State Employment Law Articles

On May 20, 2021, the Wisconsin Supreme Court limited the tort claims an employee may bring based on alleged conduct that occurred between injuries covered under the state’s workers’ compensation law. The opinion in Graef v. Continental Indemnity Company may support employer arguments to limit employ

On June 4, 2021, Governor Ned Lamont signed House Bill No. 5158, modifying Connecticut’s breastfeeding in the workplace law to expand employers’ obligations to provide lactation rooms. The new law requires employers with one or more employees, including the state and any political subdivision of the

So, the Cal/OSHA Board had a wild meeting last week. In the end, the Board approved the proposed revisions to the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS). Here is a link to the comparison.

On June 3, 2021, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal OSHA”) adopted revised regulations that address the impact of vaccinations as they have become widely available to the general public in California. These revised regulations contain comprehensive guidelines – more rest

On January 1, 2020, California’s new lactation accommodation law, Senate Bill (SB) 142, went into effect and imposed detailed requirements for employers to provide lactation rooms and other facilities, along with new policies and procedures to administer lactation break programs. Just two months lat

On June 3, 2021, Cal/OSHA adopted revised COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards. These highly controversial new standards will likely be effective June 15, 2021. 1.5 hours of CA MCLE, HRCI and SHRM credit pending.

While many states have issued orders prohibiting inquiries about an individual’s COVID-19 vaccination status, Georgia has become the first to restrict public employers from requiring proof of a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment.

Eligible workers in D.C. who have been displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic have the opportunity to be reinstated once their employer starts rehiring after the pandemic, according to a new law.

The Illinois General Assembly passed a major bill on May 31, 2021, that further limits and clarifies the circumstances in which restrictive covenants can be enforced against Illinois employees. Governor J. B. Pritzker is expected to sign the bill into law.

The Louisiana Legislature has now sent to conference committee proposed legislation ( SB 157 ) that would exempt the wages of certain nonresident employees from Louisiana individual income taxation, and their employers from withholding and reporting requirements, if the employees only worked in Loui

Executive Summary: The New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) announced on May 27, 2021, that employees in New York must be permitted to use sick leave under the New York Paid Sick Leave Law to recover from any side effects stemming from COVID-19 vaccinations.

Recently, the Louisiana Court of Appeal, First Circuit, in Thompson v. Cenac Towing Co ., L.L.C. , analyzed a trial court’s grant of summary judgment in a company’s favor after a noose-like rope was found hanging in a maritime workplace and held that the trial court had improperly weighed the credib

On May 28, 2021, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law “An Act providing for Massachusetts COVID-19 emergency paid sick leave.” The act requires eligible Massachusetts employers to provide emergency paid sick leave to employees who meet certain criteria, with reimbursement by the Comm

On June 3, 2021, Puerto Rico Governor Hon. Pedro Pierluisi issued Executive Order (EO) 2021-043 to further relax COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines. The new EO will be in effect from June 7, 2021 until July 4, 2021. The Order expands the maximum capacity limits for establishments and relaxes mask

On May 25, 2021, Governor Steve Sisolak signed Assembly Bill 47, revising the law regarding noncompetition covenants in Nevada.

On January 1, 2020, California’s new lactation accommodation law, Senate Bill (SB) 142, went into effect and imposed detailed requirements for employers to provide lactation rooms and other facilities, along with new policies and procedures to administer lactation break programs. Just two months lat

On June 3, 2021, the Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board of California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) was initially unable to pass the proposed changes to the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) after a daylong online hearing with more than 500 individuals l

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is expected to sign the Firearm Carry Act of 2021 (House Bill 1927) into law. Texas will join several other states that have enacted or plan to enact similar permitless, “constitutional carry” statutes in support of the individual right to keep and bear arms under the

On April 14, 2021, Washington governor Jay Inslee signed into law Substitute House Bill (SHB) 1206, creating new requirements for staffing agencies and worksite employers utilizing temporary employees to provide training on workplace safety and health hazards. Under the new law, worksite employers m

Massachusetts has established a statewide mandate for employers to temporarily provide employees up to 40 hours of COVID-19 Massachusetts emergency paid sick leave (MA EPSL) when they are unable to work due to specific qualifying reasons related to the pandemic.