State Employment Law Articles

On October 7, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) No. 331 into law. SB 331 is known as the “Silenced No More Act.” It amends California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1001 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and imposes significant new restrictions o

On October 11, 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order GA-40 , which states that no entity in Texas can “compel” any individual, including any employee or consumer, to receive a COVID-19 vaccination who objects “for any reason of personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or f

The New York State Division of Human Rights (NYSDHR) recently announced that for complaints filed on or after October 12, 2021, it will no longer discontinue complaints following private settlements. This announcement comes as a significant change in the division’s long-standing practice of allowing

In 2019, California adopted several laws that restricted “non-disclosure" provisions in employment-related agreements. Those laws, passed in the wake of the “me too” movement, limited non-disclosure provisions in settlement agreements for lawsuits and administrative agency charges involving allegati

Joining a host of communities in North Carolina, the Charlotte City Council has unanimously passed an ordinance to add nondiscrimination protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, familial status, veteran status, pregnancy, and natural hairstyle .

California requires implicit bias training for brokers and salespersons in the real estate industry. Now, legislation pending in New York and South Carolina could be going in the same direction.

Florida voters on November 3, 2020, passed Amendment 2, which will, over a period of years, increase Florida’s minimum wage to $15.00 per hour. The first annual increase was effective September 30, 2021, and increased the minimum wage to $10.00 per hour. Subsequent increases of $1.00 are scheduled t

On September 22, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 701 ( AB 701 ), another “first in the nation” law, this time taking aim at perceived health and safety issues applicable to certain warehouse workers. Effective January 1, 2022, the new law, codified in California

California is at it again – adopting a host of new labor and employment laws that will further regulate and complicate business operations in the Golden State. Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute has been tracking these bills as they worked their way through the legislature and been signed into law

On October 11, 2021, Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order (EO) No. GA-40, prohibiting any entity in Texas from requiring any individual, including an employee, to receive a COVID-19 vaccination if that individual objects to the vaccination “for any reason of personal conscience, based on a re

By: California’s New Restrictions on Severance Agreements, Non-Disparagement and Confidentiality Agreements On October 7, 2021, Governor Newsom enacted SB 331 to put up additional restrictions on employers offering severance agreements and settling claims alleging harassment, discrimination or retal

As we previously reported , on September 6, 2021, New York State Commissioner of Health Howard A. Zucker issued a designation determining COVID-19 to be “a highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health in New York State.”

Virginia has adopted a prevailing wage statute and amended its Wage Theft Law. Contractors risk significant liability and penalties for noncompliance.

On September 24, 2021, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law a bill that amends New Jersey’s Workers’ Compensation Act to require employers with 50 or more employees to provide hiring preferences to employees, following a work-related injury, who have reached maximum medical improvement but ar

Sean Paisan discusses a new law from the California Divison of Occupational Safety and Health imposing fines on employers for "egregious" violations of COVID-19 standards, including instances where three or more employees are hospitalized for illness, in "Workplace safety law expands Cal/OSHA reach,

The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave has announced the employer contribution rates and benefit amounts under the state Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) beginning January 1, 2022.

The New York State Commissioner of Health designated COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public” on September 6, 2021. Originally set to expire on September 30, the Commissioner has extended the designation through October 31. Accordingly

As is Connecticut’s tradition, several new laws took effect on October 1, 2021, including a number affecting the employment relationship.

To address the prevalent and ongoing practice of permitting employees to work from home, a new California law authorizes employers to provide required workplace notifications to their employees as attachments to emails. Senate Bill (SB) No. 657 was signed into law on July 16, 2021. While the new law

In accordance with the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (NY HERO Act), on July 6, 2021, the New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL), in consultation with the New York State Department of Health, published the Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Standard and Model Airborne In