California Governor signs law barring questions on pay history and ban the box: Last week California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new law to prohibit most employers with at least five employees from asking applicants about criminal conviction histories until after a conditional offer of employment has been made.  He also signed a law to prohibit questions about salary history and require employers to provide applicants with the pay scale for a position upon “reasonable request.” The laws take effect on January 1, 2018.  Source: Reuters 10/13/17

New York City publishes FAQs on its pay history ban that is effective 10/31/17: The NYC Commission on Human Rights (the “Commission”) has published recently issued fact sheets and a frequently asked questions page on the New York City salary history inquiry law, which goes into effect on October 31, 2017. The FAQs address a number of details about the law, which restricts the ability of employers and their agents to inquire about and/or rely on a job applicant’s salary history during the hiring process, including for purposes of determining compensation. The FAQs note that the law governs the hiring context only and does not address inquiries about salary history that are made after an individual has been hired and his/her compensation has been set.  Also, the law only applies to job interviews in the city regardless of whether or not the job is substantially based in NYC or whether the applicant is a resident of NYC.  Source:  Proskauer 10/16/17

Do you have Cyber-Insurance?  With the exposure of the Equifax breach and how the Kaspersky anti-virus program was hacked to steal data from the democratic party, among others, more employers are considering cyber-insurance.  Cyber-insurance policies differ dramatically in terms of what they cover, what they exclude, and the amount of retentions (i.e., the amount of money that the insured organization is responsible for paying before the policy provides reimbursement). If your organization has a cyber-insurance policy, you should review it carefully before a security incident occurs so that you understand the degree to which the policy protects (or does not protect) your organization from potential HR incident-related costs and liabilities. Policies may also obligate your organization to take specific actions, such as notifying the insurer or using pre-approved data incident response resources (e.g., investigators, credit monitoring, mailing services, public relations firms, or outside counsel).  These policies should be reviewed annually as the law is constantly changing, both at federal and state levels. Source:  Bryan Cave LLP 10/9/17

For employers with Illinois operations, are you complying with Illinois’ Biometric law? Employees of Peacock Foods, an Illinois-based food product manufacturer, recently filed a lawsuit against their employer for alleged violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. Under BIPA, companies that collect biometric information must have a written retention policy (that they follow). As part of the policy, the law states that they must delete biometric information after they no longer need it, or three years after the last transaction with the individual. Companies also need consent to collect the information under the Illinois law, cannot sell information, and if shared must get consent. According to the lawsuit, Peacock Foods used their fingerprints for a time tracking system without explaining in writing how the saved fingerprints would be used, or if they would be shared with third parties.  The likelihood is that biometric laws will expand to more jurisdictions.  The is no current federal law on biometrics.  However, if facial recognition programs become more widespread in use, it could lead to regulatory efforts at the federal level.  Source: Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP 8/9/17

Ann Arbor ranks 12^th in the Bloomberg Brain Concentration Index:  Ann Arbor is rated 12^th  in the Brain Concentration Index – just missing the top 10.  The cities in the top 10 include in order: Boulder, CO; San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Fort Collins, CO; Washington DC; Raleigh, NC; Durham, NC; Madison, WI; Seattle, WA; and Denver, CO.  On the other hand, Muskegon, MI ranks number 1 in Bloomberg’s Brain Drain Index.  Yet Muskegon took notice and is trying innovative approaches to keep the talent there. Cindy Larsen, president of the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce, said officials have attempted to slow their town’s loss by providing two years of free college tuition to local high school students with grade point averages of 3.5 and above. Source: Bloomberg 10/10/17

Are your employees late to work? 10% in an Accountemps survey said they are OK with tardiness only if productivity doesn't suffer. 47% of respondents said coming in late on occasion isn't a problem unless it becomes a pattern. The rest (43%) believe workers should arrive on time so others can rely on them during set hours.  There seems to be a disconnect with employees though.  58% said they are occasionally late to work. 7% say they are tardy every day.  So what are some of the excuses that employers hear?

·        "I drove to my old job out of habit."

·        "I thought I was still on vacation."

·        "I had nothing to wear."

·        "I thought it was Saturday."

·        "My hair got caught in a fan."

·        "I super-glued my eye thinking it was contact solution."

·        "Geese chased me on my way to the car."

·        "My cat delivered its litter of kittens."

·        "Someone spilled their coffee all over me on the way to work."

·        "I was stuck in an elevator with a kid that pushed the buttons for all of the floors."

·        "A truck full of fish flipped over on the highway."

·        "My dog ate my car keys."

·        "I got locked in the gas station restroom and had to wait for someone to get me out."

According to the survey, 54% of workers ages 55 and over are never late to work, compared to 36% of those 35 to 54 and 23% of respondents 18 to 34.   Source:  Office Team 10/10/17