The Lasting Impact of State Elections on Congress

The Lasting Impact of State Elections on Congress

Every 10 years, a census is conducted in the United States, and based on the results, most state legislatures draw legislative and Congressional district boundaries. While some states have moved away from the highly charged and political process that allows...
Legislative Report – September 2019

Legislative Report – September 2019

State Legislative Summary The most notable and potentially industry-threatening bill to become law this past month was in California, where most employers will now have a very narrow definition to use for determining independent contractors. But California also has a...
Updates on Overtime Exemption, Joint Employment and Broadband

Updates on Overtime Exemption, Joint Employment and Broadband

A trio of significant decisions that could likely impact different segments of the electronic security and life safety industry were made during September on the regulatory and judicial fronts. These are all topics we have discussed in past blogs and...
Legislative Report – August 2019

Legislative Report – August 2019

August saw more bills passing that will impact states in various ways. School security continues to receive priority attention from legislatures. We are also seeing an increase in data and consumer protection in legislation. The following bills highlight activity during...
California Bill Could Pose Significant Limits on Use of Independent Contractors

California Bill Could Pose Significant Limits on Use of Independent Contractors

You may have heard news reports about a bill in California that has ride share businesses like Uber and Lyft up in arms over its far-reaching impact on their business model - treating drivers as independent contractors. These and other...
Facial Recognition Freeze Proposed in MA, Citing Bias and Privacy Concerns

Facial Recognition Freeze Proposed in MA, Citing Bias and Privacy Concerns

Imagine where our country would be when fingerprints first began being used as reliable evidence in court (around 1911) if privacy groups claimed fingerprint evidence was discriminatory, bigoted, racially motivated, or violated the privacy of persons. While facial recognition is...
Legislative Report – July 2019

Legislative Report – July 2019

FEDERAL Congress seems to be getting more engaged in the workforce development issue, which is timely considering that is one of the primary issue areas our members will discuss with their Congressmen and Senators during District Week 2019. One bill...
Unlocking Funds for Workforce Development

Unlocking Funds for Workforce Development

Two recently proposed bills in Congress could boost the skilled labor pool nationwide for the electronic security industry and other high-skill, high-demand professions. ESA supports the workforce development investments suggested in these proposals, and plans to show support for their...
ESA Files Comments to DOL in Support of Revised “Joint Employer” Definition

ESA Files Comments to DOL in Support of Revised “Joint Employer” Definition

On April 9, 2019 the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking public comments on proposed rule changes designed to provide more clarity on the circumstances that create a “joint employment” relationship between employers...
Legislative Report – June 2019

Legislative Report – June 2019

FEDERAL The federal bills that were introduced or moved in June address robocalling and IoT cybersecurity improvements for covered devices used by the federal government. Another bill, S. 1786, would establish a percentage threshold above the poverty line for establishing...