State Employment Law Articles

In Brinker Rest. Corp. v. Superior Court (Cal. 2012) 273 P.3d 513, the California Supreme Court explained that an employer must relieve the employee of all duty for the designated meal period, but need not ensure that the employee does not work. In other words, no policing of meal breaks by the empl

An employer’s vacation policy did not violate the Colorado Wage Claim Act (CWCA), despite stating that employees forfeit earned vacation pay if they are discharged or quit without giving two weeks’ notice, the Colorado Court of Appeals has held. Nieto v. Clark’s Market, Inc., 2019 COA 98 (Colo. App.

On July 5, 2019, Toledo, Ohio Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz signed the Pay Equity Act to Prohibit the Inquiry and Use of Salary History in Hiring Practices. The ordinance generally prohibits employers (including the employer’s agents, and job placement or referral agencies) located within the City of Tol

The Living Donor Protection Act amends the Illinois Organ Donor Leave Act, adding a section that prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who request or take leaves of absence related to organ donation.

Employees in Puerto Rico may take up to 15 days of unpaid leave each calendar year to address situations related to domestic or gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual harassment in employment, sexual assault, lewd acts, or felony stalking under a new law. The new “Special Leave” is in addition t

In this podcast, Michael Lotito and Jim Paretti of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute discuss pending California legislation – Assembly Bill 5 or “AB 5” – which is fast-tracking its way through the state legislature. The bill would codify portions of last year’s California Supreme Court decision i

Drafting an enforceable (and meaningful) non-compete provision in an employment agreement can be difficult. Many states, like Louisiana, recognize that non-compete provisions in employment agreements raise a serious public policy concern.

Minnesota’s wage theft law, which largely went into effect on July 1, 2019, created new documentation and recordkeeping requirements for employers, including a required written notice that must be distributed to employees and additional earnings statement requirements. This new law also increased th

The New Jersey Appellate Division has clarified the analysis required to determine the effect of restrictive covenant agreements (RCAs) and offered guidance to practitioners drafting RCAs under New Jersey law in a decision on six consolidated actions. ADP, LLC v. Kusins, No. A-4664-16T1 (N.J. Super.

The state of Washington has weighed in on the debate as to whether obesity is a disability under disability discrimination laws. In Taylor v. Burlington Northern Railroad Holdings Inc., a case that wound its way through the courts for nine years, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circ

Effective August 2, 2019, Colorado employers using tip pools must comply with new customer notice requirements. Under H.B. 1254, which passed both houses of the legislature in the 2019 session and was signed by Governor Polis on May 13, tips are the sole property of the employee receiving them unles

Executive Summary: In the continued fallout from the “me too” movement, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has signed new legislation imposing sweeping changes to Connecticut’s human rights law designed to reduce sexual harassment in the workplace and provide additional protections to victims of sexual

On July 31, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill 834 into law, strengthening and amending the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 (“IEPA”).1 Key changes to the IEPA take effect on September 29, 2019 and include the broadening of the statute’s compensation discrimination protections, an

An amendment to the Illinois Equal Pay Act expands the Act’s scope and prohibits employers in Illinois from requesting information about a job applicant’s prior compensation.

Two days before the Dallas paid sick leave ordinance goes into effect, two companies filed suit against the City challenging the ordinance. Attorneys with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, which represents these companies in the lawsuit, sent the City a letter last week, demanding that the City of

Today two plaintiffs represented by the Texas Public Policy Foundation filed a lawsuit challenging the Dallas paid sick and safe leave ordinance, which is scheduled to go into effect on August 1. It remains to be determined whether the implementation date will be officially delayed – either through

Executive Summary: New Jersey employers will no longer be able to ask applicants for salary history or use an applicant’s prior wages, salary, or benefits to make compensation decisions unless the information is voluntarily disclosed by the applicant. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2020.

Washington’s highest court has ruled that obesity is always an “impairment” under Washington’s Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), regardless of whether obesity is related to some other medical condition. Accordingly, treating job applicants or employees adversely based on their actual or perceived o

Executive Summary: On July 22, 2019, the Ninth Circuit withdrew its recent decision applying the landmark employee/independent contractor classification case, Dynamex, retroactively and indicated that it will be certifying the question to the California Supreme Court.

New Jersey has expanded its medical marijuana program and—for the first time since the state enacted the law—adopted formal protections for employees and job applicants who use what is now called “medical cannabis.” The amendments took effect on July 2, 2019, when New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D)