On November 10, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor confirmed the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) credit reduction states and rates for the 2017 tax year. All employers that are subject to FUTA tax and have paid wages in California and/or the Virgin Islands will see an increase in their 2017 FUTA taxes.

The Supreme Court of Minnesota, in Burt v. Rackner, Inc., has ruled that discharging an employee for refusing to share tips is illegal under the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act (MFLSA).

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee signed the “Lactation in the Workplace Ordinance”, increasing protections for nursing mothers working in the geographic boundaries of San Francisco.

California continues its expansion of equal pay protections with the enactment of Assembly Bill 168, which prohibits employers from seeking, considering, and relying on an applicant’s salary history when determining whether to offer employment to an applicant or what salary to offer. 

California became the first state to explicitly affirm the rights of immigrant workers through the passage of a provision that imposes an affirmative obligation on California employers to provide employees notification that the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has determined they are lacking work authorization. 

Effective January 1, 2018, in order to take advantage of the overtime pay exemptions, California employers must pay computer software professionals a minimum of $43.58 per hour or $90,790.07 annually and licensed physicians and surgeons a minimum of $79.39 per hour. 

The New York State Department of Labor recently amended its Minimum Wage Order for Miscellaneous Industries and Occupations to state that bona fide meal periods and sleep times may be excluded from hours worked by home care aides who work a shift of 24 hours or more consistent with federal Fair Labor Standards Act regulations.