State Employment Law Articles

The ever-moving target that is the New York Paid Family Leave law (“PFL”) has, unsurprisingly, shifted yet again. We recently received confirmation from the New York State regulators that employers do not need to cap the weekly employee payroll deduction for PFL at .126% of the New York State Averag

Executive Summary. Audits of compliance with the Wage Parity Act ("WPA") are on the rise. The NYS Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Unit, Medicaid Inspector General ("OMIG"), and Department of Labor ("DOL") are all auditing home care agencies. Unless you know what will be asked, you are at a serious

The Massachusetts Attorney General has recently published an Overview and Frequently Asked Questions (the “Overview”) regarding the amendment to the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, set to take effect on July 1, 2018. The Overview answers many questions that employers have been asking about this wide-ra

On December 27, 2017, we wrote about the Massachusetts Legislature’s efforts to regulate the use of non-compete agreements, including three bills that sought to require post-separation “garden leave” payments to former employees while they were restricted from engaging in competitive activities.

The Massachusetts Legislature, after a decade of attempts, may pass restrictions on the use of non-compete covenants in the Commonwealth.

The city of Austin, Texas has become the first Southern city to require virtually all private employers to offer paid sick leave to employees working within Austin’s city limits. This new ordinance goes into effect October 1, 2018, for employers with more than five employees. It goes into effect for

Today, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office published its long-awaited guidance on Massachusetts’ new pay equity law, which is effective July 1, 2018. The guidance addresses a number of frequently asked questions and further provides guidance for employers on conducting “self-evaluations” of

In Lawson v. ZB, N.A. (2018) 18 Cal.App.5th 705, California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal recently ruled that the two elements comprising damages under Labor Code § 558 – (a) underpaid wages and (b) denominated assessments – are indivisible. Because a claim under Labor Code § 558 is indivisible

Although both medicinal and now recreational consumption of marijuana have been legalized in California, this legalization did not impact an employer’s right to discipline or even terminate employees for marijuana use. That could change for medical marijuana users if a bill pending before the Califo

A provision of Maine’s recreational marijuana law prohibits employers from taking adverse employment actions for off-premises marijuana use, as of February 1, 2018. This law effectively prevents Maine employers from testing for marijuana for pre-employment purposes. The law also affects employers wh

A provision of Maine’s recreational marijuana law prohibits employers from taking adverse employment actions for off-premises marijuana use, as of February 1, 2018. This law effectively prevents Maine employers from testing for marijuana for pre-employment purposes. The law also affects employers wh

Last week, more than a hundred South Carolina employees became eligible to receive millions of dollars from a settlement fund of $22.5 million. A federal judge approved settlement of a lawsuit against a steel mill in Huger, S.C. Nearly half of the settlement will go to the plaintiffs’ lawyers and th

An insurance company named as a garnishee in a garnishment action is not a “financial institution” under Georgia’s garnishment statute when the garnishment is seeking earnings owed to its current or former employees.

State and local jurisdictions have continued to consider and enact legislation restricting employers from inquiring about a job applicant’s criminal background during the initial stages of the application process. Two of the latest enactments are in Spokane, Washington, and Kansas City, Missouri.

At approximately 1:00 a.m. CST on February 16, 2018, the Austin, Texas City Council approved an ordinance establishing a paid sick leave requirement that will apply to all private employers located within the City. If, as expected, the mayor signs the ordinance, Austin will join the growing list of

In a recent decision, Judge Philip S. Gutierrez of the United States District Court for the Central District of California clarified an available avenue for employers with collective bargaining agreements (“CBAs”) to combat the growing trend of wage and hour lawsuits in California. In granting defen

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a civil rights lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein, his brother Robert Weinstein, and their company, The Weinstein Company (TWC).

A new law passed by the New York City Council amends and significantly broadens the definitions of “sexual orientation” and “gender” in the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). The new law will become effective on May 11, 2018.

The Maryland Healthy Working Families Act — which establishes mandatory sick leave in Maryland — takes effect on February 11, 2018. Although the act had been vetoed by Governor Hogan in 2017, the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates successfully voted to override the veto earlier this year.

California’s public and private employers are prohibited from voluntarily consenting to a federal immigration enforcement agent’s request to enter nonpublic areas in the workplace or to voluntarily allow the agent access to employee records unless the agent provides a judicial warrant. Labor Code 90