State Employment Law Articles

The Third Circuit agreed with the lower court that a preliminary injunction was not warranted to block New Jersey’s Temporary Workers Bill of Rights (the “ Bill of Rights ”) in a challenge by industry groups. The appellate court ruled that the Bill of Rights does not unlawfully burden out-of-state b

The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered a “do-over” of sorts by reviving old laws regulating minimum wage, tip, and paid sick leave. Changes to the minimum wage and tip rules will go into effect on February 21, 2025, but a number of questions remain.

Massachusetts has enacted a new law imposing pay transparency and pay data reporting obligations on employers in the state. The law will take effect on July 31, 2025.

Two years ago, Florida became the center of widespread media attention with its enactment of a new law, which set out to curb training and teaching relating to inclusion, equity, and diversity (“IE&D”). Since then, there has been a battle in the courts as to the validity of the legislation

On August 2, 2024, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law Senate Bill 2979 (the “Amendment”), implementing long-awaited, highly anticipated reform to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The Amendment is a milestone in the broader ongoing effort to resolve BIPA’s vague sta

A “supervisor,” for purposes of a Connecticut state hostile work environment claim, is an employee who is empowered by an employer to take tangible employment actions, the Connecticut Supreme Court recently held in O’Reggio v. Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities , a decision that follows fe

New Hampshire has become the 26th U.S. state to enact a version of the model CROWN Act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” On July 3, 2024, Governor Chris Sununu signed into law “Creating a private cause of action for discrimination based on hairstyles relative

On July 26, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida permanently blocked Florida’s Stop WOKE Act, which restricted the types of anti-harassment and antidiscrimination training that employers can require their workers to attend.

Massachusetts is the latest state to mandate salary transparency in job postings and disclosure of demographic and pay data to the government. On July 31, 2024, Governor Maura Healey signed into law the “Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act,” H.B. 4890 . The law is named after Frances Perkins, the f

Under current federal law, employers may legally require workers to attend meetings during working hours that concern the employer’s views on politics, religion and similar matters.

For over 75 years, the National Labor Relations Board and courts (including the U.S. Supreme Court) have held the right of employees to make informed choices about unions is best served when employers share competing information—the side of the story employees don’t typically hear when organizers ar

If you have employees working in Oregon, chances are you have heard about Oregon’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program also known as Paid Leave Oregon (“PLO”). In addition to PLO, eligible Oregon employees may be entitled to leave under the Oregon Family Medical Leave Act (“OFLA”), Orego

Four new and notable laws affecting Louisiana employers are taking effect in summer 2024, including an expanded statute of limitations for employment torts, meal breaks for minors, a ban on predispute arbitration agreements for sexual harassment, and a ban on nondisclosure agreements regarding sexua

On July 31, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court reinstated Michigan’s original (2018) voter-initiated versions of the Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act (IWOWA) and the Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA). This reversion will take effect on February 21, 2025. The decision is significant for Michigan emplo

On September 30, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) No. 553, establishing a new workplace violence prevention standard in California. SB 553 came into effect on July 1, 2024, and the new law requires virtually every California employer to implement a comprehensive workplace

New laws in Minnesota will change how employers need to handle parental leave, tips, and recordkeeping. Most of the changes were part of the state’s omnibus bill for 2024 and are set to take effect on August 1, 2024.

On July 25, 2024, the Supreme Court of California upheld a state law permitting ride-sharing apps to continue classifying their drivers as independent contractors, rather than employees. The ruling is likely to have a significant impact on the gig economy in the state, preserving the ability of appl

A California appellate court recently denied a motion to compel arbitration, finding the agreement unconscionable in part because it (1) applied to all claims rather than just those arising from employment, (2) was unlimited in duration, and (3) lacked mutuality by requiring the employee to arbitrat

In May of this year, the California Civil Rights Council (CCRC) released proposed regulations to clarify that existing laws prohibiting employment discrimination apply to automated decision-making systems that rely on artificial intelligence (AI).

On July 24, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit declined to block a New Jersey law aimed at equalizing the pay of temporary workers with that of direct employees.