State Employment Law Articles

A bulletin on employment, labor, benefits and immigration law.

We have previously written about tolling provisions on this blog. In a decision from the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, Judge Patrick J. Schiltz held that, under Minnesota law, non-compete terms do not automatically reset upon violation. The decision in U.S. Water v. Watertech of

Legislation requiring most New York City employers to provide reasonable accommodation for an employee’s pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions will take effect on January 30, 2014. New York City joins a growing number of jurisdictions, including California and Maryland, mandating some

In the coming months, the Workers' Compensation Board is phasing in its new eClaims system, which will greatly impact the manner in which carriers file denials on new claims. To help streamline the process and maintain all applicable defenses to new claims, the following is our recommended procedure

Effective January 1, 2014, all employers must provide sick leave to employees who work part-time, full-time, temporarily, or just occasionally within the City of Portland, Oregon. Employers with more than five employees in any location must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave to employees work

On October 2, 2013, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed into law an amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) that requires employers with four or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, unless the employer can prove th

On October 5, 2013, California Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. signed several pieces of immigration-related legislation that will benefit undocumented residents. The office of the Governor described the laws as designed to “enhance school, workplace and civil protections for California’s hardworking i

In late September, a federal court in Maryland ruled that the state drug and alcohol testing statute does not permit employers to conduct breath alcohol tests.

An arbitration agreement was not procedurally unconscionable because the employer failed to attach a copy of the relevant arbitration rules to the agreement, the California Court of Appeal has ruled. Peng v. First Republic Bank, No. A135503 (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 26, 2013). The Court also ruled that t

After the tortuous appellate process that finally resulted in the seminal California Supreme Court Brinker Restaurant Corporation1 decision defining the legal duty to provide a meal period and authorize rest breaks, you might have thought the battle was over, at least for Brinker Restaurants. You wo

This November, New Jersey voters will have the opportunity to vote on an increase to the state minimum wage. The ballot referendum also would authorize an amendment to the New Jersey State Constitution to link future minimum wage increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The New York State Department of Health has adopted regulations to prevent influenza transmission by employees of healthcare and residential facilities and health care agencies. Covered health care facilities and agencies are required to develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure compli

For the first time since 2006, California's Legislature passed legislation increasing the state's current minimum wage of $8 per hour. Governor Brown signed the bill on September 25, 2013.

Executive Summary: The Jersey City Council voted 7-1 to pass a bill that will provide paid sick leave for workers in New Jersey's second largest city. Any business with 10 or more employees must offer as many as five paid sick days per year. Businesses with fewer employees will be required to provid

In Assurance Data, Inc. v. John Malyevac, No. 121989 (Sept. 12, 2013), the Supreme Court of Virginia held that the Fairfax County Circuit Court had been too quick to rule on the enforceability of a covenant not to compete, reversing the court’s dismissal of the employer’s complaint and remanding the

California Governor Jerry Brown on September 25, 2013, signed into law a bill that increases the state’s hourly minimum wage rate from $8.00 an hour up to $10.00 an hour by January 1, 2016. The new law (AB 10) amends Section 1182.12 of the California Labor Code and does not automatically increase th

The First Circuit Court of Appeals issued its most significant decision to date on non-solicitation provisions in restrictive covenants by upholding a preliminary injunction in Corporate Technologies, Inc. v. Harnett, No. 13-1706 (August 23, 2013). The court affirmed a decision from the District of

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has signed into law the Reasonable Accommodations for Disabilities Due to Pregnancy Law. The law, which becomes effective on October 1, 2013, amends the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act and creates new burdens for employers beyond those required under federal

Saving the best for last: The hundreds of bills passed in the California Legislature’s last two weeks of the 2013 session are either on, or still making their way to, Governor Jerry Brown’s desk. He has until the second weekend in October to sign or veto them. Historically, the governor’s veto rate

The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently upheld a district court opinion holding: (1) a hospital medical staff was not a separate legal entity with capacity to sue; and (2) the bylaws governing a hospital medical staff do not create a contractual relationship. Medical Staff of Avera Marshall Regional