State Employment Law Articles

Last week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in NLRB v. Alternative Entertainment, Inc. holding that a mandatory employment arbitration agreement prohibiting class or collective claims violates the NLRA. With this holding, the Sixth Circuit is now aligned with the Ninth and Seve

On May 24, 2017, the New York City Council passed five bills – collectively called the “Fair Workplace” legislative package – four of which significantly restrict the ability of fast food and retail employers to schedule their staff. On May 30, 2017, Mayor de Blasio signed these bills into law, maki

Assembly Bill 1008 is making its way through the California legislature, after being passed in its amended form by the Committee on Appropriations on May 26, 2017. The Bill would repeal Labor Code section 432.9 and make it unlawful for an employer to include on an application for employment any ques

Last spring we notified you of legislation enacting a 12-week paid family leave policy in New York. With amendments set to take effect at the start of 2018, employers should examine the latest proposed regulations and plan ahead for implementation.

Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the New York City Council’s five-bill Fair Work Week legislative package, intended to reform scheduling and workplace practices for fast food and retail workers in New York City.

A recent study showed that employees who regularly take short breaks are far more productive than those who work continuously for hours on end. The study, conducted by the Draugiem Group, found that the ideal work-to-break ratio was roughly an hour of uninterrupted work, followed by a break lasting

Nebraska’s legal history on the enforceability of non-compete agreements is usually a surprise for employers who view Nebraska as pro-business. Nebraska courts routinely invalidate employee non-compete agreements that venture beyond restricting the employee from doing business with and soliciting cu

Employers cannot refuse to hire a medical marijuana cardholder, even if the individual admittedly would not pass the employer’s pre-employment drug test required of all applicants, a Rhode Island state court has held under the state medical marijuana law. Callaghan v. Darlington Fabrics Corp., et al

The Employment Law Reform enacted earlier this year in Puerto Rico introduced a local requirement to accommodate an employee’s observance of religious practices or beliefs. (See our article, Top 20 Things You Should Know About the Proposed Puerto Rico Employment Law Reform.)

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has affirmed a lower court’s ruling invalidating the Pittsburgh Paid Sick Days Act (“PSDA”), the ordinance adopted in 2015 requiring all employers of employees within the Pittsburgh city limits to provide paid sick leave to all full- and part-time employees. Th

Earlier this year, the Governor of Puerto Rico signed into law the Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act (“the Act”). While the Act makes substantial changes to virtually all existing Puerto Rico employment laws, it also introduces a new employee right not previously recognized: the right to part

With amendments to the California Fair Pay Act (“CFPA”) in effect for less than six months, the state legislature has introduced three new bills to further expand the state’s equal pay laws.

On May 17, 2017, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court upheld a 2015 trial court ruling that the City of Pittsburgh did not have the authority under state law to enact the Paid Sick Days Ordinance. It remains to be seen whether the City of Pittsburgh will appeal.

Draft regulations that will govern its interpretation and enforcement of the Cook County “Earned Sick Leave” Ordinance have been released by the Cook County Commission on Human Rights. The final regulations will be adopted by June 1, 2017, according to the Commission.

On February 23, 2017, Waymo (Google’s self-driving car subsidiary) sued Uber, under the DTSA in the Northern District of California, alleging that Waymo’s former star engineer, Anthony Levandowski, conspired with Uber to steal its trade secrets to allow Uber to make a technological leap forward on i

With the 2017 legislative session winding down, the Missouri legislature pulled out a big win for employers with several significant changes to the Missouri Workers’ Compensation Law and the Missouri Human Rights Act.

Executive summary: A new law regulating the hiring and payment of freelancers in New York City took effect May 15, 2017. The “Freelance Isn’t Free” Act impacts a large range of industries that routinely rely on independent contractors, including tech, media, and third-party services companies.

A class action waiver in an arbitration agreement is unenforceable under the National Labor Relations Act, Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel has ruled. Neal Pataky et al. v. The Brigantine, Inc., No. 3:17-cv-00352 (S.D. Cal. May 3, 2017).

Beginning July 1, 2017, large employers in Georgia that offer paid sick leave will be required to permit their employees to use some of it to care for their immediate family members.

As St. Louis native Yogi Berra famously remarked, “[i]t is not over until it’s over.” Yogi’s aphorism is certainly true with respect to the St. Louis Minimum Wage Ordinance.