If you a tip-earning employee in the District of Columbia, your employer will have to comply with the new notice, reporting and training requirements stipulated under the Tipped Wage Workers Fairness Amendment Act of 2018. The Act’s goal is to protect the rights of tipped workers and it sets forth new requirements for all employers of tipped workers in the District, including the following:

• Provide notice to tipped workers of tip-sharing policy – employers must distribute materials concerning the rights of tipped workers to all of their employees. Employers cannot take the tip credit against tipped employees’ wages unless they provide certain written notices to the employees, including, but not limited to: (1) information regarding the tipped minimum wage and regular minimum wage; (2) if tips are not shared, notice that the tipped employee shall retain all tips received; (3) if the tips are shared, provide the tip-sharing policy; (4) the percentage by which tips paid via credit card will be reduced by credit card fees;
• Display employee rights notice - all employers (not just those with tipped workers) must display a poster, in a conspicuous place, that contains website addresses that provide information about employees’ right under anti-discrimination and labor laws, and that contains a list of the anti-discrimination, labor, and federal laws, the hourly minimum wage, and the hourly tipped minimum wage;
• Implement mandatory sexual harassment training – non-managerial new hires must receive training, which includes how to respond to sexual harassment by coworkers, management and patrons, in person or online no later than 90 days after the date of hire;
• Develop a sexual harassment policy and report – employers must document all instances of reported sexual harassment, including whether the harasser was a non-managerial employee, managerial employee, owner, or operator. No later than July 1, 2019, and annually thereafter, employers must report to the Office of Human Rights the instances of reported sexual harassment;
• Utilize a third-party payroll service for tipped employees starting January 1, 2020 - The payroll service must submit a quarterly report to the Mayor within 30 days of the end of each quarter that certifies that each tipped worker was paid at least minimum wage (including tips);
• Issue tipped employees an itemized pay statement – the itemized statement must include (1) the date of the wage payment; (2) gross wages paid; (3) deductions from and additions to wages, including a separate line for gratuities; (4) net wages paid; (5) hours worked during the pay period; (6) employee’s tip-declaration form for the pay period, delineating cash tips and credit-card tips; (7) any other information as the Mayor may prescribe by regulation; and
• Attend training pertaining to the Act – all employers, business owners, and operators of businesses who employ tipped workers must attend annual in-person or online training on the requirements of the Act. 

If you are a tip-earning employee and believe that your employer violated your rights, contact Lebau & Neuworth at (410) 296-3030 or lebauneuworth.com/contact-us.

Nearly $70 million for sexual harassment victims was recovered through administrative enforcement and litigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (E.E.O.C.) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, up from $47.5 million in FY 2017, according to data recently released by the commission.

Other noteworthy statistics contained in the E.E.O.C. preliminary data for FY 2018, which highlight its key accomplishments in addressing the workplace sexual harassment problem, also include:

• Out of the 66 lawsuits it filed against workplace harassment, 41 of which were sexual harassment allegations. This is more than 50% increase in suits challenging sexual harassment compared to FY 2017; and
• Charges filed alleging sexual harassment increased by more than 12% from FY 2017.

Also of significance is that more than 9,000 employees and supervisors in the private, public and federal sector work forces participated in the E.E.O.C.’s “Respectful Workplaces” training, which aimed to teach skills and promote respect in the workplace. Another 13,000 employees participated in the E.E.O.C.’s anti-harassment compliance trainings. The E.E.O.C. explained that going forward, more can and should be done to make workplaces free from harassment against employees. 

E.E.O.C. believes that the heightened complaint and enforcement against sexual harassment is a likely response from the increased publicity of the #MeToo movement among the general public.

For the full release issued by the E.E.O.C., click here.

If you are seeking advice, assistance and representation in a sexual harassment case, the attorneys at Lebau & Neuworth are experienced in handling E.E.O.C. proceedings for harassment and all other types of employment discrimination claims, so we may be able to help you. Contact Lebau & Neuworth at (410) 296-3030 or lebauneuworth.com/contact-us.

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan signed into law the Maryland Disclosing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act of 2018, which aims to better protect employees from workplace sexual harassment.

The new Act prohibits employers from requiring employees to enter into any agreement that waives any “substantive or procedural right or remedy” to a future sexual harassment claim, so any employment agreement containing a requirement that a future sexual harassment claim will be arbitrated is invalid under the Act. It also prohibits an employer from taking an adverse action (which includes discharge, suspension, demotion, discrimination or retaliation) because the employee refuses to enter into such an agreement.

The Act further includes a reporting requirement for sexual harassment claims. Starting July 1, 2020, each employer with 50 or more employees must submit a survey response to the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MCCR) setting forth the following:

• settlements made after an allegation of sexual harassment by an employee; 
• times the employer has paid a settlement to resolve sexual harassment allegations against the same employee over the past ten years of employment; and
• settlements made after an allegation of sexual harassment that included a provision requiring both parties to keep the terms of the settlement confidential.

The MCCR will collect and compile the data and make them publicly available on its website the aggregate number of responses for each subsection above. The publicly available data are intended to hold employers more accountable for addressing sexual harassment in the workplace. 

The Act will take effect on October 1, 2018 -- but you do not need to wait if you are or have been a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace. You already have plenty of protections under the current law to make your employer accountable, so please contact Lebau & Neuworth at (410) 296-3030 or lebauneuworth.com/contact-us.