State Employment Law Articles

On November 15, the Florida Legislature convened for a special session to consider four proposed laws reacting to the recent federal vaccine mandates applicable to various employers throughout the country. Governor DeSantis’s announced intent for calling this special session and promoting the bills

It has been a difficult couple of months for California employers seeking to navigate planning for possible changes to their workplace safety plans, in view of multiple new sources of potential obligations. While there are many competing considerations that may affect planning, including new federal

Yesterday, November 18, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation designed to give employees numerous COVID-19 vaccination exemptions to use to avoid any mandatory vaccination policy their employers seek to impose. Specifically, private employers must grant exemptions for: health or rel

On November 15, 2021, West Hollywood, California enacted an ordinance that establishes a local minimum wage, requires employers to provide paid and unpaid leave benefits, and governs how businesses advertise and distribute service charges.

On November 15, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an order concerning the California Trucking Association’s (CTA) challenge to California’s independent contractor law, Assembly Bill (AB) 5. The Supreme Court‘s order invited the United States Solicitor General (SG) to file a submiss

A new California law, Assembly Bill (AB) No. 701, provides new regulatory scrutiny of job performance quotas at warehouse distribution centers. The stated purpose of the law is to ensure that the use of production quotas do not penalize workers for taking meal and rest breaks, using the restroom, an

2021 brought employers an avalanche of new laws and ever-changing COVID-19 obligations. The good news is that the California Legislature gave employers a bit of a break this session, and the changes for 2022 are not too overwhelming. Below is a brief summary of some of the new laws, a few of which a

Ok. Cal/OSHA has taken the OSHA ETS off the agenda for Thursday’s meeting. Too much uncertainty. As a reminder, today is the random lottery to determine which Court of Appeals will handle the consolidated lawsuits challenging the OSHA ETS. It’s going to be interesting…

On November 15, 2021, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi issued Executive Order No. 2021-075 (EO 2021-075), which integrates prior COVID-19-related orders still in effect and, notably, includes vaccine/testing requirements for employers with over 50 employees. EO 2021-075 took effect immediately,

The Puerto Rico Supreme Court has confirmed that continued employment may be valid consent to mandatory employment arbitration agreements in a matter of first impression. Aponte et al. v. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, LLC, CC 2018-748, __ D.P.R. __ (Nov. 10, 2021). The 5-3 decision puts to rest any notion

A private employer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy does not violate public policy under West Virginia’s common law retaliatory discharge doctrine, a federal judge has held, rejecting an employee’s claim against the employer. McCutcheon v. Enlivant ES, LLC , No. 5:21-cv-00393, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEX

On November 15, 2021, the Florida Legislature will convene a five-day special session under the proclamation issued on October 29, 2021, by Governor Ron DeSantis for the “Keep Florida Free” joint legislative agenda.

On November 10, 2021, after a public hearing and comment submission period, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) published three final rules: (1) the Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards Order #38 (COMPS 38), (2) the 2022 Publication and Yearly Calculation of Adjusted Labor

In Aponte Valentín v. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals , CC-2018-748,1 the Puerto Rico Supreme Court reinforced the strong public policy favoring arbitration agreements in Puerto Rico, validating continued employment as implicit consent for such agreements.

While employers generally provide some form of notice of electronic monitoring, as a matter of practice, in their employee handbook, New York now requires transparency about workplace monitoring as a matter of law. On November 8, 2021, New York’s governor signed a bill that amends New York State’s C

In a November 4, 2021 opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld New York’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, rejecting arguments advanced by healthcare professionals in two different district court cases that the mandate’s failure to provide for religious exemptions viol

Nancy Johnson and Kimberly Doud of Littler’s Orlando office are back to discuss the state of vaccine mandates in Florida including the impact of OSHA’s announced ETS. Nancy and Kimberly discuss considerations for Florida employers given the ETS mandates and potential Florida legislative action relat

On October 28, 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed S.4394-A/A.5144-A and announced amendments to New York Labor Law (NYLL) §§ 740 and 741, known as New York’s whistleblower laws.

The New York Secure Choice Savings Program Act was enacted into law as part of the 2018-19 New York State Budget.

On October 19, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in Reynolds v. Willert Mfg. Co., LLC , provided important guidance on the protections afforded to certified medical marijuana users by the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (PMMA).