Sunday, July 5, 2026Labor & Employment Law
Employment Law Information Networklocated at elinfonet.com since 2001Affiliate Firm
5416 articles on ELINFONET
California - Fair Employment And Housing Act
In regulations that became effective December 30, 2012, California employers received additional guidance on how to handle leaves of absence for employees disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. This guidance comes in the form of amended pregnancy disability leave (PDL) re
Massachusetts - Wage & Hour
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the "SJC") recently answered two important questions that have vexed lower courts, and employers, in recent years. First, the SJC concluded that employees may release claims under the Massachusetts Payment of Wages Law, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 148 (the "W
FMLA - General
Have your employees' absences from work been a bit more frequent lately? And are you tired of the lame excuses they're providing? After all, there are only so many times your employee's dog can knock over the Christmas tree....on top of your employee, right?
FMLA - Retaliation
As a labor and employment attorney, I spend a significant amount of time counseling employers as they prepare to terminate an employee. Often enough, the situation goes something like this:
Ohio
The Ohio Supreme Court delivered another blow to injured workers who attempt to skirt Ohio's workers' compensation system by pursuing a remedy for their injuries in court. On the heels of another opinion1 narrowly interpreting Ohio's intentional tort statute, Ohio Revised Code section 2645.01, the O
Maryland
On November 27, 2012, in Scott v. Merck & Company, Inc.,1 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed a jury verdict of more than $500,000 in favor of Jennifer Scott, a former Merck & Co., Inc. employee. The appeals court concluded that the trial court erred in permitting Scott to argu
Arizona
On December 3, 2012, an Arizona Superior Court judge issued an order holding that the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) does not preempt the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. Three days later, the first medical marijuana dispensary opened in Arizona.
FMLA - General
Thanks to those who attended my webinar last week with Matt Morris and Tamika Lynch on "FMLA Made Easy: Effectively Managing Difficult FMLA Issues." If you missed the program, you can access the webinar and materials here. As the survey feedback indicated, this webinar was a great opportunity to dis
FMLA - Regulations
This past Friday, the United States Supreme Court announced that it would consider whether the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unlawfully denies benefits to gay and lesbian couples who are married in states that allow such unions. A Supreme Court decision nullifying DOMA could have wide ranging impac
Colorado - Wage & Hour
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has announced that, effective January 1, 2013, the minimum wage for non-exempt employees will increase from $7.64 to $7.78 per hour. Moreover, the minimum wage that tipped employees must be paid increases from $4.62 to $4.76 per hour, whereas the maxim
Colorado - General
On November 6, 2012, Colorado voters passed Amendment 64 to the Colorado Constitution by a 55 to 45 percent margin, making Colorado one of the first states in the nation to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Prior to Election Day, 17 states—including Colorado and the District of Columbia—ha
Ohio
On November 20, 2012, in a reversal significant for Ohio employers with workplace injuries, the Ohio Supreme Court held, in Hewitt v. L.E. Myers, that an employee's failure to use, or the employer's failure to require an employee to wear, personal protective equipment does not constitute a deliberat
Virginia
In Preferred Systems Solutions, Inc. v. GP Consulting, LLC, Nos. 11906, 11907 (Sept. 14, 2012), the Supreme Court of Virginia, for the first time, defined how to calculate damages for the breach of a noncompete provision where the breach resulted in the loss of an expected contract
FMLA - Regulations
The FMLA just got a whole lot broader. In what might be one of the key FMLA decisions of the year, a federal judge has upheld an employee's right to take FMLA leave to care for her mother during a recreational trip to Las Vegas. Yep . . . you read it correctly. Employee + her mother + their trip tog
New Jersey - General
A workplace policy requiring all employees who self-identify as in need of substance abuse treatment to submit to random alcohol testing following their return to work constitutes disability discrimination on its face, according to a recent published decision of the New Jersey Appellate Division, A.
Washington State - Wage & Hour
Washington's highest court has ruled that missed paid rest breaks count as "hours worked" that trigger overtime obligations for employers. According to the court, employers must add missed rest break time to their employees' hours actually worked, and pay an overtime premium for any resulting hours
California - Wage & Hour
At this month's general election, 59 percent of the voters in the City of San Jose, California approved an initiative measure to institute a $10 per hour minimum wage for covered employers and employees. The ordinance1 will take effect in early 2013, raising San Jose's minimum wage to two dollars an
FMLA - General
Employers and fellow FMLA nerds, consider this an early holiday present: courts are increasingly dismissing FMLA claims when they find that the employer has an honest belief that the employee has engaged in FMLA fraud.
Virginia
In VanBuren v. Grubb, No. 120348 (Nov. 1, 2012), a sharply divided Supreme Court of Virginia surprised employers by holding that a common law tort action for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy may be brought against an individual manager or supervisor.
Vermont
The Vermont Department of Labor has announced that, effective January 1, 2013, the state minimum wage will increase from $8.46 to $8.60 per hour for non-exempt employees. Additionally, the minimum wage for tipped employees increases from $4.10 to $4.17 per hour. Moreover, the maximum tip credit empl