State Employment Law Articles

A revision to the Tennessee Workplace Violence Act has seen an unexpected use — to seek a temporary restraining order to prohibit a co-employee’s access to the workplace. The Tennessee Workplace Violence Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-14-101) was amended in 2011 to allow any employer or employee who has

On July 17, 2013, Governor Chris Christie signed into law the New Jersey Security and Financial Empowerment Act (NJ SAFE Act). New Jersey joins 15 states, the District of Columbia, and a handful of local governments in providing victims of domestic violence or sexual assault with the right to take u

Effective October 1, 2013, New Jersey employers will be required to provide up to 20 days of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for an eligible employee who is the victim of domestic violence or sexual assault or whose child, parent, spouse, domestic partner or civil union partner was the victi

Effective January 1, 2014, Oregon’s domestic violence leave law (Or. Rev. Stat. § 659A.270) will apply to all employees who are victims of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking, regardless of the number of hours worked per week or length of time worked for the employer. Previousl

In a decision handed down June 24, 2013, the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, found a restrictive covenant unenforceable due to lack of adequate consideration. Although this is not the first time an Illinois court has held that there must be at least two years of continued employment to con

Minnesota employers that offer employees sick leave benefits have long been required to allow their employees to use such benefits to care for not only themselves, but also for their sick or injured children.

The deadline for training under AB 1825, the California law designed to instruct supervisory employees and managers in the prevention of sexual harassment at the worksite, is December 31, 2013.

Executive Summary: A bill providing protected leave to victims of domestic violence or sexual assault has been signed into law and is expected to take effect on November 1, 2013. The new law will require New Jersey employers with 25 or more employees to provide 20 days of job-protected leave to elig

In 1974, the State of New York amended its law on collective bargaining for public employees (the Taylor Law) by imposing compulsory interest arbitration to resolve bargaining impasses in police officer and firefighter bargaining units. This amendment to the Taylor Law was intended to be temporary,

On June 24, 2013, the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District (encompassing Cook County and Chicago) decided Fifield v. Premier Dealer Services, Inc., Case No. 1-12-0327 (June 24, 2013). The court found that Premier Dealer Services’ (Premier) offer of at-will employment at the onset of the p

Executive Summary: Right after the U.S. Supreme Court issued decisions favoring employers in a variety of employee lawsuits based on federal statutes, including retaliation under Title VII, the New Jersey Supreme Court has moved that state in the opposite direction under its corresponding statutes,

Effective January 1, 2014, a recent amendment to Rhode Island law will restrict the timing of pre-employment inquiries by Rhode Island employers about a job applicant's criminal past. Employers who are covered by the law may not inquire about an applicant's prior criminal history until during or aft

Effective January 1, 2014, Oregon will become the first state to require certain private sector employers to provide bereavement leave to their covered employees. The new law amends the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) and applies to employers and employees already covered under that Act.

Governor Dannel P. Malloy has signed legislation to increase Connecticut’s hourly minimum wage over two years by $.75 to $9.00 by January 1, 2015.

Nevada has become the latest state to enact legislation restricting an employer’s access to employee and prospective employee personal social media accounts. The new law (Assembly Bill No. 181) prohibits Nevada employers from conditioning employment on disclosure of an applicant’s or employee’s pers

Effective October 1, 2013, Maryland employers must provide employees with one day of unpaid leave to be used on the day the employee’s “immediate family member” is leaving for or returning from active military duty outside the United States as a member of the armed forces. “Immediate family member”

A flurry of new decisions from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) and the U.S. Supreme Court have approved the use of class action waivers in arbitration agreements. These decisions affirm that employers in Massachusetts can dramatically reduce their exposure to employment law class acti

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

Security guards who worked 24-hour weekend shifts were not entitled to compensation for eight hours of sleep time, the California Court of Appeal has ruled. Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, Inc., No. B240519 (Cal. Ct. App. July 3, 2013). Reversing a preliminary injunction ordering the employer to

On Friday, July 12, 2013, Connecticut's Governor Dannel P. Malloy vetoed a bill that would have restricted the use of non-compete agreements in the context of mergers and acquisitions. The proposed bill, "An Act Concerning Employer Use of Noncompete Agreements," Public Act No. 13-309 (the Act), woul