because of an emergency evacuation order by a public official or a determination by a public official of dangerous air quality index or fire index levels. The rule was issued March 21, 2022 and took effect April 1, 2022.
We also updated the grant option to provide 40 hours at the time of hire and to remove the prorated share of sick time for new employees. Employers may prorate the time for new hires, but then they should track the accrual for the remainder of the year, which makes the grant option harder to administer.
UPDATE: New York: Reproductive Health Decision Making Discrimination
We have updated the advisory notes (Explain this to me) to reflect the recent New York district court decision in CompassCare v. Cuomo. The decision permanently enjoins the New York state requirement that employers include information in their employee handbooks regarding the state law prohibiting employers from discriminating based on the employee’s or a dependent’s reproductive health decision making. The notes now indicate that the employee handbook policy is not currently required by law but because New York may appeal the decision, some users may wish to maintain the policy. The policy language has not changed.