State Employment Law Articles

What do employers need to know about independent contractors and California EDD payroll tax audits? What do employers need to know about independent contractors and California EDD payroll tax audits? ehubert@littler.com Tue, 04/07/2026 - 16:08

Virginia Advances Heat Illness Legislation While Other States Are Poised to Follow Suit Heat illness prevention continues to be a key focus for state regulators as they move to fill the void left by OSHA’s still-uncompleted proposed heat standard. Most recently, the Virginia legislature approved hea

Oregon Court Clarifies That Asking for a Raise Is Protected by Wage Transparency Law In a clarification of Oregon’s wage transparency statute, the Oregon Court of Appeals has held that ORS 659A.355 protects an employee from retaliation for merely asking for a raise, even where no claim of pay inequi

In the first part of this two-part podcast series, Karen Tynan (shareholder, Sacramento) and Robert Rodriguez (shareholder, Sacramento), who are co-chairs of Ogletree’s Workplace Violence Prevention Practice Group, review the first year of Cal/OSHA enforcement of California’s SB 553 workplace violen

A recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Illinois that the state’s minimum wage law does not incorporate the federal Portal-to-Portal Act’s (PPA) exclusion for “preliminary or postliminary” employee activities could open the door to a wave of new wage-and-hour lawsuits by employees over time spent un

Legislation recently introduced in the California State Assembly would impose new restrictions on when and how employers with five or more employees may inquire about, obtain, and use applicant conviction history, while strengthening procedural protections.

In a ruling that provides important early guidance on the reach of the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA), a Suffolk Superior Court judge in the Business Litigation Session has held that the PFMLA’s anti-retaliation protections apply only to “employers” and do not extend to indi

Puerto Rico Supreme Court Holds that Commercial Image Rights Require Written Transfer and Revocable Consent In Osvaldo Friger Salgueiro v. Mech-Tech College, LLC; Mech-Tech Management, LLC; Artificial Intelligence , 2026 TSPR 30, 218 D.P.R. ___, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court held that any transfer o

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has ruled that suppliers of medical goods are not health care providers according to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act

It may already be April, but Connecticut employers still have several “new year” compliance updates to address. As spring approaches, now is a good time to dust off employee handbooks and make sure 2026 changes are fully implemented.

Just two months into New Jersey’s 2026 legislative session, state lawmakers are advancing a slate of bills that could have significant implications for employers, including several new employment protections related to pregnancy and lactation, in addition to expanding family and sick leave and broad

Assembly Member Liz Ortega (D–District 20), chair of the California State Assembly’s Committee on Labor and Employment, recently introduced Assembly Bill (AB) No. 2321 , legislation that would amend the California Labor Code to require local district attorneys to take an earlier and more prominent r

No Papers so no Wages? No Way, Says the New Jersey Supreme Court New Jersey’s Wage and Hour Law (WHL) requires that employers pay the minimum wage established by law and an overtime premium for work in excess of 40 hours per week. New Jersey’s Wage Payment Law (WPL) requires

California’s Automated Decisionmaking Technology Regulations: Seven Steps for Employers Effective January 1, 2027, many California employers must comply with a challenging and detailed set of new requirements before using automated decisionmaking technology (ADMT) for certain employment actions (“Co

Introduced on February 10, 2026, Assembly Bill (AB) No. 1803 is a straightforward but significant piece of proposed legislation that would expand California’s existing mandatory workplace training requirements to include a component on anti-hate speech.

On March 18, 2026, an Ohio jury awarded $22.5 million in a wrongful death lawsuit related to a company’s denial of a pregnant worker’s work-from-home accommodation request, finding that the company’s action was a substantial factor in the death of the employee’s baby.

Virginia’s new Democratic majority in the General Assembly has sent a slate of legislative reforms to Governor Abigail Spanberger’s desk that would address a broad range of employment-related subjects in the Commonwealth, including paid sick leave and paid family medical leave , noncompetition agree

Court Declares “Interested Party” Provisions of the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act Unconstitutional An Illinois state court judge has declared the “interested party” provisions of Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act (“the Act”) unconstitutional, striking a blow to labor unio

New York City Proposes Bill That Sets Higher Minimum Wages and Eliminates Tip Credits The New York City Council on March 10, 2026, introduced proposed legislation (Bill Int. No. 757, referred to as the “New York City Minimum Wage Act”) that would create a New York City minimum wage higher