Check out a preview of the March MyLife^SM newsletter, scheduled for distribution to your employees on Thursday, March 16, 2017. 

Applications can now be submitted for the 2017 Aspire Scholarship Program. Help us notify your employees and encourage them to apply. 

As of March 13, 2017, certain San Jose, California employers must offer additional work hours to existing qualified employees before hiring new employees, subcontractors, or temporary staffing and must prominently post a notice informing employees of their rights under the Opportunity to Work Ordinance (Ordinance).  

The New York State Department of Labor has adopted regulations implementing the previously enacted state law limiting an employer’s ability to restrict an employee’s discussion about his/her wages.

On January 1, 2017, the Arizona minimum wage rate began a series of scheduled tiered increases with an initial rate increase from $8.05 per hour to $10.00 per hour.  The Industrial Commission of Arizona recently released a list of frequently asked questions in which they explain that small businesses that (1) make less than $500,000 in gross annual income and (2) are exempt from payment of the federal minimum wage because neither their employees nor the enterprise engage in interstate commerce, are exempt from complying with the Arizona minimum wage requirements.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals holds that employers who include a liability waiver in background check disclosure and consent forms provided to prospective employees willfully violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  This decision, while controlling in the Ninth Circuit, has greater implications for employers nationwide.