Working Together

On Thursday, March 12, 2015, the General Assembly’s Labor and Public Employees Committee  voted favorably on a plethora of bills and advanced them out of committee. Among the most noteworthy were: 1) a bill that would require certain “large” employers to pay a quarterly fee to the Department of Labor for each employee that receives less than $15/ hour in wages, 2) a bill that would  disqualify from unemployment compensation benefits employees discharged or suspended because they lost their operators’ license as a result of failing a drug or alcohol test while off duty, 3) a bill that would ban employers from prohibiting an employee from disclosing or discussing the amount of his or her wages with another employee, 4) a bill that would institute a minimum work week of thirty hours for individuals who perform janitorial work at certain locations, 5) a bill that would prevent employers from requiring individuals to disclose on an employment application any convictions for a nonviolent misdemeanor that have occurred more than five years prior and prevent employers from requiring individuals to disclose any criminal history until the employer has determined whether the individual is “otherwise qualified” for the position, 6) a bill that would enable municipalities to group together for collective bargaining purposes, 7) a bill that would expand the current family and medical leave system so as to provide paid time off for such leave via a voluntary employee withholding program, and also make numerous other revisions to the family and medical leave act, 8) a bill concerning “employee privacy” that would prohibit employers from requiring access to employee social media passwords, 9) a bill that would require contractors working under a public works contract to make “good faith” efforts to employ a workforce comprised of not less than 25% minorities, not less than 25% state residents and not less than 6.9% women, 10) a bill that would prohibit non-disparagement clauses in public employee separation agreements, and 11) a bill that would require the payment of the prevailing wage on all construction projects that receive financial assistance from the state or any state agency.

Bills affecting labor and employment issues may also emerge from other committees (such as the Judiciary Committee).  The 2015 session of the General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn on June 3, 2015, so stay tuned (and let your voices be known to your legislators).

The following is the list of the bills voted out of committee: