State Employment Law Articles

Executive Summary: On February 11, 2015, New Jersey's Supreme Court formally decided an important issue left open for nearly two decades concerning New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination (LAD). In Aguas v. State of New Jersey, __ N.J. __, No. 072467 (2015), the state's highest court definitively he

Reversing a trial court’s awarding of a $90 million judgment in a class action case for alleged rest period violations under California law, the California Court of Appeal has ruled that a security company had provided its security guards with proper rest periods, even though they were required to r

The recent California Court of Appeal decision in Mies v. Sephora U.S.A., Inc., Case No. A139410 (1st App. Dist., Feb. 2, 2015) (unpublished) joins a growing number of cases finding the existence of uniform corporate policies, standing alone, is insufficient for class certification. Mies upheld the

On January 29, 2015, the California Court of Appeal, Second District, published a landmark decision in Augustus v. ABM Security Services. Specifically, the Augustus court held that while California law prohibits employers from requiring employees to work during rest breaks, it does not require emplo

Louisiana has strict requirements for enforcement of non-compete agreements which are not “favored” in the Pelican state. In a recent case, Boudreaux v. OS Restaurant Services, LLC, a former employee in Louisiana preemptively filed a lawsuit claiming a violation of Louisiana’s unfair trade practices

The District of Columbia Council has passed emergency and temporary amendments to the Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act that, among other things, remove the requirements that employers keep time for exempt employees and that they pay exempt employees at least twice monthly. Exempt employees still

Effective April 7, 2015, the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act will be replaced by the Parental Leave Act ("PLA"). The new law expands the scope of the Maternity Leave Act by extending parental leave rights to men.

On January 29, 2015, the California Supreme Court issued a decision clarifying the circumstances under which an arbitrator’s award may be corrected. In Richey v. Autonation, Inc., No. BC408319 (Cal. Jan. 29, 2015), the court examined an arbitrator’s award and concluded that, although the arbitrator

Executive Summary: On January 30, 2015, the New York State Department of Labor's ("NYSDOL") Wage Board (the "Wage Board") voted to recommend a fifty percent increase in the minimum hourly rate for tipped workers, from $5.00 to $7.50 an hour.

The District of Columbia is considering legislation that would bar employers from conducting pre-employment marijuana testing, except as required by law. The bill—Prohibition of Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing Act of 2015—is scheduled to be discussed at a public hearing on Monday, February 9, 2015.

Executive Summary: On January 29, 2015, a California appeals court published a modified version of an opinion examining, in part, an employer's obligation under the state's rest break requirements. Critically, the opinion concludes that the rest break requirement only prescribes that an employee not

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently confirmed that the “ABC” test is the one to be used by employers to determine whether someone is an independent contractor under wage and hour laws, further eroding the ability of employers to classify individuals as independent contractors. In Hargrove v. Sleep

Illinois' controversial eavesdropping statute was finally amended, effective December 30, 2014, to replace the version of the statute that the Illinois Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional in March 2014. The amended statute attempts to remedy the constitutional infirmities identified by the

With the start of 2015, new ban-the-box laws became effective in Illinois, the City of Chicago, and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland. Ban-the-box laws prohibit questions about an applicant's criminal background on employment applications and often include additional restrictions o

The trend of municipalities in New Jersey enacting paid sick leave ordinances continues. Littler previously reported on the enactment of two such laws in Jersey City (effective January 24, 2014)1 and Newark (effective May 29, 2014).2 Since that time, an additional six municipalities in New Jersey ha

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the California Supreme Court’s decision that representative claims under the California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) cannot be waived in employment arbitration agreements. Iskanian v. CLS Transp. Los Angeles, LLC, 59 Cal. 4th 348 (Ca

Executive Summary: On December 29, 2014, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law that amends the New York Wage Theft Prevention Act (the "Act"). While the amendments relieve New York employers from some administrative burdens, that is where the good news ends for employers.

A Wisconsin court of appeals was not swayed by a recent argument that an employer did not violate the Wisconsin FMLA when the employer terminated an employee returning from medical leave for lacking work authorization. In Burlington Graphic Systems, Inc. v. Department of Workforce Development, Appea

Holding that “hours worked” under California Labor Code and Industrial Welfare Commission (“IWC”) Wage Order No. 4-2001 (“Wage Order 4”) include all time spent at the employer’s workplace and under the employer’s control, such as sleep time, the California Supreme Court has ruled that security guard

The District of Columbia is set to implement the Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act of 2014 (the "Act"), a measure broad in scope that amends several existing D.C. laws. Notably, the Act amends D.C.'s wage payment and collection laws, minimum wage law, and the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 200