State Employment Law Articles

Wisconsin has become the thirteenth state to enact a law limiting the circumstances under which employers may request or require access to the personal internet accounts of applicants and employees. The 2013 Wisconsin Act 208,1 which amends the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA) and will be enforc

In Lane v. Francis Capital Mgmt. LLC (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 11, 2014), a California Court of Appeal held a former employee’s claim for unpaid wages were exempted from arbitration by California Labor Code section 229.

A recent ruling by the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico clarifies that Law 44, Puerto Rico’s counterpart to the federal American with Disabilities Act (ADA), applies only to employers and does not provide for individual liability. Accordingly, claims brought against indiv

A recent ruling by the Puerto Rico Supreme Court interprets relevant sections of Act 59, known as the “Act to Regulate Controlled Substances Detection Tests in the Private Work Sector”, to clarify that, when subjecting employees to undergo drug testing, hair samples can be used only when the circums

Finding an intern had produced sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to conclude his supervisor engaged in a pervasive pattern of harassing conduct “because of sex,” including numerous gifts, frequent lunch purchases, along with sexual jokes and displays of pornographic computer images, the Cali

Before offering severance to a departing employee, New York employers should be aware of recent changes to the New York unemployment insurance law. These changes may affect both the timing and language of the severance agreement.

Nevada has amended its law to require that any agreement containing an arbitration clause include “specific authorization for the provision which indicates that the person has affirmatively agreed to the provision.” An arbitration clause that fails to include such an authorization is “void and unenf

Executive Summary: The New York City Earned Sick Time Act ("the Act") goes into effect today, April 1, 2014. The Act requires employers with at least five employees who work at least 80 hours per year in NYC to provide all such employees with at least 40 hours of paid sick time per year.

The Maryland House of Delegates has approved a bill banning discrimination on the basis of gender identity, positioning Maryland to join 17 other states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in providing protections from unlawful discrimination to employees based on gender identity. The anti-di

City of San Jose public officials’ communications sent and received on their personal electronic devices using private accounts need not be disclosed as they are not public records under the California Public Records Act (“CPRA”), the California Court of Appeal has ruled unanimously. City of San Jos

Governor Dannel P. Malloy has signed legislation to increase Connecticut’s hourly minimum wage incrementally to $10.10 over the next three years. The new maximum rate will become effective January 1, 2017.

On March 26, 2014, the New York City Council unanimously passed a bill to expand the New York City Human Rights law to prohibit employment discrimination against interns. The legislation will likely be enacted into law, as it was passed unanimously (with one Council member absent) such that the City

On or before April 20, 2014, all employers with employees in the City of Philadelphia must post a new notice on pregnancy discrimination from the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. Unlike the Philadelphia 21st Century Minimum Wage and Benefits Standard,1 this law is not limited to city empl

A recent Illinois federal court decision has called into question the much begrudged holding from the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District, First Division, in Eric Fifield and Enterprise Financial Group, Inc. v. Premier Dealer Services, Inc., 373 Ill. Dec. 379, 993 N.E. 2d 938 (Ill. App.

Even though American Arbitration Association rules were not attached to an arbitration agreement and the agreement did not expressly provide for discovery, the California Court of Appeal has found a former employee’s arbitration agreement with his employer was valid and reversed the trial court’s de

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez approved a law requiring employers to post a notice containing information about the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline. The new law, H.B. 181, unanimously passed by both legislative chambers, becomes effective July 1, 2014.

On March 7, 2014, Governor Alejandro García Padilla signed into law the First Chance Youth Employment Act (“Ley de la Primera Oportunidad de Empleo Juvenil”) (“Law 36-2014”). Law 36-2014 aims to create employment opportunities for talented youth who have completed a college degree, so they can enter

A new District of Columbia law has expanded the protections afforded to workers by the D.C. Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008.

Last week, in Baumann v. Chase Investment Services Corporation, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that representative actions brought pursuant to the California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) are not sufficiently similar to Rule 23 class actions for removal to federal court un

The New Jersey Supreme Court will review a terminated company executive’s whistleblower claim to determine whether in allegedly raising concerns about the safety and efficacy of his employer’s products, he would be protected from firing by the state’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act (“CEPA”),