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The end of the General Assembly session is quickly coming upon us. So it’s a good time to look at what bills are still floating around in this year’s term and what’s dead (or mostly dead) for the year.

Here are just a few of the highlights:

  • House Bill 5269, which would have banned certain noncompete agreements died in the Judiciary Committee this month, ending its chances of passage this year. But employers have bigger issues to worry about; the FTC is expected to release it’s own ban on non-compete agreements as early as this week. So stay tuned.
  • Senate Bill 4 is still very much alive. The bill would prohibit employers from discriminating against an employee OR independent contract because they disclosed conduct they “reasonably” believe to be a discriminatory employment practice. It would also prohibit the use of certain non-disparagement clauses in separation agreements. I’ve previously discussed the bill in a prior post.
  • Senate Bill 7 is also awaiting a vote on the Senate floor. That bill expands the state’s Paid Sick Leave law in fairly dramatic fashion by covering almost all private sector employers and employees; broadening the range of family members for whom an employee may use the leave; increasing the rate at which employees accrue leave and changing the waiting period before they may use it; and broadening the reasons employees may use the leave to include events like closures due to a public health emergency and quarantines. But with the days dwindling, the odds of the bill making it to the floor diminish with its complexities. There’s a parallel bill, Senate Bill 12, that is also pending so watch that version as well.
  • On the other hand, Senate Bill 222, making changes to the state FMLA law and the paid leave law, passed the Senate last week and will now go on the House calendar. Many of the changes are technical in nature, such as a provision that would bar individuals who are getting paid leave benefits from also collecting unemployment benefits concurrently.
  • Senate Bill 408 passed the Senate last week and now moves to the House for a vote. The bill changes the definition of “hours worked” under the state wage & hour laws to include time spent in security screenings mandated by the employer.

There are various bill trackers out there. The CBIA’s free version is pretty user friendly here.

The session ends on May 8th so the race is on.