State Employment Law Articles

Executive Summary : In March 2023, the Illinois Legislature enacted the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLAW Act), which becomes effective January 1, 2024. This law requires, with a few exceptions, “an employee who works in Illinois” to be eligible to earn “up to a minimum 40 hours of paid leave” in

On December 22, 2023, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board published further modifications of the draft indoor heat illness standard. The modifications, which were based on suggestions received in November and December, clarify an exception related to incidental heat exposur

On December 22, 2023, Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed the bill New York lawmakers delivered to her, which proposed a ban of nearly all types of noncompete agreements in employment. In so doing, she called for modifications to the legislation that would protect “middle-class and low-wage workers” from n

Starting January 1, Colorado employers must comply with new pay transparency requirements in job postings and internal promotional notices. The new law includes various notification requirements for current employees. Colorado Department of Labor and Employment issued new guidance on these requireme

The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) recently released new guidance clarifying how employers using mandatory paid sick leave accrual and caps may transition to the increased amount of forty hours or five days of mandatory paid sick leave that go into effect on January 1, 2024.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed into law the “Freelance Isn’t Free Act,” which will provide protections for freelance workers, mirroring those already provided in New York City.

On December 14, 2023, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) finalized and adopted new rules focused on protecting workers from wildfire smoke hazards that take effect on January 15, 2024.

The Chicago City Council voted on December 13, 2023, to amend the effective date of the Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance from December 31, 2023, to July 1, 2024.

Seeking to join the growing list of jurisdictions with pay transparency obligations for employers, on December 19, 2023, the District of Columbia Council passed the Wage Transparency Omnibus Amendment Act of 2023 . The bill would expand the District’s efforts to address concerns and perceptions rega

The new California employment-related laws that came out of the 2023 legislative session address a number of issues that will affect many employers. Leave (paid family leave, sick leave, and reproductive loss leave), retaliation (presumptions of retaliation related to terminations of employment), no

By: District Attorneys’ Unfair Competition Claim Against Serial ADA Litigant Barred By Litigation Privilege Companies hit with website accessibility or physical access claims brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and/or California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act (Unruh Act) may ex

By: New California Paid Sick Leave Requirements Go Into Effect January 1 On January 1, 2024, Senate Bill (SB) 616 goes into effect and expands paid sick leave (“PSL”) for almost all California employers and employees. SB 616 amends Labor Code sections 245.5, 246, and 246.5, and increases the minimum

On November 9, 2023, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed into law a bill that beginning on January 1, 2024, will make compensation received by full-time hourly wage-paid employees for overtime work performed in excess of 40 hours in a workweek exempt from Alabama state income tax.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board held its monthly meeting on December 14, 2023. At the meeting, the Standards Board unanimously adopted an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to address the rising instances of occupational silicosis among the engineered stone fabricating

On November 30, 2023, the Colorado Court of Appeals in Tender Care v.

Amendments to Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEWA) that will take effect on January 1, 2024, have placed significant new burdens on employers by (a) expanding internal notification requirements to all “job opportunities,” not just promotions, and (b) mandating brand-new post-selection not

On December 12, 2023, California’s Labor Commissioner revised its FAQs to address changes that will occur on January 1, 2024, to the Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act (HWHFA), the statewide paid sick and safe leave law.

On December 14, 2023, the Cook County Board of Commissioners (“Board”) passed the Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance (the “Ordinance”), which converts the pre-existing Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance into an ordinance requiring general paid leave. Under the previous Earned Sick Leave Ordinance

On December 12, 2023, New York lawmakers formally delivered a bill to Governor Kathy Hochul’s desk for signature that would ban nearly all types of noncompete agreements in employment. The legislature and governor’s office are now reportedly in the process of negotiating “chapter amendments” to the

New York has enacted the Clean Slate Act, effective November 16, 2024, which will provide for the automatic sealing of certain criminal history records. Upon sealing, the records will be unavailable to most employers in a background check report. Below are five questions and answers that help explai