REMINDER: New Year, New Minimum Wages in Maryland and D.C.

Take Away:  Effective January 1, 2015, Maryland’s minimum wages rises from $7.25/hr to $8.00/hr. On July 1, 2015, Washington, D.C.’s minimum wages rises to $10.50/hr.

DC Enacts Workplace Protections for Reproductive Health Decisions

By former Associate Jack Blum

On December 19, 2014, the District of Columbia City Council unanimously approved the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act of 2014 (the “Act”).  The bill, which is subject to the requirements of mayoral approval and congressional review, would expand the prohibition in the District of Columbia Human Rights Act (“DCHRA”) against employment discrimination based on sex (i.e., gender) to also include “reproductive health decisions.”

Montgomery County Employers Must Comply with New Ban the Box Law by Jan. 1

Montgomery County’s new “ban the box” law goes into effect on January 1, 2015, and does far more than simply banning the box.  The law, which was enacted by the Montgomery County Council on October 28, 2014, will place significant limitations on how most employers in the County may inquire about, and use, information related to an applicant’s criminal history.  Montgomery County employers would be well advised to review their own policies on the use of criminal histories and to train and educate those employees who are involved in the hiring and promotion processes in order to ensure full compliance with the law.  

NLRB Files Complaints against McDonalds and Franchisees as Joint Employers

Take Away:  The NLRB may be in the process of re-writing the rules to make it easier to find a franchisor liable as a joint employer with a franchisee.

Supreme Court Holds Anti-Theft Screening Non-Compensable Under FLSA

On December 9, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk, 134 S.Ct. 1490, 188 L. Ed. 2d 374 (2014), that workers do not have to be paid overtime for time their employer required them to spend at the end of their shifts to go through anti-theft screenings, rejecting the plaintiffs’ assertion that they were entitled to be paid under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Nevada law.  In a case brought by employees of a staffing agency that provided warehouse workers to Amazon, the Court reversed a contrary decision by the Ninth Circuit.

You Can Smoke Weed In DC! And Your Employer Can Fire You For It!

Take Away:  The District of Columbia may let you possess marijuana, but the federal government still considers it illegal, and employers can still fire you for smoking it.