Category Archives: News & Commentary

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed legislation, which includes the passage of the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”). PUMP stands for “Providing Urgent Maternal Protections,” and expands the rights of nursing employees to have time and a private space to pump breastmilk at work. The PUMP Act expands coverage to workers in…

On February 9, 2023, the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor released an opinion letter clarifying that employees can take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) in increments, including increments that are less than a full workday. FMLA protects the right of eligible employees to take unpaid,…

On February 6, 2023, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a new law, New Jersey Bill A1474, seeking to ensure basic protections and dignity for temporary workers. The “Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights” will go into effect on August 5, 2023. The law seeks to ensure that the 127,000 temporary workers in New Jersey, who…

On January 10, 2023, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a law amending the New Jersey WARN Act, effective April 10, 2023. The amendments in question were initially approved in 2020 but their implementation was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing state of emergency. Lawmakers have decided that the ongoing state of…

On December 21, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a statewide pay transparency law. Like the NYC pay transparency law, this state law requires employers to list salary ranges for all advertised jobs and promotions. Under the New York State pay transparency law, employers must disclose the compensation or a range of…

On December 7, 2022, President Biden signed the Speak Out Act into law. The Speak Out Act aims to empower victims of workplace sexual assault and harassment by limiting enforcement of pre-dispute nondisclosure and nondisparagement clauses in employment contracts. Under the Speak Out Act, employers may no longer enforce nondisclosure and nondisparagement clauses that were…

On November 21, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law legislation meant to protect workers from being disciplined for taking protected leave. The law takes effect on February 19, 2023. The new law amends and expands section 215 of the New York Labor Law, which generally provides workers protection from retaliation by their…

Levy Ratner celebrates with our co-counsel, Lichten and Liss-Riordan, P.C., our recent victory representing Black and Hispanic police officers challenging discriminatory police sergeant promotion exams used in numerous Massachusetts cities and towns between 2005 and 2012. On October 27, 2022, the Court concluded that the Massachusetts Human Resources Division, the state agency that created the…

On November 1, 2022, New York City’s pay transparency law went into effect. Although passed in December 2021, the City Council delayed implementation to clarify and improve certain aspects of the law. The pay transparency law, a part of the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), will be enforced by the New York City…