State Employment Law Articles

New York will be the first state to require employers to provide paid leave to pregnant employees for prenatal care under one of a series of proposals included in legislation recently signed by Governor Kathy Hochul to implement the new state budget.

Making New York the first state to mandate paid prenatal leave, the legislature on April 19, 2024 passed an amendment to New York Labor Law § 196-b that will require employers to provide up to 20 hours of paid leave in a 52-week period for pregnant employees to attend prenatal medical

The New York State enacted budget for fiscal year 2024 changes employers’ obligations by adding paid leave for prenatal care, converting unpaid break time for purposes of expressing breast milk into paid time, and incorporating a sunset date into the existing COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave law.

In response to abundant press reports of injury rates in warehouse and distribution centers, Washington State has joined New York and California in enacting a new law, House Bill (HB) 1762, regulating employers’ use of production quotas or standards for workers at warehouse distribution centers. The

On April 20, 2024, Governor Hochul signed the New York State Budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 into law. The Budget includes legislation that significantly changes the state’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPA Program) and leaves open whether most of the present Fiscal Intermediarie

One year has passed since sweeping amendments to the New Jersey mini-WARN Act (officially known as the “Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act”) (NJ WARN) took effect on April 10, 2023. Mass layoff data from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJ DOL) te

Unions have been flooding the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) with complaints about hospital staffing and pushing for “robust implementation” and “enforcement” of New York’s clinical staffing plan law. In March, NYSDOH issued enforcement guidance about the state mandates adopted in 2021

On April 20, 2024, Governor Hochul signed the New York State Budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 into law. The Budget includes legislation that significantly changes the state’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPA Program) and leaves open whether most of the present Fiscal Intermediarie

The Oregon Court of Appeals, for the first time, applied the “cat’s paw” theory of imputed liability between joint employers in a whistleblower case regardless of whether the alleged biased individual was subordinate to the co-employer’s decisionmaker or employed by the same entity. This case could

On March 18, 2024, Judge Thomas M. Durkin, sitting in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, entered a preliminary injunction order enjoining the director of the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) from taking any actions to enforce the “equivalent benefits”

Are New Jersey employers required to reimburse employees for business-related expenses? The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, recently considered whether an employer’s failure to reimburse an employee for costs he incurred using his personal automobile to perform his job duties const

Maine employers may be preparing to comply with Maine’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program as required payroll contributions to the PFML Insurance Fund are set to begin on January 1, 2025, but questions remain as the state has yet to adopt final rules for implementing this new and

North Carolina’s Supreme Court has revisited the issue of medical treatment in the context of workers’ compensation

On March 26, 2024, the D.C. Circuit rebuked the National Labor Relations Board for an opinion the court described as “nonsense” – saying it shows “just how far [the Board has] strayed from its statutory mandate.” This decision and others recently issued in the D.C. Circuit may encourage employers to

As the Minnesota Legislature enters the latter half of its 2023–2024 legislative session, the pressure is on to meet critical deadlines before adjournment on May 20, 2024. House and Senate committees are racing against the clock to push bills through for consideration by the April 19 deadline. With

By: California Workplace Violence Prevention Plan Compliance: July 1, 2024 Deadline – Are You Ready? By: California Workplace Violence Prevention Plan Compliance: July 1, 2024 Deadline – Are You Ready? Effective July 1, 2024, all California employers (with a few exceptions) – regardless of industry

Even employers with the best intentions find it difficult to understand California’s ever-changing wage and hour laws.

On March 26, 2024, the Phoenix (Arizona) City Council unanimously passed an ordinance requiring all city contractors and subcontractors to develop and maintain a written heat safety plan to prevent heat-related illnesses and injuries in the workplace. Outdoor workers in Phoenix may be susceptible to

The California Pay Data Reporting Portal opened on February 1, 2024, and private employers of 100 or more employees and/or 100 or more workers hired through labor contractors must submit their 2023 pay data reports on or before May 8, 2024. In this podcast, Jay Patton (shareholder, Birmingham) and K