State of the States: Arkansas Law Answers Joint Employer Questions

Employment Law

With this year's initial flurry of state and local bills slowing, there are still a number deserving your attention, including a new law in Arkansas establishing that a franchisor is not the employer of its franchisees or its franchisees' employees.  As noted in the Workplace Policy Institute's State of the States report, this marks the sixth such law passed this year, with Alabama and North Carolina likely to soon follow suit.  Meanwhile, equal pay measures continue to dominate headlines as bills advance in Connecticut, New York, Illinois, and Delaware, whose state house-approved bill would make it illegal for employers to ask job candidates or their former employers about their salary history, or to screen applicants based on the same.  These developments come as Philadelphia has agreed to stay temporarily the enforcement of its law prohibiting employers from inquiring into the salary histories of job applicants.  Other significant developments at the state and local level include:

Minimum Wage (Minnesota, West Virginia):  The Minnesota legislature is reconciling two measures to prohibit local wage, leave of absence, scheduling, and employee benefits laws.  Expected to reach the governor's desk, the bill would also preempt paid sick leave laws in Minneapolis and St. Paul.  The West Virginia state senate is considering a similar bill.

Background Checks (Colorado, Texas):  The Colorado state House passed a bill banning inquiries into a job applicant's criminal history on the initial application.  The measure would also prohibit employers from advertising that a person with a criminal history may not apply for a position or indicating as much on an application.  Texas is considering a bill that would preempt local governments from passing their own "ban the box" ordinances.

Paid Leave (Hawaii):  A bill that would grant employees one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked has cleared both chambers in the Hawaii legislature.  A separate Hawaii measure being considered would expand the state's family and medical leave law to provide bereavement leave and allow time off to care for a sibling.