State Employment Law Articles

Connecticut recently legalized recreational marijuana use by adults. The new law creates complex employment protections for recreational marijuana users. The same legislation also includes provisions that strongly encourage any cannabis-related employer seeking to operate in Connecticut to permit th

On September 21, 2021, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi signed into law an Act that raises the hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50. Prior to this increase, the minimum wage in Puerto Rico had not been modified since 2009. The Act and its new base pay will enter

Citing factors such as inflation, population deceleration, migration, and the long-term economic effects of Hurricane Maria and the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Pedro Pierluisi has sign into law the “Puerto Rico Minimum Wage Act.”

Recently, we have seen three cases in which a Workers’ Compensation Law Judge disqualified carrier medical reports for failure to adhere to 12 NYCRR 300.2(d)(4)(e), which states, in relevant part, that the doctor has to certify that they have reviewed the report, that it is a true and accurate opini

The Ninth Circuit created a judicial “tremor” on Wednesday, September 15, 2021, when it issued a ruling partially tossing out a District Judge's Order blocking enforcement of a California law barring employers from requiring workers to sign agreements mandating arbitration of certain employment disp

In a split 2-1 decision that likely raises more questions than it answers, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals cast some doubt upon the ability of employers to implement mandatory arbitration agreements with their employees. In Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. Bonta , the Ninth

Since it was passed in 1998, Iowa’s Drug-Free Workplaces Act has been one of the most comprehensive and complex drug-testing statutes in the United States. On June 25, 2021, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a pair of decisions— Dix v. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. and Woods v. Charles Gabus Ford, Inc. —

In order to slow the transmission rate of COVID-19 and safeguard the health of people in Puerto Rico, Governor Pedro Pierluisi recently issued a series of executive orders mandating COVID-19 vaccinations in certain instances.

The Maine Department of Labor announced on September 17, 2021 that the state’s public sector employees will be subject to President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate due to Maine’s state plan agreement with the federal government.

On August 26, 2021, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board adopted revised amendments to the Final Permanent Standard for Infectious Disease Prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus That Causes COVID-19 (the Final Permanent Standard). Governor Ralph Northam then proposed an additional amendment, which

The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) only partially preempts California’s bar on mandatory arbitration agreements in employment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has held, vacating the preliminary injunction that had been in place since early-2020 and enjoining enforcement of the law wit

On Wednesday, a Ninth Circuit panel lifted an injunction that prevented California from enforcing a law that prohibited employers from requiring employees and applicants to arbitrate work-related claims. The case, Chamber of Commerce v. Bonta, will find itself before the U.S. Supreme Court in short

Late last month, the Florida Supreme Court codified into Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280(h) the “apex doctrine” and declared the doctrine applies with equal force to high-ranking corporate and government officials.

The “Purge Rule,” retention schedules, and data breach risk. Littler Shareholder and core member of the firm’s Privacy Team, Kwabena Appenteng, explains what could be the most burdensome compliance requirements for employers.

On August 27, 2021, with Hurricane Ida’s impact on South Louisiana imminent, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) issued a statewide Declaration of Emergency . The Declaration provided guidance on a number of expected impacts of the storm, including “upset” of Louisiana Pollutant

Philadelphia court employees will be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of continued employment; they must be vaccinated, or offer proof of a medical exception, by November 15, 2021, the First Judicial District (FJD) has announced. Moreover, the FJD will review requests for r

The California legislature has wrapped up its annual legislative session, once again sending a number of employment and labor law bills to Governor Newsom’s desk. One of the most notable, and potentially revolutionary bills – AB 701 – seeks to regulate the use of employee “quotas” in warehouse distr

Effective August 28, 2021, Missouri employers with at least 20 Missouri employees must provide unpaid leave for employees who are victims of domestic or sexual violence (as defined by state statute) or have family or household members who are victims of such violence. Covered employers must also not

The California Legislature will soon send Senate Bill (SB) No. 606 to Governor Gavin Newsom, who is likely to sign the bill into law. The bill would make substantial changes to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA) citation structure by creating two new categories of

In a case of first impression, last week, the Second District California Court of Appeal held that judges have inherent authority to limit, and even strike, unmanageable PAGA claims. Wesson v. Staples the Office Superstore, LLC, No. B302988, affirmed the trial court’s decision to strike PAGA claims