What Are the Law Updates for Employers in August 2020? Part 2

This episode goes through law updates in August 2020:

• Georgia Disaster and Emergency Services Volunteer Leaves: Under the Disaster Volunteer Leave Act, employees of state agencies who are certified disaster service volunteers may be granted paid leaves of absence for no more than 15 workdays in a 12-month period to participate in specialized disaster relief services for the American Red Cross.
• Georgia Meal and Rest Periods: A new law requires employers to provide a paid break time of reasonable duration to an employee who desires to express breast milk at the worksite during working hours.
• Georgia Paid Sick Leave: Without action by the Georgia General Assembly, the state’s sick leave laws were set for automatic repeal effective July 1, 2020. However, the Assembly did act to extend the state’s sick leave laws, until July 1, 2023.
• Georgia Unemployment Insurance Law: The method for determining maximum weekly benefit amounts is amended with regard to high average unemployment rates. For claims filed on or after June 14, the maximum benefits payable to an individual in a benefit year is to be the lesser of: (1) 14 times the weekly benefit amount, if this state’s average unemployment rate above 4.5 percent up to a maximum of 26 times the weekly amount added for each 0.5 percent increment in this state’s average unemployment rate above 4.5 percent up to a maximum of 26 times the weekly benefit amount if this state’s average unemployment rate exceeds 10 percent; or (2) one-fourth of the base period wages. If the amount computed is not a multiple of the weekly benefit amount, the total will be adjusted to the nearest multiple of the weekly benefit amount.
• Indiana Privacy: Indiana law prohibits an employer from requiring a candidate for employment or an employee to have a device implanted or otherwise incorporated into the candidate’s or employee’s body as a condition of employment, as a condition of employment in a particular position, or as a condition of receiving additional compensation or benefits.
• Indiana Unemployment Insurance: The Indiana Employment Security Act is amended to revise contribution rate schedules for calendar years after December 31, 2020. The selection of the appropriate schedule for the calendar tax year is based on the fund ratio, which is determined by taking the balance of the fund on the computation date and dividing it by the total payroll of all contributing employers for the preceding calendar year.
• Kentucky Drugs in the Workplace: A new law orders the Cabinet for Health and Family Services along with the Office of Drug Control Policy to promulgate regulations for employer-facilitated substance use disorder treatment programs for employees who have failed an employment-related drug screen. Maintaining such a program is voluntary on the part of employers and participation would require consent from the employee.
• Maryland Discrimination Based on Arrest Record: A new law requires the Maryland Department of Labor to develop a list of any federal state incentive programs available to an employer who hires and trains formerly incarcerated individuals.
• Maryland Equal Pay: New law requires an employer, on request, to provide an applicant the wage range for the position for which the applicant has applied. The law also prohibits an employer from taking any negative action against the applicant because he or she did not provide wage history or a wage range and prohibits an employer from relying on wage history, except when voluntarily provided, for the purpose of determining fair wage.
• Maryland Privacy: Employers are prohibited from using certain facial recognition services during an applicant’s interview for employment unless the applicant consents by signing a waiver.

About the author, Rhamy

Rhamy grew up watching and working with his mother and grandmother in the senior insurance market. This familiarity with the struggles faced by people trying to navigate the incredibly complicated and heavily regulated healthcare market led him to start Poplar Financial while working on his degree at the University of Memphis. After completing his MBA and Bachelors in Finance and Economics, Rhamy guided Poplar Financial through the disruptive opportunity that is the Affordable Care Act. Since then Poplar Financial has received numerous awards from major insurance carriers and has completed its fourth year in a row of doubling in size. Now his team focuses on the processes around human resources and specializes in providing companies with between 20 and 1000 employees with the payroll, benefits, and HR needs.