State Employment Law Articles

In October 2015, New York amended its equal pay law making it unlawful for an employer to prohibit employees from inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing their wages or the wages of other employees. N.Y. Lab. Law § 194(4).

Between December 2016 and January 2017, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) instituted a significant change in its historic treatment of the interplay between two statutes that provide for daily and weekly overtime pay.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló has signed the “Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act” (House Bill 453), a law that dramatically changes the employment landscape in Puerto Rico and provides more flexibility in the workplace.

A Minnesota state district court recently issued a temporary injunction preventing Minneapolis from enforcing its Sick and Safe Time Ordinance (the “Ordinance”), which is scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2017, against any employer “resident outside the geographic boundaries” of Minneapolis until

Executive Summary: The City of Philadelphia amended its Fair Practices Ordinance (Ordinance) on January 23, 2017, to prohibit employers from inquiring about an applicant’s wage history during the hiring process. The law is the first of its kind adopted by a city in the United States and takes effect

The Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (the “PR Treasury”) issued Tax Policy Circular Letter No. 16-08 on December 23, 2016 (“CL 16-08”). CL 16-08 establishes new rules regarding the validity of retirement plan qualification letters and the procedures that employers and service providers must fo

On January 26, 2017, the Governor of Puerto Rico approved the Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act (“the Act"). The Act makes substantial changes to virtually all existing Puerto Rico employment laws, including those governing unjustified dismissal, wage-and-hour, vacation and sick leave, worker

By determining that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX” or the “Act”) preempts California’s ethical rules, the Northern District of California ruled that an in-house attorney can rely on privileged communications and confidential information to the extent they are reasonably necessary to assert a claim or

Mayor Jim Kenney signed the Philadelphia Wage Equity Bill into law on Monday, January 23, 2017. It will take effect on May 23, 2017, and be codified in the Philadelphia Code at Sections 9-1103((1)(i) and 9-1131. Under the new law, employers may not ask about a prospective employee’s wage and fringe

Executive Summary: Individuals performing the main function of your business cannot be classified as independent contractors in Tennessee. At least, that’s what the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled recently when analyzing whether the Tennessee Department of Workforce Development properly held a pet

On Friday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Syed v. M-I, LLC, holding, on an issue of first impression, that an employer willfully violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) by including a liability waiver on the background check disclosure and consent form it provided t

For employers across the Carolinas, the New Year presents the ideal opportunity to review and update important company policies. In some instances, there may be policies that need to be eliminated altogether. This article highlights four important policies most employers should have – and one partic

Under a new government administration, Puerto Rico employment laws will undergo the most significant transformation in decades with the expected enactment of the “Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act.”

Executive Summary: As LGBTQ rights have taken center stage in political and social issues, FordHarrison has been following ground-breaking litigation related to LGBTQ rights and providing updates. In the latest decision, a federal judge in Texas instituted a nationwide preliminary injunction against

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed two executive orders: one requiring state contractors to regularly disclose employee job title and salary data and the other prohibiting state agencies from making pre-job offer inquiries about candidates’ prior or current salary. The executive orders are ai

Kentucky has passed House Bill 1, the Kentucky Right to Work Act, making Kentucky the 27th state to adopt right-to-work legislation.

The Village of Rosemont and the City of Oak Forest have become the latest suburban Cook County municipalities to join the Village of Barrington in opting out of the Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance.

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) has promulgated a regulation that requires insurance companies to provide Commercial Crime Coverage to employers who have prior knowledge of an employee’s prior criminal conviction. Commercial Crime Coverage is defined as coverage under a

he popularity of craft beers has skyrocketed. A report cited in Fortune claims that microbreweries’ market share increased from 5.7 percent in 2011 to 12 percent in 2015. This growth has led to competition as microbreweries capitalize on the growing appetite for their product. Unsurprisingly, compet

Over the weekend, Kentucky lawmakers passed a right-to-work bill, which was promptly signed by Governor Matt Bevin. The new law took immediate effect on January 9, 2017, making Kentucky the 27th state in the nation and the last state in the South to adopt such a measure.