NFIB led the fight against an increased number of labor and employment legislation introduced this Session. Last week in the House Commerce and Labor Subcommittee, Virginia State Director Nicole Riley testified in opposition to 17 bills – half of the subcommittee’s agenda – which would have increased employment taxes and created more regulations for small businesses. 16 of the proposals were defeated and the final measure was amended in an acceptable manner. Here are examples of some of the proposals.
HB 40 would have created theFamily and Medical Leave Insurance Program, where an estimate of $744 million in employer and employee taxes would be collected to fund the new leave benefits for employees.
HB 240 and HB 626 would have prohibited employers from asking an applicant’s salary history.
HB 1080 and HB 1376 would have required small employers to provide “reasonable” break time and accommodations to employees for the purpose of expressing breast milk. Since the term “reasonable” was not clearly defined, NFIB/Virginia expressed concerns small employers would face an increase in costs to comply as well as increased exposure to investigations by the Department of Labor for what constitutes “reasonable” efforts.
HB 1569 would have established the policy known as “predictive scheduling” where employers are mandated to give certain employees, prior to the first day of work, a good faith estimate of the employee’s expected minimum shifts per month and the days and hours of those shifts. The measure also required employers to provide each employee on a biweekly basis with at least two weeks’ prior notice of the employee’s expected work schedule over the ensuing two-week period. Violations are subject to civil penalties.
