Support for Temporary Employment Agencies: WSIA Changes Ahead

Temporary Employment Agencies (TEAs) should become familiar with a change to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (“WSIA”)[1], which creates a new classification, 001281, added to Class L. Traditionally, for premium setting with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) under the WSIA, TEAs report and pay premiums for labour provided based on their …

The Michigan Supreme Court Expands Public Policy Causes of Action for Retaliatory Discharge

Under Michigan’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (“MiOSHA”), employers may not “discharge an employee or in any manner discriminate against an employee because the employee filed a complaint” regarding the employer’s unsafe working conditions, among other things. MCL 408.1065(1). Any employee who “believes that he or she was discharged or otherwise discriminated against by a …

Michigan Employers Must Increase Sick Time and Minimum Wage by February 21, 2025

The game of legal whiplash is over – Michigan employers (and employment lawyers) now know that the Earned Sick Time Act and Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act, as originally proposed, will go into effect on February 21, 2025. How did we get here? In an opinion issued on July 31, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court …

What Ohio Employers Need to Know As Legal Marijuana Sales Begin

Ohio employers will soon see their employees be able to purchase recreational marijuana when dispensaries open in the coming weeks. Ohio’s recreational marijuana program stems from a 2023 citizen-driven campaign to create a program that allows all Ohioans over 21 years of age to purchase marijuana without needing a doctor’s recommendation first. That initiative, known …

Are You Ready? FLSA Salary Thresholds Increase July 1, 2024

On July 1, 2024, the Department of Labor’s rule raising the salary threshold for workers to be exempt from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act becomes effective. Labor lawyers and HR professionals have long expected, consistent with history, that a court would enjoin the DOL’s new rule (the fluidly named “Defining and …

FTC Declares Employees Free from Most Noncompetes, But How Far Does the Ban Go and Will It Last?

During an Open Commission Meeting on April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 in favor of issuing the Noncompete Clause Rule (the “Final Rule”), which, with limited exceptions, makes it unlawful to enter into noncompete agreements with workers[1] on or after the Final Rule’s effective date, which is 120 days after its publication …

Title IX Update

It is now spring, and if you are an educational entity, it is now the season to begin preparations for summer professional development for the upcoming school year. So you may be wondering: 1) What is going on with Title IX? 2) Are we still following the regulations that were released in 2020? 3) What …

A New Era of Maternity Rights: Understanding the PWFA and the PUMP Act

Within the past year, the rights of pregnant workers have considerably increased within the workplace. The expansion started with the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”), which President Biden signed into law in late 2022. The PWFA took effect in June 2023. The PWFA requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees. Additionally, the Consolidated …

Growing Pains: Cultivating Effective Workplace Policies in a Recreational Cannabis State

With the November 7 passage of Issue 2, effective December 7, 2023, Ohioans will be able to purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and grow marijuana plants in their home. Ohio is the 24th state to allow recreational marijuana. When Ohio allowed medical marijuana back in 2016, Ohio employers had to learn …