State Employment Law Articles

In October 2016, Governor Brown signed and approved Senate Bill 1167 which went into effect on January 1, 2017. The law directs Cal/OSHA to draft and propose heat illness and injury prevention standards for indoor workplaces by January 1, 2019.

Three of the top labor and employment law issues to watch in the beginning of the Trump administration include: (1) the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) minimum salary requirements for overtime compensation; (2) mandatory, federal paid maternity leave; and (3) more rigorous state and local laws in

New York’s Paid Family Leave Benefits Law (PFL) will provide broad paid family leave benefits through the state’s existing Disability Benefits Law for all employees who have worked at least 26 consecutive weeks (or 175 days for part-time employees) for the employer. The law also will provide such em

On Friday, March 3, 2017, the New York City Council’s Committee on Civil Service and Labor considered a package of six bills that could significantly affect the scheduling of fast food and other employees. These measures seek to improve working conditions related to employee scheduling. Similar laws

The highest court in West Virginia recently affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit in which an employee challenged the decision to terminate her employment after she refused to submit to a reasonable suspicion drug test. Layne v. Kanawha County Board of Education, No. 16-0407 (W.VA. Feb. 17, 2017). The

Although Georgia’s Restrictive Covenants Act has been on the books since the spring of 2011, no judge has decided the exact scope of Georgia courts’ blue-penciling abilities – until now. In a case of first impression, Judge Thrash of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Geor

In a surprise development, on February 28, 2017, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld a minimum wage hike by the City of St. Louis. Cooperative Home Care, Inc., et al. v. City of St. Louis, Missouri. On August 28, 2015, St. Louis enacted a local ordinance providing for a four-tiered increase in the min

This week, a California Court of Appeal issued its decision in Vaquero v. Stoneledge Furniture LLC, holding that an employer violated California law by failing to pay commissioned employees for rest breaks. California law requires that employees be provided with a paid 10-minute rest break for each

A unanimous Missouri Supreme Court has upheld St. Louis City’s local minimum wage ordinance, reversing a trial court judgment that had enjoined and invalidated the ordinance in 2015. Cooperative Home Care, Inc. v. City of St. Louis, Missouri, No. SC95401 (Mo. Feb. 28, 2017).

In March 2016, the New Jersey Legislature gained bipartisan support to pass a new bill on pay equity. The bill, like many being considered by state and local governments, aimed to remedy sex discrimination in the workplace and close the wage gap.

Effective March 1, California’s Equal Restroom Access Act (ERAA) will require some single-occupancy restrooms to have signs indicating they are gender-neutral.

The Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (“FCIHO”) went into effect on January 22, 2017. The Bureau of Contract Administration (BCA), the Designated Administrative Agency responsible for enforcing the Ordinance, has issued “Rules and Regulations” (“Regulations”) for the FCIHO. The

The Ohio employment discrimination statute may be in for substantial changes. A bill aimed at comprehensive reform of Ohio’s employment discrimination statute (R.C. § 4112) has been introduced Ohio Legislature.

The Supreme Court of Virginia recently issued an opinion applying the principles of res judicata to affirm the dismissal of a contract claim. In The Funny Guy, LLC v. Lecego, LLC, No. 160242 (Feb. 16, 2017), the plaintiff filed a second lawsuit asserting alternative legal claims after its first laws

Executive Summary: In a complete reversal of its earlier decision, a California federal judge held that employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) entered into in accordance with the provisions of the Railway Labor Act (RLA) are exempt from California’s statutory overtime requireme

Executive Summary: A company that terminates an employee — even if it offers the employee the chance to apply for a position with the company’s successor — cannot enforce restrictive covenants over that employee, a New York appeals court recently held. In Buchanan Capital Markets, LLC v. DeLucca, 14

A bill recently proposed in Wisconsin could seriously change litigation strategy and settlement considerations for many employment claims filed with state agencies. Assembly Bill 64 would amend the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (“WFEA”), the Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act (“WFMLA”), and the

In another important decision regarding an employer’s obligation to provide rest breaks, the California Supreme Court in Jennifer Augustus et al. v. ABM Security Services, Inc. (2016) 2 Cal.5th 257, dealt with two issues related to employee rest breaks: 1) whether employers are required to permit th

In April 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its long-awaited “Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964” (2012 Guidance). The 2012 Guidance does not prohibit employer

Back in December 2016, we wrote an article discussing the passage of the District of Columbia Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016 (“the Act”) by a 9 to 4 DC City Council vote on December 20th. We explained that the next step was for the Act to be presented to Mayor Muriel Bowser. At that time