State Employment Law Articles

An amendment to Connecticut law prohibits employers in the state from discriminating against their employees based on “gender identity or expression.” The new law expands the protections of the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act, which already prohibits employment discrimination based on

A private employer in Seattle would be required to provide its employees with “paid sick and safe time” to care for “their own or their family members’ health needs or their own or their family members’ safety or other needs resulting from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking…â

The New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act, long-considered one of the most broad-based whistleblower protection legislation in the United States, has been further expanded by the New Jersey Supreme Court’s holding that a CEPA plaintiff may recover lost wages without proving, or even all

Wisconsin will join the 48 other states that allow individuals to carry concealed firearms and other weapons in most places when Governor Scott Walker signs SB93 on July 8, 2011. “Weapons” include handguns, electronic tasers, billyclubs, and knives. If a permit is required, such as for a gun, th

The Louisiana State Legislature has passed two laws aimed at deterring the employment of unauthorized aliens. HB 342 would prohibit state contractors from bidding or contracting for state work without first submitting an affidavit attesting that they will use the federal E-Verify program to verify t

Since January 1, 2008, Oregon employers electing to use binding arbitration agreements with new employees have been required to give two weeks’ written notice of the arbitration requirement before hiring a new employee. For current employees, employers have been required to obtain an employee’s

South Carolina has joined the growing number of states requiring employers to use the federal E-Verify program exclusively to confirm new workers’ employment authorization. Governor Nikki Haley signed into law amendments to the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act (“Act” or “SCIIRAâ

Reversing summary judgment for more than 2,000 unlicensed junior accountants in a class action lawsuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (San Francisco) has held that the plaintiff-accountants were not “categorically ineligible” to be exempt from overtime under California’s prof

Determining parts of Georgia’s new immigration law (HB 87) were preempted by federal law, Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., issued a preliminary injunction against sections of the state law that allow police to question individuals about their immigration status and mandate sanctions for those who harb

North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue has signed into law HB 36, requiring private employers with at least 25 employees and all counties and cities to use E-Verify to verify the work authorization of newly hired employees. E-Verify is an Internet-based system that allows employers to determine the

Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy has pledged to sign the Connecticut Paid Sick Leave legislation, which passed in the legislature on June 3, 2011. Upon its January 1, 2012, effective date, Connecticut will become the first state in the country to mandate paid sick leave. Although the legislatio

The North Carolina Legislature has passed a bill that requires private employers with more than 25 employees, all counties, and all cities to use the federal E-Verify program to verify the work authorization of newly hired employees. The bill, HB 36, passed on Saturday, June 18, 2011, now goes to Go

Alabama has passed the strictest state immigration legislation to date. The Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act (HB 56) was signed into law by Governor Robert Bentley (R) on June 9, 2011. The new law, which becomes effective September 1, 2011, requires employers in the state to

An at-will employee must show a customer used “improper methods” beyond merely “actions solely motivated by spite, ill will and malice” to prove her employer’s primary customer tortiously interfered with her employment contract, the Virginia Supreme Court has ruled. The Court reversed a ju

Rejecting an employee’s claims for wrongful termination, the Washington Supreme Court has held that the state Medical Use of Marijuana Act (“MUMA”) does not provide a civil cause of action for wrongful termination based on the employee’s authorized medical marijuana use. Roe v. TeleTech Cust

Tennessee has joined the increasing number of states attempting to curtail the employment of unauthorized aliens by passing its own employment eligibility verification law. The Tennessee Lawful Employment Act (SB 1669, HB 1378), signed by Governor Bill Haslam on June 7, 2011, requires employers to u

Reversing a state court of appeals’ decision, the Colorado Supreme Court has held that an employer’s continued employment of a current at-will employee provides sufficient consideration for a non-competition agreement entered into after the inception of employment. Lucht’s Concrete Pumping, In

A new Nevada law prohibits employers in the state from discriminating against their employees based on “gender identity or expression.” While state law already prohibits employment discrimination based on an individual’s color, race, sex, religion, age, disability, national origin, and sexual

Fulfilling a campaign promise, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has signed into law a sweeping immigration bill that will affect companies in Georgia that employ more than 10 full-time employees. The law, HB87, requires companies to register with the federal E-Verify program and check the legal status o

Last November, voters in Georgia approved a constitutional amendment to allow a new restrictive covenant law to take effect. There were several uncertainties regarding the enforcement and application of the new law. When the Georgia legislature opened in January 2011, new restrictive covenant legisl