State Employment Law Articles

On January 20, 2016, the Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed the Minnesota Court of Appeals’ decision in Ford v. Minneapolis Public Schools in a narrow holding that leaves unanswered some important questions regarding whistleblower liability.1

New York State and New York City both recently enacted regulations and enforcement guidance designed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity, transgender status, gender expression and gender dysphoria.1 Both have now taken effect.

As previously reported, on August 11, 2014, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed “The Opportunity to Compete Act” – New Jersey’s so-called “ban-the-box” law – which restricts the ability of covered employers to inquire into, and use, criminal records. On November 2, 2015, New Jersey’s Departmen

On December 30, 2015, the Commonwealth Court in Pennsylvania unanimously found the Older Adults Protective Services Act’s (the Act) lifetime prohibition on the ability of individuals with convictions to hold certain jobs in nursing homes and long-term care facilities to be unconstitutional on its fa

The Service Employees International Union Local 32 BJ (“SEIU”) has appealed the December 21, 2015, Order of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas invalidating the Pittsburgh Paid Sick Days Act (“PSDA”), the ordinance requiring all employers of employees within the Pittsburgh city limits to prov

Additional guidance for employers covered by New York City’s Earned Sick Time Act has been issued by the City’s Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), the agency currently charged with enforcing the law, in recently updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). These were last updated in September 2015.

A federal court in New Mexico dismissed the lawsuit of an employee who was fired after testing positive for marijuana, even though he used medical marijuana in accordance with state law. Garcia v. Tractor Supply Company, No. 15-cv-00735 (D.N.M. Jan. 7, 2016). The Court held that the employer did not

Spokane may soon be the first 2016 PSL jurisdiction. Just 11 days into the New Year, its City Council passed a PSL ordinance. (Ordinance No. C35300). The mayor has vowed to veto it but the Council passed the ordinance by a wider margin than needed to override that veto.

Governor Alejandro García Padilla recently signed Law No. 251 (House Bill 695), a measure that provides caregiver leave under Puerto Rico law. This law, which is effective immediately, amends the Puerto Rico Minimum Wage, Vacation, and Sick Leave Act, Act No. 180 of July 27, 1998 (hereinafter “Act 1

The Commonwealth Court in the case of Tyrone Peake et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has invalidated a provision of the Older Adults Protective Services Act. The Act bars individuals accused of serious crimes, such as murder and rape, from being employed in health care facilities like nursing h

On January 1, 2016, Texas became the 45th state to allow the open carry of firearms. This affects most private employers, with exceptions for schools and certain areas of oil and gas refineries. Private and public businesses that wish to prohibit the carrying of concealed and/or openly carried firea

Oregon law restricting employers from inquiring about a job applicant’s criminal background during the initial stages of the application process (i.e., before a job interview) went into effect on January 1, 2016. Beginning July 1, 2016, the City of Portland will take ban-the-box restrictions a few s

The New Year began with the Governor of Puerto Rico’s approval of an amendment, House Bill 695, to the Commonwealth’s paid sick leave law that expands the circumstances under which non-exempt employees can use paid sick leave. The stated intent is to improve the working conditions of employees with

Last month, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) released final regulations to further define some of the ambiguous terms contained in New Jersey’s “Ban the Box” law, titled the Opportunity to Compete Act (OTCA), which went into effect March 1, 2015. As a reminder, OT

As the year draws to a close, employer claims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) against departing employees for stealing or otherwise diverting employer information without authorization to do so are dying slow deaths in many federal courts across the nation.

Landmark legislation giving drivers of app-based transportation companies, such as Uber and Lyft, the right to collectively bargain, has been passed by the Seattle City Council. However, the new law faces significant legal hurdles.

The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) recently posted answers to Frequently Asked Questions related to the new Fast Food Wage Order and increased state minimum wage for hospitality workers, both of which take effect on December 31, 2015. As previously covered here, the state minimum wage i

On December 17, 2015, New Brunswick, New Jersey passed a sick and safe leave ordinance that provides up to 40 hours of paid sick and safe leave to employees beginning on January 6, 2016. Although there are similarities between this ordinance and other sick leave ordinances in New Jersey, there are s

Anticipation of the January 1, 2016, effective date, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) has published administrative rules to implement the Oregon Sick Leave Law.

Even before California's 2016 session gets underway in January, legislative committees have been scheduling bills for hearing next month. So far, hearings on bills of interest to California private-sector employers include the following: