State Employment Law Articles

After more than a year of debate, on December 20, 2016, the District of Columbia Council voted to create one of the most generous paid leave laws in the country. DC now joins California, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island in advancing laws to provide paid medical, parental and family care leave t

November 2016 was a dynamic month for laws relating to Washington State workers. At the state level, Washington voters approved Initiative Measure No. 1433 (“the Law”), which provides incremental increases of the state minimum wage beginning January 1, 2017 and paid sick leave beginning January 1, 2

Wheeling has become West Virginia’s eleventh city to pass a sexual orientation and gender identity anti-discrimination ordinance protecting the housing and employment rights of LGBTQ residents. The ordinance also protects residents who are veterans.

Are you sick of sick leave yet?

On December 9, 2016, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti signed the “Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring,” the “Ban the Box” ordinance that bars certain City of Los Angeles employers from asking job applicants about their criminal history. Ban the Box goes into effect January 1, 2017, and Los

By April 1, 2017, all employers in California operating in the following areas will be required to comply with Section 3342, the Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care rule: health care facilities; home health care programs; drug treatment programs; emergency medical services; and outpatient m

On November 8, 2016, San Jose residents passed Measure E, known as the “Opportunity to Work” Ordinance. The Ordinance, which becomes effective on March 13, 2017, requires employers with 36 or more employees to offer additional work hours to existing part-time employees before hiring new employees (w

Executive Summary: The City of Los Angeles recently enacted its own Ban-the-Box law, designed to prevent employers with at least 10 employees from inquiring into or requiring an applicant to disclose their criminal history until a conditional offer of employment has been made. The law is expected to

Executive Summary: As employers in Florida prepare for the new year, many may wonder how Florida’s new medical marijuana law will impact them. In the November 2016 election, Florida as well as Arkansas, North Dakota and Montana all approved their respective medical marijuana amendments, bringing the

Los Angeles is the latest in a growing list of jurisdictions to adopt an ordinance restricting employers from asking a job applicant about his or her criminal history during the application process. Under the Ordinance, private employers with at least 10 employees will be barred from inquiring about

With the dust still settling from last month's unprecedented presidential election, California’s politicians have not stood still. In partisan terms, the election results in California could not be more different from that of the rest of the United States. Hillary Clinton received the votes of 62% o

On December 8, 2016, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury issued its Tax Policy Circular Letter No. 16-07 (“CL 16-07”), announcing the applicable limits for 2017 for qualified retirement plans. Pursuant to Section 1081.01(h) of the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011, as amended (the “PR

Pursuant to the current income tax withholding rules issued by the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury, there are specific income tax withholding rules applicable when a Christmas bonus is paid, which differ from those applicable to regular wages.

On December 8, 2016, the Philadelphia City Council passed a Wage Equity Bill that prohibits employers from asking about a prospective employee’s wage and fringe benefits history.1 The Bill has been publicly supported by Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s Office, but has not yet been signed it into law.

The New York City Council has introduced six bills as part of a legislative package intended to reform scheduling and workplace practices for fast food and retail workers in New York City.

A new Philadelphia ordinance restricting the use of wage history in hiring decisions has passed the City Council. Mayor Jim Kenney is expected to sign the bill into law soon. The ordinance will prohibit employers from inquiring about and considering prospective employees’ wage histories, subject to

Effective January 1, 2017, Cal/OSHA will be utilizing a broader definition of “Repeat” violation under California’s Health and Safety Code. This is significant for California employers because if Cal/OSHA finds a Repeat violation, the employer could initially be subject to a penalty of up to $70,000

National research indicates that health care workers are at a substantially higher risk of workplace violence than the average worker in another industry.

For several years, California employers have been required to notify employees regarding the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. Beginning January 1, 2017, new California law (AB 1847) requires those same employers to also notify employees that they may be eligible for the California Earned Income Tax

In the next week, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is expected to sign the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring (Initiative), which will prohibit most private sector employers from inquiring into a job applicant’s criminal history until after making a conditional offer of employment. Los Angeles’ new “b