Washington State Governor, Jay Inslee, signed into law Substitute Senate Bill 5975 (S5975), which creates the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program effective January 1, 2020. The Washington Employment Security Department (ESD) has launched a new website to provide guidance to employers, workers and healthcare providers on the new paid family and medical leave insurance program.

On January 2, 2019, Michigan announced that the effective date of the minimum wage increase to $9.45 per hour will be March 29, 2019. The minimum cash wage required to be paid to tipped employees will increase to $3.59 on this same date.

In September 2018, the Michigan legislature adopted as law a proposed ballot measure that would require employers to provide their employees paid leave to be used for “sick” and “safe” time purposes, and other reasons. The law has been amended. The law, now known as the Paid Medical Leave Act, requires covered employers to provide up to 40 hours of paid medical leave per year to eligible employees.

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposal on a new federal overtime rule to determine the salary level for “white collar” exemptions — executive, administrative and professional employees — is expected in early 2019.

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, many states have amplified their sexual harassment prevention efforts, some of which require employee training. Here, we answer Frequently Asked Questions about sexual harassment training.