Roundup: NLRB joint employer rule; MA pay transparency; Quiet firing and remote work; Opiate overdose and Narcan at work; IL paid leave law

Conservatives like to narrow the definition of joint employer because it limits the hassle and potential liability for employers. Liberals like to expand the definition because it provides the most protection for employees. Employment lawyers don't mind the back and forth because it's good for business and we can speculate about what the NLRB is smoking this time.

Massachusetts has new pay transparency laws in the final approval stages. Employers will have to post the pay in job ads and report pay and demographics by job to the state. Interestingly, there's no private cause of action to enforce the new law. Yet? .

If you are forcing people to quit because you are too chicken to fire them, there are legal issues. And if you promised remote work then demand people return to office that requires them to move, you're in for an expensive ride.

You could save a life by stocking naloxone (Narcan or RiVive) nasal spray in your medical cabinet at work. This is an excellent discussion of how employers can and should address the possibility of opiate overdose at work and the legal protections for doing so.

Illinois' Paid Leave for All Workers Act goes into effect January 1, 2024 but employees can't take the leave for 90 days unless the employer front loads the leave. (If they have other paid leave, they can use that.) Winter is virus season and you want sick employees to stay home. Please make employee wellness the priority in coming up with your paid leave policies.