Kastner Westman & Wilkins is committed to helping organizations build the solid foundations they need for effectively managing human resources. KWW’s practice is limited to representing management exclusively in the full range of workplace issues – labor and employment law, workers’ compensation, employee benefits, and human resources consulting.
Our goal is to help clients manage and solve problems when they arise, but also to provide strategic, proactive counsel designed to prevent problems from developing in the first place.
For more information or to contact one of our professionals, please see our Contact page or e-mail us at kww@kwwlaborlaw.com.
News sources throughout Ohio are reporting that the proponents of the Ohio Healthy Families Act (OHFA) have agreed to drop the proposed paid sick leave initiative from Ohio’s November 4, 2008 election ballot. For now, the specter of a mandated paid sick leave benefit in Ohio appears to have passed.
The OHFA was a focal point of KWW’s September 9, 2008 seminar. We recognize that for many, especially those who attended the KWW seminar in May, our panel discussion about the proposed OHFA was the primary reason for attending the seminar.
The September 9th seminar will go forward as scheduled. We plan to use the timeframe that we intended to devote to the OHFA as an OPEN FORUM. Bring your employment law-related legal questions for a Q & A session. Backers of the OHFA have vowed to renew efforts to pass paid sick leave legislation at the national level, so that and other legislative initiatives like the so-called Free Choice Act can be discussed.
posted on Nov 11, 2009
Many of our clients and friends have called and emailed with questions and concerns about the proposed Ohio Healthy Families Act legislation. For good reason! This proposed legislation presents a host of problems for Ohio employers and for employment attorneys alike. There are many aspects of the legislation that are unclear and susceptible to more than one reasonable interpretation.
We are aware that many organizations have published fact sheets and articles attempting to explain the legislation. We also know that our clients have attended presentations where various attorneys have shared their interpretations of this legislation. Based upon our review of the proposed law, we disagree with many of those interpretations! In fact, the Ohio Legislative Service Commission has recognized that the intent behind certain provisions of the proposed statute “is not entirely clear.”
Before this proposed legislation is placed on the election ballot for November, the proponents of the legislation must present the requisite number of valid petition signatures before August 6. While many commentators fully expect that this will happen, that first hurdle nonetheless must be cleared.
posted on Nov 11, 2009
As reported in the most recent kwwlaborlaw.communicator, Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment in November that provides for an increase in the minimum wage for most Ohio workers. Effective January 1, 2007, most employees now must be paid a minimum wage of $6.85 per hour.
Throughout the month of December, there was considerable wrangling in Columbus as the Ohio General Assembly worked on legislation necessary to implement the constitutional amendment. Points of contention included the types of employees who would be exempt from the minimum wage requirement and the recordkeeping requirements imposed on employers.
Ultimately, Am. Sub. H.B. 690 was passed by the legislature on December 20. Governor Taft signed the legislation on January 2, and the law goes into effect ninety days after it is filed with the Secretary of State (i.e. on or about April 2, 2007). Note, however, that the new minimum wage itself is already in effect as of January 1, 2007.
posted on Nov 5, 2009