Minimum Wage Bill Passes House . . .
Today, the Raise the Wage Act (H.R. 582) passed the House 231-199. The Act would raise the federal
minimum wage to $15 per hour over a five-year period, then annually
index the minimum wage to the percentage increase in the median
hourly wage for all employees. It would also (1) increase the
tipped employee wage by no more than $1.50 per year until it equals
the minimum wage (a minimum of 9 years after enactment); and (2)
immediately eliminate mandatory tip pooling. Finally, the Act
would gradually eliminate the subminimum wage rates under section
14(c), as well as for newly-hired employees under 20 years
old. Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY) has said that the bill
will not be taken up by the Senate.
. . . As Does the Cadillac Tax Repeal. The
House voted overwhelmingly (419-6) to pass the Middle Class Health Benefits
Tax Repeal Act (H.R. 748), which would repeal the so-called
Cadillac tax on high-cost health insurance plans as part of the
Affordable Care Act (ACA). The tax was intended to deter high
cost health care plans and to finance parts of the ACA and repeal
has been long supported by both the business community and
organized labor. Nevertheless, consideration by the
Senate is uncertain due to general fears of opening up debate on
health care on the Senate Floor.
Pizzella Poised to Take DOL Reins. As has
been now widely reported, Secretary of Labor Acosta recently
resigned amid controversy over how he handled a plea deal related
to Jeffrey Epstein while serving as U.S. Attorney in Miami.
Tomorrow, Deputy Secretary Patrick Pizzella will begin his tenure
as Acting Secretary. Pizzella is well known within the
Washington, D.C. business labor community, served previously at the
Department under Secretary Elaine Chao, and is expected to push
forward with the Department of Labor's agenda, including the
overtime, joint employer, and regular rate rulemakings. Due
to his lengthy experience with the Department, Pizzella is likely
to be keenly aware of—and interested in
addressing—Departmental management and operational issues, as
well as the subregulatory agenda. Whether Pizzella will be
formally nominated to be Secretary remains to be seen, but the
Department is in more-than-capable hands as we await confirmation
of Acosta's successor.
New York and New Jersey Continue Pay Equity Legislative
Efforts. The legislatures of New York and New Jersey
each recently passed salary history bans and other developments in
the equal pay arena, continuing the state and local efforts to
tackle these issues. The New York provisions take effect in
January 2020, while the New Jersey provision awaits the
Governor's (expected) signature. For detailed analysis of
the provisions, see Seyfarth's
Client Alert.
New Hampshire Bans Low-Wage Non-Competes. States remain active on a variety of labor and employment fronts, one of which is the effort to ban non-compete agreements in whole or in part. New Hampshire recently joined the non-compete ban train with a prohibition on non-competes for any employee earning 200% of the federal minimum wage (currently, $14.50 per hour). For more, see the Trading Secrets blog.
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