State Employment Law Articles

Yesterday, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court (Lee), adopting a very broad view of the workers who will be deemed “employees” as opposed to “independent contractors” for purposes of claims alleging violations of California’s Wage Order

Under new regulation, hotels and motels in New Jersey must train employees on human trafficking. Training includes posting an informational human trafficking poster and ensuring certain hotel and motel employees view an informational video on human trafficking as a condition of employment. The regul

Answer: South Carolina recognizes a qualified privilege for trade secrets.

Last month, we reported that the Governor of Puerto Rico announced his “Initiative to Reform the Labor Force,” which would have created significant employment law changes to increase the employment participation rate on the Island. One week later, on March 28, 2018, in response to strong opposition

Bruce Sarchet and Corinn Jackson, both with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, discuss developments from the ongoing California state legislative session. Bruce and Corinn review key labor and employment measures under consideration in Sacramento, including a spate of bills aimed at curbing sexua

On April 23, 2018, Minnesota House Majority Leader Joyce Peppin introduced HF 4459, a bill to amend the Minnesota Human Rights Act (“MHRA”) to change the legal standard for sexual harassment. The bill, which has wide bipartisan support and 34 cosponsors, has a companion bill in the Senate sponsored

On the heels of signing equal pay legislation which will substantially expand pay equity protections for New Jersey employees,1 Governor Phil Murphy tweeted that he will sign a statewide paid sick leave bill on Wednesday, May 2, 2018. Once he does so, New Jersey will become the 10th state with a pai

Executive Summary: On April 10, 2018, the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department (“the First Department”), in Matter of New York City Tr. Auth. v. Phillips, 2018 NY Slip Op 02442, in a remarkably strongly worded opinion, reversed the determination of an arbitrator who had

As reported in our blog post from November 6, 2017, the New York State Attorney General announced the release of the proposed Shield Act in early November, 2017. This new legislation (we have some links for you below) would make significant changes to New York’s cybersecurity provisions (primarily u

Executive Summary: In the fiscal year 2019 budget, the New York State Legislature passed several new laws aimed at preventing workplace sexual harassment, including banning mandatory arbitration and requiring anti-harassment policies and training. These new laws, a response to the larger social conv

Executive Summary: On April 11, 2018, the New York City Council passed a package of bills intended to prevent sexual harassment. Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign the bills into law. The New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) is charged with enforcing the new laws.

Washington has adopted four new laws addressing workplace harassment and discrimination. Three prohibit limitations on an employee’s disclosure or public pursuit of discrimination or harassment claims, while the fourth requires the Washington State Human Rights Commission to develop model sexual har

Washington State has joined a number of other jurisdictions, including the Washington cities of Seattle and Spokane, by passing a “ban-the-box” law, known as the Washington Fair Chance Act (HB 1298). The Act prohibits employers from obtaining any information about an applicant's criminal record (whe

A new Washington law (SB 6027) impacts the scope of discovery of a plaintiff’s medical records in litigation brought under Washington’s Law Against Discrimination (“WLAD”). The law will become effective on June 7, 2018.

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors has approved an Ordinance requiring hotel and motel operators in Sacramento County to provide employees with a panic button or notification device that can be used to call for help when an employee reasonably believes sexual harassment activity is occurring

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act into law on April 24, 2018. The Act will take effect on July 1, 2018. The new law contains sweeping changes to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), including a prohibition against discrimination with respect to compe

Beginning July 1, 2018, private employers in Iowa may take action based on an employee’s alcohol test result of .02 grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath. The lower standard was enacted under a 2018 amendment to the Iowa drug testing law (Iowa Code Section 730.5). Prior to the amendm

New Jersey’s Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act will take effect on July 1, 2018. The new law contains sweeping changes to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), such as a prohibition against discrimination with respect to compensation or financial terms of employment, a six-year statute of limi

As part of the 2018-2019 New York State Budget, the Governor and the Legislature have agreed to a package of legislation addressing the opioid crisis in New York that includes requiring opioid manufacturers and distributors to help fund treatment programs.

Although Iowa’s drug testing statute was enacted more than 30 years ago, it is still considered one of the most difficult laws in the country for purposes of employer compliance.