State Employment Law Articles

A New Jersey district court recently held that an employee handbook provision could not be enforced as a valid confidentiality agreement between a company and a former employee. Metropolitan Foods, Inc. d/b/a Driscoll Foods v. Kelsch [pdf] involved a former employee of Driscoll Foods (Kelsch), who w

A measure that provides specific guidance on the use of seclusion and physical restraint of pupils in Wisconsin’s public schools has been signed into law by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Under the new law, which takes effect on September 1, 2012, the use of seclusion or physical restraint is pr

Indiana has become the 40th state in the country to enact a statewide ban on smoking in places of employment. The ban, signed by Governor Mitch Daniels on March 19, 2012, prohibits smoking in public places, places of employment, and government vehicles. The new law will become effective on July 1, 2

Companies seeking to prohibit unlawful solicitation of customers should be encouraged by a recent federal court decision.

A Georgia choice-of-law provision in a contract entitled, “Independent Truckman’s Agreement,” between California truck drivers and a Georgia company was unenforceable based on California public policy, the federal appeals court in San Francisco has held. Ruiz v. Affinity Logistics Corp., 667 F

Reversing dismissal of a complaint against a California school district, the California Supreme Court has held that a public school district could be held vicariously liable for the negligence of supervisory or administrative personnel who allegedly knew or should have known of a school guidance cou

Massachusetts employers will be faced with a host of new obligations affecting their ability to obtain and use criminal background information from applicants and current employees beginning May 4, 2012. The state’s 2010 criminal offender record information ("CORI") law created a new method and da

In a recent trade secrets case, Stryker v. Hi-Temp Specialty Metals, Inc. [pdf], a federal court in New Jersey made clear that the involuntary termination of an employee does not preclude enforcement of reasonable post-employment restrictions.

Effective May 4, 2012, the Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) Reform Act (the Act), which was enacted in August 2010 with the controversial "ban the box" legislation, will significantly change the way employers access, use, and maintain information obtained through the Commonw

As we reported earlier, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DLWD)amended its wage and hour regulations in September 2011 to eliminate inconsistencies between state and federal overtime law. In so doing, the DLWD inadvertently omitted the exemption for commissioned sales emp

A recent decision from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania demonstrates that, despite allegations of employee wrongdoing and trade secret misappropriation, the facts may not support claims under some statutory computer offense laws. Even the New Jersey Computer Related Offenses Act (NJCROA), which

Denying an employer’s request to arbitrate an employee’s discrimination, harassment, and wage-related claims, the California Court of Appeal has held that courts, not arbitrators, had the power to decide whether an arbitration agreement was unconscionable. This is so even where an agreement is s

In a case of first impression, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge recently held that an employer may adopt a policy prohibiting employees from accepting tips from customers without violating the Massachusetts Tips Law. Any such policy, however, must clearly and conspicuously be announced to custom

A bill has been passed by both houses of the Wisconsin legislature that would repeal the right of successful complainants to receive an award of compensatory and punitive damages in circuit court under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act. Senate Bill 202, introduced September 27, 2011, was passed by t

In Lobato v. N.M. Environment Department, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that the Charge of Discrimination form used by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions is so misleading that plaintiffs do not have to exhaust administrative remedies against individual defendants before suing them

A federal court in Los Angeles dismissed the plaintiff’s trade secrets claims in Aqua Connection Inc. v. Code Rebel, LLC [pdf], despite the fact that the plaintiff (Aqua Connect) alleged that its trade secrets were improperly obtained through reverse engineering in violation of a user agreement.

On February 21, 2012, the Wisconsin Assembly passed legislation that would eliminate compensatory and punitive damage awards as potential remedies for violations of the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA). The bill passed the Senate in November 2011 and is expected to be signed by Republican Govern

Thirty-nine percent of data breaches in the U.S. happened to businesses while the data was in the hands of third-party vendors, according to the 2010 Annual Study of the Ponemon Institute.

Reversing a $15 million judgment against an employer in a class action for alleged unpaid overtime, the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, has held that the trial court’s trial management plan, which used sampling evidence to prove class liability, denied the employer due proces

Effective January 1, 2012, California's Agricultural Labor Relations Act (ALRA) was amended in ways that will likely help unions to organize agricultural employees in California and obtain favorable labor contracts with agricultural employers.