State Employment Law Articles

A Texas state court judge's letter ruling temporarily enjoins San Antonio's paid sick and safe leave ordinance from taking effect on December 1, 2019. While the November 22, 2019 ruling says a trial on the merits will occur "as soon as possible," it does not set a trial date.

A Bexar County judge just allowed San Antonio employers to enjoy their Thanksgiving holiday a little bit more. Bexar County District Court Judge Peter Sakai advised all counsel on Friday that he is granting the requested temporary injunction in a lawsuit challenging the now-named San Antonio Safe an

On November 20, 2019, the Supreme Court of California announced it would review and decide whether its 2018 Dynamex decision has retroactive effect. The answer to this question could have a profound impact on any company using independent contractors in the Golden State.

As we reported over the summer, on June 25, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (the “Act”) into law. This Act legalizes the use, possession, and even cultivation of marijuana by adults in Illinois age 21 and older, starting January 1, 2020. As initially

Background: Soon after being elected, New Jersey’s Governor created a task force to end misclassification of independent contractors, and the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL) began increasing audits and its scrutiny of contractors within the state.

As the cannabis industry has rapidly progressed over the years, states such as New York, New Jersey and Illinois have begun to implement legislation that encourages employers to engage in labor peace agreements with unions. On October 12, 2019, California went even further than encouragement when Go

As of November 8, 2019, New York State prohibits employment discrimination based on an employee’s or a dependent’s “reproductive health decision making.” The New York State Legislature passed the bill in January 2019, and Governor Cuomo signed it into law this month. This move comes less than one ye

State and local governments have increasingly become targets of cybersecurity attacks. This year cybersecurity attacks on Baltimore and Lincoln County, North Carolina reportedly will cost those government entities $18.2 million and as much as $400,000, respectively to recover from the attacks. Last

Executive Summary: Recently, New Jersey took several steps to severely restrict the use of independent contractors or gig workers in the Garden state. The latest effort is Bill S4204, which creates a presumption of employment status for contractors.

The Washington State Supreme Court ruled recently that state employees’ birthdates associated with their names are not exempt from disclosure pursuant to a freedom of information records request. In so holding, the Court strictly construed the applicable statute that did not expressly exempt birthda

Puerto Rico has enacted legislation to limit the use of credit reports in making employment decisions.

The City of Duluth has published final rules and revised FAQs implementing its Earned Sick and Safe Time Ordinance. The Ordinance takes effect January 1, 2020 for employers with five or more employees, regardless of whether they work in Duluth. Under the law, employees accrue, or an employer frontlo

The Nevada Labor Commissioner issued two advisory opinions concerning Senate Bill (SB) 312, which, effective January 1, 2020, requires private employers with 50 or more employees in Nevada to provide paid leave that employees can use for any reason. SB 312 left several significant questions unanswer

Already a tough place for employers, New Jersey may be about to get even tougher. The Garden State is one of only a handful of states widely using the so-called ABC test, which makes it harder for businesses to classify workers as independent contractors. State legislators now want to make it even m

Women with children are the fastest-growing segment of the workforce. Six in every ten new mothers are working. Against that backdrop, the Oregon legislature recently enacted two new laws, changing and clarifying the rules governing pregnancy and childbirth accommodations in the workplace. Some chan

On October 10, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 673 into law, expanding an employee’s right to collect penalties for an employer’s failure to timely pay wages.

A California state appellate court has ruled that the correct rate for paying meal and rest period premiums is one hour of pay at an employee’s base hourly rate, not the regular rate of pay used for calculating overtime wages. This is the first published California case to make this distinction.

On October 8, 2019, the Governor of Puerto Rico signed into law Act No. 150 of October 8, 2019 (“Act 150” or “the Act”), which prohibits employers from, among other actions, verifying or investigating credit history or credit reports concerning current employees or employment candidates, or from obt

Recently the San Antonio City Council approved major changes to the city’s paid sick and safe leave ordinance. San Antonio’s ordinance was scheduled to take effect August 1, 2019.

On October 15, 2019, the Bernalillo County, New Mexico Commissioners voted to amend their mandatory paid time off (PTO) ordinance, enacted only two months earlier. As we previously reported, the ordinance will require certain employers with a physical premise in the county’s unincorporated limits to