Blog Posts: Employment

On June 27, 2023, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) became effective.  It impacts employers with fifteen or more employees and provides protections that are distinct from, and in addition to, benefits provided to FMLA eligible employees.  The new law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers unless doing so would cause th...

Arizona voters passed Proposition 209 in November.  Although billed as a healthcare debt interest rate limit, it surprisingly impacts Arizona employers.   In Arizona, generally, thirty days after an election, propositions will become law.  The effective date was December 5, 2022, and applies prospectively only. In other words, it does not affect Judgments enter...

The Arizona minimum wage will increase yet again from $12.80 per hour to $13.85 per hour. The increase is more than $1.00 per hour and it will take effect on January 1, 2023 and will remain in effect until December 31, 2023. This means that Arizona employers will need to start paying the higher minimum wage ($13.85 per hour) for all hours worked after January 1, 20...

Remote employees are entitled to FMLA leave only if they meet certain requirements. What Is FMLA Leave? The Family Medical Leave Act entitles eligible employees to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for qualifying medical reasons, including the employee seeking medical care for his or her own health condition or to care for an ill spouse, child, or parent. While an e...

Arizona-based employers ask us, “Can we be held liable for the debts of our employees?” The short answer is maybe. However, the risk lessens if the employer follows some best practices. For many employers, they do not know much about their employees’ finances. Unless the position or the employer required a credit report as a condition of employment, or contin...

Many companies have been requesting that remote workers return to the office. There are many employees who want to continue teleworking. Employers need to carefully evaluate each request. Talk With the Employee Employers need to talk with the employee to figure out why they want to telework. Some of the common reasons are as follows:Diagnosis of COVID-19; ...

Arizona is an at-will employment state. This means employers may terminate employees for any reason or no reason at all so long as the reason is not an illegal one. Several state and federal laws prohibit employers from terminating employees for unlawful reasons. For example, the Arizona Employment Protection Act affords employees a cause of action for wrongful ter...

An employer may request that an employee sign a non-solicitation agreement. When the employment ends, the trouble sometimes begins. If you are an Arizona employee and your former employer has sent a demand letter, threatened to sue you, or has actually filed suit against you for soliciting its customers and employees, there are many important considerations. The ...

The Arizona minimum wage will increase yet again from $12.15 per hour to $12.80 per hour. The increase will take effect on January 1, 2022 and will remain in effect until December 31, 2022. This means that Arizona employers will need to start paying the higher minimum wage ($12.80 per hour) for all hours worked after January 1, 2022. The Arizona minimum wage will ...

Two years ago, these words were seldom used in the business context – remote workers, hybrid schedule, and essential workers. Now they are the norm. During the pandemic, many employers have embraced telework opportunities for their workforce. While surveys consistently report that many employees favor the flexibility that telework and hybrid work offers them, t...