State Employment Law Articles

Employers in New Jersey must comply with a number of state laws and regulations that often impose different or more stringent requirements on employers than those imposed by federal law. Attorneys in FordHarrison's Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, office have prepared the New Jersey Employment Law Desk

The New Year will bring significant changes to the local employment laws affecting Silicon Valley-area employers, with measures aimed at reducing the expansion of the part-time workforce and increasing the minimum wage.

We previously reported that the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District held that an employer’s denial of accommodation to a nondisabled employee may serve as evidence of association discrimination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. Castro Ramirez v. Dependabl

New York State has adopted a new law that establishes the profession of licensed pathologists’ assistant.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the launch of a newly upgraded web-based search tool to help connect New York State residents struggling with addiction to treatment. The OASAS Treatment Availability Dashboard application allows New Yorkers to access any service in the New York State Office

Executive Summary: New York City employers should be aware of local laws that directly affect a company’s hiring and termination practices, including a recent one that makes it illegal for employers to discriminate based on “caregiver status.”

New York State has adopted new law that establishes the advanced home health aide (AHHA) job designation. The AHHA program was first recommended in 2011. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed S. 8110/A.10707 into law on November 28, 2016.

In recent years, there has been an uptick in union organizing focusing on California charter schools. Traditionally, education related labor groups focused on organizing large public school districts, but with over 1,200 charter schools in California, groups like the California Teachers Association

What is a disability? And when are employers on notice to provide employees leave? These were some of the questions raised in the California Court of Appeals (Second Appellate District) November 15, 2016 decision, Soria v. Univision Radio Los Angeles, Inc.

Employers in Pennsylvania will be able to pay employee wages using payroll debit cards under an amendment to the banking code signed by Governor Tom Wolf on November 4, 2016. The new legislation goes into effect 180 days following the signing, on May 4, 2017.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is engaged in a flurry of pre-election actions.1 Most recently, he signed Executive Order 21, which prohibits New York City agencies from asking prospective employees about their salary history before making an offer of employment. The order will take effect on December

A litigation trap that can ensnare unwary employers who may be sued in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a piece of employment legislation that allows expedited proceedings: Law No. 2 of October 17, 1961 (“Law No. 2”), as amended, known as the “Law for the Summary Proceeding of Employment Claims.”

All California employers should know by now that if they have a paid vacation policy, the vacation benefits constitute a form of “wages” under California law. (See Murphy v. Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. (2007) 40 Cal.4th 1094, 1103; Suastez v. Plastic Dress-Up Co. (1982) 31 Cal.3d 774, 784.) Calif

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, in Durrell v. Tech Electronics, Inc., 4:16-CV-01367 (E.D. Mo. Nov. 15, 2016), held that an at-will employee’s non-compete agreement may not be enforceable where the only form of consideration is the employee’s at-will employment

A written contract, payment within 30 days, and statutory damages for non-payment of wages are among the provisions of New York City’s new freelancer protection law signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio on November 16, 2016. The law will become effective on May 15, 2017 (180 calendar days after signing), a

With recreational marijuana now legal in California, many employers are wondering how this impacts their drug free workplace policies and their response to an applicant/employee drug test that is positive for marijuana. Contrary to what many employees likely will believe, the new law does not restri

On November 8, 2016, Arizona voters enacted the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act (“FWHFA” or “the Act”), which amends the Arizona Minimum Wage Act (“AMWA”) to provide for incremental increases to the minimum wage for Arizona workers beginning on January 1, 2017. The Act also requires that, beginn

On October 7, 2016, Dependable Highway Express filed a petition asking the California Supreme Court to review a decision to allow a non-disabled employee to pursue his claim of association based disability discrimination. The employee alleged that he was terminated from employment after he made comp

Executive Summary: It turns out that “protected activity” sufficient to make out a retaliation claim in California is not as broad as it may sometimes seem. On November 9, 2016, the Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for the employer in Dinslage v. City and County of San Francisco (A142365).

It is common practice for employers to utilize forum selection and choice of law provisions in employment agreements in order to require employees to have employment-related disputes adjudicated outside of California and/or under the law of a state other than California.