Alabama

On June 10, 2019, Alabama enacted the state’s first wage equity law. The Clarke-Figures Equal Pay Act (CFEPA) mimics, in large portion, the federal Equal Pay Act (EPA), but includes race as a protected classification in addition to sex. The CFEPA also prohibits retaliation based on an applicants’ fa

Yesterday, Alabama’s Governor, Kay Ivey, signed a new law that would prohibit employers from paying less for the same work on the basis of gender or race. After both the House and the Senate approved the bill, it was sent back with an executive amendment from Governor Ivey on May 30, 2019. Upon appr

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to undertake a full-court review to decide the validity of a 2015 Alabama law prohibiting cities or other local municipalities from adopting their own laws concerning minimum wages, leave benefits, collective bargaining and other employment-related is

On March 28th, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) signed into law the Alabama Data Breach Notification Act, Act No. 2018-396, making Alabama the final state to enact a data breach notification law. South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard signed into a law a similar statute one-week prior. The Alabama law w

There are only two states in the U.S. that have yet to enact data breach notification laws, but that may change in 2018. Several weeks ago, the South Dakota state legislature announced that a data breach notification bill (Senate Bill No. 62) was pending. Now, Alabama is following suit.

Executive Summary: Effective January 1, 2016, Alabama passed a new non-compete and non-solicitation statute, repealing § 8-1-1 of the Alabama Code (the "New Act"). The New Act attempts to codify principles the Alabama courts have previously addressed.

The Oxford, Alabama, City Council has repealed on May 4, 2016, an ordinance it passed a week previously that barred transgender people from using a bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.

The City Council of Oxford, Alabama, has enacted an ordinance regulating the utilization of bathroom or changing facilities within the City of Oxford, Alabama, making it unlawful for a person to use a bathroom or changing facility within the jurisdiction of the City that does not correspond to the p

Employers with operations in Birmingham, Alabama, may breathe more easily now. Governor Robert Bentley has signed into law a prohibition against individual municipalities in the state from enacting their own minimum wage laws. The Alabama Senate passed the measure and the Governor signed the bill on

The Birmingham City Council has voted to implement a new ordinance increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 beginning February 24, 2016, for all employers within the city limits.

When Alabama Governor Robert Bentley signed House Bill 352 into law on June 11, 2015, he repealed Alabama’s bare bones restrictive covenant statute and replaced it with a detailed codification of much of Alabama’s restrictive covenant case law. The new statute, which will become effective on January

The Alabama legislature recently passed changes to Section 8-1-1 of the Code of Alabama, the provision which contains the state’s non-compete statute. Governor Bentley signed the new version of the statute and it will become effective January 1, 2016. While the new version does not drastically chang

How and when employers can request and use a person’s criminal record information during the hiring process and for other employment purposes has become a hot topic over the last few years at the federal, state and local level. In the last 18 months, various states and cities have enacted legislatio

A new law in Alabama allows individuals to petition to have certain criminal records expunged upon the payment of $300 in fees, plus court costs, and following a successful petition to the court in which the relevant charge was filed. This means that, among other things, a prospective employee would

Alabama does not enforce non-solicitation and non-compete agreements against professionals as that term is traditionally defined – to include, by example, physicians, lawyers, and accountants. In G.L.S. & Associates, Inc. v. Rogers, 2014 Ala. Civ. App. Lexis 87 (2014), the Alabama Court of Civil App

A former employee who failed to appear for her unemployment benefits hearing, where the referee determined the employer had a legitimate reason for discharging her based solely on agency file documents, had her retaliatory discharge claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) dismissed when

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has signed amendments to the state gun law to limit employers’ ability to restrict employee possession of firearms in employers’ parking areas. The new law (SB 286), signed on May 20, 2013, becomes effective on August 1, 2013.

Alabama has joined the majority of other states in enacting a law that prohibits texting and e-mailing while driving. Effective August 1, 2012, the law makes it unlawful to manually write, send or read a text or e-mail while operating a motor vehicle. Alabama Code § 32-21-1. Violators will be subjec

Alabama gained notoriety in June when Governor Robert Bentley signed into law HB 56, the Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act. HB 56 quickly gained a reputation as the most aggressive in a long line of state immigration legislation and attracted interest (and ire) from the feder

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