State Employment Law Articles

The Supreme Court of New Jersey has agreed to decide whether employees who steal confidential documents from their employers to support whistleblower lawsuits are entitled to exemption from criminal charges stemming from the theft. State v. Saavedra, No. A-68-13 (certification granted Mar. 14, 2014)

On March 7, 2014, in Troester v. Starbucks Corporation, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California applied the de minimis doctrine and granted summary judgment to the employer in a putative class action seeking allegedly unpaid minimum and overtime wages, along with derivative pe

A former employee who failed to appear for her unemployment benefits hearing, where the referee determined the employer had a legitimate reason for discharging her based solely on agency file documents, had her retaliatory discharge claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) dismissed when

In a March 17 press conference, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that later this week he will sign into law two bills that significantly expand the provisions of the New York City Earned Sick Time Act (Act). The Act, which takes effect on April 1, 2014, requires most private employers to prov

Sending a former employee’s wrongful termination claim to an arbitrator, the California Court of Appeal has ruled that his employment arbitration agreement was not unconscionable and deserved to be enforced. Sanchez v. CarMax Auto Superstores of California, LLC, No. B244772 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 4, 20

The New York City Council has quietly amended the Earned Sick Time Act, which becomes effective on April 1, 2014, to allow a cap on accrued time carried over from one year to the next and to clarify the employer’s notice obligation.

A California Court of Appeal has ruled that a medical staffing company was not vicariously liable for its medical assistant who poisoned a coworker while on assignment at a hospital. Montague et al. v. AMN Healthcare, Inc., No. D063385 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb. 21, 2014). The Court found the medical assis

Executive Summary: On February 26, 2014, the New York City Council passed an amended version of the New York City Earned Sick Time Act. This amended version, effective April 1, 2014, requires that companies with as few as five employees provide at least 40 hours of paid sick time per year. Note: The

Finding an employee’s lawsuit under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) was “without merit[,] frivolous and vexatious,” the California Court of Appeal has affirmed an award of attorneys’ fees in the amount of $100,000 in favor of the employer. Robert v. Stanford Univ., No. H03751

So far, as the second year of a two-year California legislative session, 2014 has been more noteworthy for what hasn’t happened, than for what has. The Legislature made no attempts to override any of the Governor’s 2013 end-of-session vetoes. Rather, legislators have re-introduced bills to try again

The Illinois Supreme Court recently rejected a constitutional challenge by a roofing contractor who alleged the Illinois Employee Classification Act (ECA)1 violates procedural due process rights and is impermissibly vague. The ECA sets parameters for lawfully classifying workers as independent contr

On January 29, 2014, the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey signed into law an ordinance that requires private employers to provide paid sick time to employees. With this new law, Newark joins Jersey City, which enacted an ordinance mandating paid sick leave for private sector employees in September of las

Executive Summary: The U.S. Supreme Court has vacated the decision of a California state court, which held that a trial court should apply the factors set out in the California Supreme Court's 2007 decision in Gentry v. Superior Court to determine whether a pre-employment arbitration agreement conta

The Tennessee Wage Regulation Act provides no private right of action to aggrieved employees, a federal district court in Nashville has ruled in a collective action for alleged unpaid wages. Abadeer v. Tyson Foods, Inc., No. 3:09-cv-00125 (M.D. Tenn. Oct. 3, 2013). However, the U.S. District Court f

Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman has approved a new Nebraska law that extends veterans preference in hiring to the spouses of permanently disabled veterans. The new law goes into effect January 1, 2015.

The City Council of New York City has passed by a vote of 48 to 3 a resolution supporting Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposed amendments to the City’s soon-to-be-effective paid sick leave law, which include lowering the threshold for coverage from 15 employees to 5. Mayor de Blasio is expected to sign t

Private sector employers in the City of San Francisco will have to comply with new “ban the box” legislation restricting questions about applicants’ criminal records on applications for employment and during job interviews.

The City of Newark has passed a “paid sick leave” ordinance mandating that all private employers in the City provide employees with paid sick time. Newark joins Jersey City as the only cities in New Jersey to enact such legislation and the eighth city nationwide to do so.

In an action for negligent infliction of emotional distress and retaliatory discharge under Tennessee law, an employee is not required to offer expert testimony to prove the negligent infliction claim because it was “parasitic” to her retaliatory discharge claim, rather than a “stand-alone” claim, t

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