State Employment Law Articles

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday, January 4, 2022, signed an executive order intended to support small businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Executive Order 2 , titled “Small Business Forward: Review and Reform of Compliance Costs on Businesses” (Order), is designed to “reform existing bus

At their first meeting of the new year, city councilors in Portland, Maine repealed a COVID-19 emergency order that had been in place since March of 2020, thereby terminating a short-lived hazard pay provision. During the January 3, 2022 session, councilors also unanimously adopted a mask mandate fo

On December 30, 2021, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued its updated “Guidance for Local Health Jurisdictions on Isolation and Quarantine of the General Public.” With the updated guidance, the CDPH’s position appears to be consistent with the federal Centers for Disease Control

On December 22, 2021, the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) published highly anticipated proposed regulations in the New York State Register regarding section 2 of the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (NY HERO Act) .

The Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) has ordered that all indoor settings where food or drink are served for on-premises consumption and health and fitness centers require proof of COVID-19 vaccination with an approved vaccine from all patrons five years of age or older beginning Janu

A surge in positive COVID-19 cases in Puerto Rico has Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi issuing yet another round of executive orders, including one that expands the number of workers that must obtain COVID-19 booster shots.

On December 30, 2021, the CDPH issued new guidance regarding isolation and quarantine related to COVID-19. A link to the new guidance is included below.

On December 23, 2021, Cook County, Illinois, issued Public Health Order No. 2021-11, joining the City of Chicago in requiring certain indoor establishments (including restaurants, gyms and fitness centers, and entertainment venues) to verify the COVID-19 vaccination status of patrons five years of a

Nearly two-and-a-half years after it was originally proposed, the Allegheny County Council passed a Paid Sick Leave law (the “Act”) in September 2021 to require employers to provide certain employees in Allegheny County with up to 40 hours of paid sick time per year.

Given the exponential rise in COVID-19 cases and the spread of the Omicron variant, the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PR DOH) implemented, through an amendment to the Case Investigation and Contact Tracing Guidelines (Guidelines), new quarantine measures that differ from those imposed by Executi

Updated December 30, 2021

On November 8, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law an amendment to the New York Civil Rights Law that requires employers with places of business in the state to provide prior notice concerning the monitoring of employee telephone, email, or internet usage.

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New York City marked the end of 2021 by enacting a law that will make it challenging, if not infeasible, to use a broad swath of algorithmic, computerized tools to review, select, rank or eliminate candidates for employment or promotion. Local Law Int. No. 1894-A , which takes effect on

On December 24, 2021, New York City enacted a law (Introduction No. 2448-2021) permitting employees who are parents to take paid time off to accompany their children when they receive COVID-19 vaccinations. In addition, the law allows these employees to take paid time off to care for their children

On December 22, 2021, Governor Jay Inslee sent a letter to Washington’s Employment Security Department (ESD) ordering it to not collect premiums under the Washington Cares Fund program until the legislature addresses some of the law’s issues. The letter acknowledged that “legislative leadership has

Wisconsin is one of a limited number of states that prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of arrest or conviction records. The Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA) protects “properly qualified individuals” from unlawful discrimination “by reason of their … arrest record[s] [or] convict

On December 22, 2021, the New York Department of Labor (Department) issued final regulations regarding the New York State Sick Leave Law (NYSSLL), which has been in effect since September 30, 2020.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee has clarified that, starting January 1, “employers will still be legally obligated to pay the full amount owed to state ESD [Employment Security Department] to begin the long-term care program” under the Washington Long-Term Services and Supports Act, until the legisla

Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi recently issued back-to-back executive orders (EO) regarding COVID-19. It appears that the third EO was stuck in holiday traffic. This latest EO, like her sisters, amends November’s EO-2021-075 to curtail COVID-19 infections.