State Employment Law Articles

Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy signed Public Act No. 18-8, “An Act Concerning Pay Equity,” into law on May 22, 2018, making Connecticut the sixth state to prohibit employers from asking applicants about salary history. California, Delaware, Massachusetts, Oregon and Vermont had previously ado

On May 11, 2018, the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training finalized regulations concerning the state’s mandatory paid sick and safe time law,1 the Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act (HSFWA). The regulations clarify some issues like business size and pay rate calculations and fill

The California Supreme Court recently heard the case of Troester v. Starbucks Corporation which could significantly increase employers’ exposure to claims by hourly paid employees for small pre-shift and post-shift tasks that are currently treated as insignificant and not compensable.

Beginning July 1, 2018, employers in Vermont will be prohibited from requiring a prospective employee to disclose his or her salary and benefit history under legislation (H.B. 294) signed by Governor Phil Scott on May 11, 2018.

On May 11, 2018, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed legislation restricting employers from making salary history inquiries. The new law, H. 294, effective July 1, 2018, prohibits asking a prospective, current, or former employee about or seeking information regarding his or her compensation history.

On May 7, 2018, the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) published revised rules concerning the city’s generous Paid Sick Leave Ordinance (PSLO). The new rules come more than 10 years after the original groundbreaking rules were published in 2007. In the interim, a statewide pa

Georgia has become one of 16 states in the country that bans the use of hand-held devices while driving. Governor Nathan Deal signed “Hands-Free Georgia Act” (House Bill 673) into law on May 2, 2018. The new law takes effect on July 1, 2018.

Last week, a court upheld the Minneapolis paid sick leave ordinance, but ruled that it is only enforceable against employers within the city’s limits. Minneapolis’s paid sick leave ordinance was passed in 2016 and was immediately challenged by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, which argued that the

A new Georgia law will require nursing home and other long-term care workers to submit to extensive background checks. The “Georgia Long-Term Care Background Check Program” will take effect on October 1, 2019. Georgia joins the majority of other states mandating enhanced satisfactory background chec

The 2018-2019 New York State Budget seeks to advance the state’s strategic policies of encouraging the merger of existing Licensed Home Care Services Agencies (LHCSAs), reducing the number of new LHCSA providers entering the marketplace, and providing more state control over existing LHCSAs. The sta

Mandatory annual sexual harassment training for employees in New York City is one feature of a package of legislation targeting sexual harassment in the workplace signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio on May 9, 2018. Most private employers in New York City will be required to conduct annual sexual harassme

The California Supreme Court, in Dynamex Operations v. Superior Court, held that for purposes of claims under the California Wage Orders “engage, suffer or permit to work” determines employee status, thus requiring a defendant who disputes that a worker is an employee (rather than an independent con

Diverging from decades-old precedent, the California Supreme Court has broadened the definition of “employee” in the context of the State’s Industrial Work Commission (IWC) wage orders when undertaking the employee-versus-independent contractor analysis. Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Cou

Amendments to the New York City “Earned Safe and Sick Time Act” (ESTA) went into effect on May 5, 2018. Eligible employees under the ESTA will be able to use paid time off for circumstances resulting from the employee or a covered family member of the employee being the victim of family offense matt

On May 2, 2018, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law the New Jersey Earned Sick and Safe Days Act, which requires all New Jersey employers to provide earned sick leave to all employees. The law will take effect on October 30, 2018.

Executive Summary: On April 30, 2018, in the landmark decision Dynamex Operations West, LLC v. Superior Court of California, the California Supreme Court established a new test for determining who qualifies as an independent contractor under California’s Wage Orders. Under the new test, known as the

Executive Summary: On May 2, 2018, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a bill that requires New Jersey businesses to provide covered employees with paid sick leave. The Act preempts local sick leave ordinances currently enacted by 13 New Jersey municipalities. Employers will need to conform their l

Expanding employee protections in New Jersey is on the agenda for the overwhelming party-majorities in the Senate and the Assembly in the Legislature and for Governor Phil Murphy. In the latest development, Governor Murphy signed The New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act on May 2, 2018. The bill passed by

Philadelphia’s ban on salary history inquiries violates the First Amendment, a federal district court in Philadelphia has ruled in a 54-page opinion. The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia v. City of Philadelphia et al., No. 17-1548 (Apr. 30, 2018). Because the decision is based on the Fir

In a groundbreaking new decision, the California Supreme Court announced a significant change in independent contractor law, adopting a modified “ABC” test for determining whether an individual is an employee under the Wage Orders.1 This new independent contractor test is modeled on Massachusetts’ i