State Employment Law Articles

In 2010, Massachusetts enacted the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) Reform Act, which includes a “ban-the-box” component. Among other things, the law prohibits an employer from requiring an applicant to check a box if he or she has a criminal history.1 The law also prohibits an employer f

Executive Summary: When drafting restrictive covenants, employers face a common dilemma about the scope of activities to be restrained. On the one hand, highly focused non-compete language tends to be more enforceable but might not protect the company’s legitimate business interests. On the other, a

Several significant employment law bills relating to sexual harassment are pending before the California legislature which could significantly affect employer practices.

Executive Summary: The federal Equal Pay Act already imposes limitations on employers when it comes to compensating employees of the opposite sex for equal work. With a recent legislative change in Massachusetts and a decision earlier this month out of the Ninth Circuit, however, several jurisdictio

Fueled by the need of legislators to politicize the “me-too” movement, there has been a lot of media attention in recent months on proposed legislation in many states to limit arbitration and/or confidentiality of sexual harassment-related claims.

A provision in the Massachusetts criminal justice reform law signed by Governor Charlie Baker amends the state’s restrictions on the questions employers may ask a job applicant regarding the applicant’s criminal history during the hiring process. The new restrictions include an adjusted limitation o

Ever since Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed the state Equal Pay Act (MEPA) on August 1, 2016, employers have been seeking direction on how employee pay should be analyzed to withstand scrutiny under the new law. MEPA goes into effect on July 1, 2018.

A decision out of the Northern District of California serves as a reminder that service industries need to carefully balance their commitment to client care with wage and hour obligations. A case manager at a large medical facility filed a class action claim under the California Private Attorneys Ge

Health insurance carriers often provide explanation of benefits (EOB) summaries to the policyholder specifying the type and cost of health care services received by dependents covered by the policy. EOBs often disclose sensitive information regarding the mental or physical health condition of adult

New York’s Westchester County is the latest locality to adopt legislation prohibiting employers from asking prior salary histories of a prospective employee.

Effective June 7, 2018, Washington State amended its domestic violence leave law to require employers to provide reasonable safety accommodations to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and to incorporate additional prohibitions on discriminating or retaliating against actual or

In Saheli v. White Memorial Medical Center (B283217, Cal. Ct. App., March 14, 2018), the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District addressed for the first time whether restrictions on arbitration agreements contained in the Ralph Act and Bane Act are preempted under the Federal Arbitration A

As part of the FY 2019 NY State Budget, lawmakers recently enacted a program to potentially circumvent the recent Federal Tax Law change that imposes a $10,000 cap on the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) for individuals who itemize their deductions. The potential workaround, called the Employer

Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a bill last month toughening the state’s already stringent data breach notification law, which will take effect on June 2, 2018. The most significant change for companies to be aware of is the requirement that affected consumers be notified no later than 45 days fol

Washington State has joined the ranks of jurisdictions that have adopted expanded equal pay legislation.1 The Equal Pay Opportunity Act (EPOA) was signed into law on March 21, 2018, and will take effect on June 7, 2018.2 The EPOA significantly expands Washington’s existing gender pay law for the fir

On April 24, 2018, National Equal Pay Day, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy plans to sign the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act (the “Act”) into law. Senate Bill S-104, reintroduced in this legislative session, contains sweeping changes to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) including, among o

On April 12, 2018, the New Jersey State Senate, by a vote of 24-12, passed the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act (the “Act”). The Act, which passed the Assembly last month by a 50-24 margin, requires businesses of all sizes to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave to employees during an employer-es

Both the New York State Legislature and the New York City Council recently adopted new legislation targeting sex discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. While the federal response to the #MeToo movement has been relatively limited, states and localities are pushing forward with a refo

Just three years after the enactment of California’s paid sick leave law under the Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act of 2014 (AB 1522), a new bill has been introduced seeking to increase the amount of sick leave employers must provide employees under California law. The bill, AB 2841, was introdu

Last week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved amendments to the City’s Fair Chance Ordinance, an ordinance that originally was enacted in 2014 to place limits on employers’ consideration of criminal history in making employment decisions.