State Employment Law Articles

In Connecticut, a private employer’s right to discipline an employee for speech made within the scope of his employment and as part of his official duties was established when the Connecticut Supreme Court issued its ruling in Schumann v. Dianon Systems, Inc., 43 A.3d 111, 304 Conn. 585 (Conn. 2012)

Executive Summary: The New York City Council has passed a law that will require businesses to provide either paid or unpaid sick leave (depending on the size of the employer) beginning April 1, 2014. The City Council passed the New York City Earned Sick Time Act by a vote of 45-3, which means it has

If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. That is what the New York City Council (the Council) has done since 2009. And after four years, the result is a controversial sick leave law, the Earned Sick Time Act (the Act), which grants many employees in New York City up to 40 hours of paid sick

New York City is poised to require employers to provide their workers with sick days. The City Council, by a vote of 45-3, has passed legislation requiring New York City private-sector employers, outside of the manufacturing industry, to provide paid (or unpaid, for certain employers) sick time to e

A bill that would “invalidate” non-compete, non-disclosure, and non-solicitation agreements entered into between an employer and its former employee, if the former employee is eligible for unemployment benefits following the cessation of his or her employment, has been introduced in the New Jersey S

“Paid time off” (PTO) hours are indistinguishable from earned vacation time under the Nebraska Wage Payment and Collection Act; accordingly, since that Act requires an employer to pay earned but unused vacation leave to an employee upon separation of employment, employers must likewise pay terminati

Shawn Kee and Jessica Liss write on the Jackson Lewis website about two recent cases interpreting Missouri law on non-competes, Whelan Security v. Kennebrew, 379 S.W.3d 835 (Mo. 2012) and TLC Vision (USA) Corp. v. Freeman, 2012 WL 5398671 (E.D. Mo. Nov. 2, 2012).

An arbitration agreement contained in an employee handbook was not invalid simply because the employer could change the handbook in its discretion, the California Court of Appeal has ruled. Serpa v. California Surety Investigations, Inc., No. B237363 (Cal. Ct. App. Apr. 19, 2013). Reversing an order

On April 25, 2013, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in Bowman v. Sunoco, Inc. that a waiver of a right to sue third parties for injuries covered by workers’ compensation — signed as a condition of employment — bars a negligence lawsuit against the employer’s customers.

Effective July 1, 2013, Colorado becomes the ninth state to restrict an employer’s right to obtain and use credit information for making employment decisions. Colorado joins California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

On April 19, 2013, Colorado Governor John W. Hickenlooper signed into law Senate Bill 13-018 (the "Employment Opportunity Act"), which will significantly restrict the ability of Colorado employers to use “consumer credit information” for hiring and other employment purposes unless use of the informa

As previously reported in a legal alert issued by Jackson Lewis on May 12, 2011, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed the Georgia Restrictive Covenants Act into law almost two years ago, on May 11, 2011. Since that time, many employers have required employees to sign new covenants that comply with th

An amendment to Tennessee’s Wage Regulations Act eliminating private suits for state wage-hour violations and giving the state Department of Labor exclusive power to enforce the law has been signed by Governor Bill Haslam. Previously, aggrieved workers could initiate a civil court proceeding; now, t

A trial court properly excluded an employee’s “me too” evidence of alleged discrimination against employees of races different than the plaintiff’s, the California Court of Appeal has ruled in a race and national origin discrimination case under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. Hatai

An “accommodation of underlings” was not a reasonable accommodation as a matter of law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled, affirming summary judgment in favor of the employer in a disability discrimination case under the Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law. Bell v. Hercules L

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has vetoed legislation that would have expanded the definition of projects requiring greater use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for New Jersey’s public works. Governor Christie cited the detrimental effect the bill (S2425) could have on the continued Hurricane

“Agencies are barred from using a partner in a law firm as an advocate in a contested matter and another partner from the same law firm as an advisor to the decision maker in the same matter,” the California Court of Appeal has ruled in an arbitration case involving the termination of a police offic

Executive Summary: New Jersey legislators have proposed making a variety of post-employment restrictive covenants unenforceable where the employee is eligible for unemployment benefits. Many high-level sales employees and employees with specialized technical knowledge are subject to such restriction

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

New Mexico and Utah are joining California, Illinois, Maryland and Michigan in limiting employers’ access to social media accounts.