Employer Law Blog

On August 1, 2016, Massachusetts became the first state to bar employers from asking about an applicant’s salary before offering them a job. Bill S.2119, which goes into effect January 1, 2018, states that it shall be an unlawful practice for an employer to seek the wage or salary history of a prospective employee from the prospective employee or a current or former employer. The law does not prohibit prospective employees from voluntarily disclosing such information. Further, an employer may seek or confirm a prospective employee’s wage or salary history after an offer of employment with compensation has been negotiated.

The September 30, 2016, due date for employers to file their annual EEO-1 reports with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is on the near horizon. Private employers with 100 or more employees, and federal government contractors or first-tier subcontractors with 50 or more employees and a contract/subcontract of $50,000 or more, should take the appropriate measures to file their reports on time. The EEO-1 remains unchanged for 2016, but under a recent proposal employers will be required to provide substantial pay data with the a revised EE0-1 Report.

On April 27th Congress passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (S.1890 (DTSA) and sent it to President Obama, who has indicated he will sign it into law. Employers will now be able to utilize federal courts and new remedies to protect themselves against the theft of trade secrets and illegal competition. This allows trade secret holders the option of going directly to federal court—with its certainty of rules, standards, and practices—and avoiding the potential uncertainty and delay of busier state courts.

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has published its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on "pay transparency." This NPRM is in follow-up to Executive Order 13665, which President Obama signed on April 8, amending Executive Order 11246 and prohibiting federal contractors from retaliating against applicants and employees for discussing their compensation. Generally, with limited exceptions, this proposal prohibits employers from firing or taking other adverse actions against employees who discuss their pay and other employees’ pay.