There are three significant changes to employment law that employers should recognize, as they have a broad impact. Cleveland recently enacted its Pay Transparency Act, Cuyahoga County Council established the CROWN Act, and Ohio implemented its Mini-WARN Act. If overlooked, violations of these laws could bring significant penalties.
“The laws that surround employment are changed constantly,” says Heather Steele, a Partner at Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs LLC. “There are always new laws being passed that employers must comply with, so it’s prudent to have a compliance or legal review of your employment practices every year.”
Smart Business spoke with Steele about these three new laws, who they impact and how to stay in compliance.
What’s the Pay Transparency Act?
Cleveland’s Pay Transparency Act is designed to address historical pay gaps and ensure that a particular group is not being compensated disproportionately in comparison to another group when they hold the same position, and have similar experience and qualifications. It requires employers that have 15 or more employees to list a salary range for each job posting, whether made on a job posting website or the employer’s own website. It also prohibits inquiries into the applicant’s salary history, screening out applicants based on earning history, and failure to hire an applicant because they refuse to disclose salary history. Each posting, application or interview could have its own independent violation, and the penalties are tiered based on the occurrences, up to $5,000.
To ensure compliance with the Pay Transparency Act, employers should train hiring managers and HR personal, review current job postings to make sure they have removed any questions related to past salary history, and included an appropriate salary range or pay scale.
What is the Crown Act?
Cuyahoga County’s CROWN Act protects employees from discrimination based on hairstyles associated with race or national origin. This does not impact policies governing safety regulations in a food service or manufacturing setting, for instance.
The Crown Act is enforced by the Cuyahoga County Human Rights Commission, which investigates, adjudicates and imposes civil penalties when a charge of discrimination is filed by an individual against an organization.
Any company with dress code or grooming policies that requires hair to be styled in a certain way will need to review their policy to ensure it serves a legitimate, non-discriminatory business purpose. And managers and HR staff should be trained on how to handle internal complaints.
What is the Ohio Mini-WARN Act?
Ohio’s Mini-WARN Act largely mirrors the federal WARN Act. It requires businesses to provide detailed notice to employees whose job is being eliminated as part of a mass layoff. Notices will also need to be given 60 days in advance to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the elected officials in the county where the layoffs are going to occur, and to Union reps, if applicable. It’s designed to give notice not just to the impacted employees, but to the impacted agencies that will be responsible for administering unemployment claims, and to county officials so they’re aware of the economic impact to the community.
This is applicable to employers with 100 or more employees and applies when the business is closing an entire work site or laying off more than 50 employees at a single work site. There are other ambiguities in the law that require a more detailed legal analysis.
This law, like the federal WARN Act, heavily impacts companies that are active in the mergers and acquisitions space. Companies engaged in M&A need to consult with legal counsel to determine what constitutes a layoff in the framework of buying and selling a business, and understand whether the Ohio Mini-WARN Act would apply to a particular sale.
Under the Mini-WARN Act, the available remedies equal the affected employees’ wages and benefits for each day that the company is in violation, which are recoverable by the impacted employees.
Anytime an employer affected by this law is contemplating a reduction in workforce or the closure of a work site, it should speak with legal counsel to understand the implications and the requirements because the remedies for a violation are significant. ●
INSIGHTS Legal Affairs is brought to you by Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs LLC.
