Articles About North Carolina Labor And Employment Law.

Most employers are familiar with legal issues surrounding the classification of workers as employees or independent contractors. Until recently, these discussions centered primarily around the decision on how a worker should be classified. Based on recent legislation in North Carolina, however, that conversation is shifting to account for the greater potential fallout from worker misclassification.

On July 13, 2017, North Carolina helped farmers by improving statutory protections against unionization. Although farmworkers generally do not have a statutory right to unionize under N.C. or federal law, unions are using indirect tactics to force farmers to unionize, such as asserting economic pressure or filing federal lawsuits.

Last week we wrote about the impact of the Wilkes v. City of Greenville decision. In this ruling, the North Carolina Supreme Court significantly expanded the “Parsons presumption,” which posits a relationship between an original work-related injury and additional treatments required.

Last week, North Carolina lawmakers repealed the state’s controversial House Bill 2 (“HB 2”), which had required individuals to use the public bathroom that corresponds with the sex on their birth certificate, along with several other provisions. The repeal bill has been called a compromise between the state’s Republican General Assembly and Democratic Governor Roy Cooper: it repeals HB 2 but, for the time being, maintains its restriction on cities and counties passing ordinances governing employment or public accommodation.

For employers across the Carolinas, the New Year presents the ideal opportunity to review and update important company policies. In some instances, there may be policies that need to be eliminated altogether. This article highlights four important policies most employers should have – and one particular policy that employers should consider removing from company handbooks or manuals.

Carolina farmers must constantly deal with changing weather and markets. Add one more challenge: labor unions. Recently, labor unions have actively targeted certain agribusinesses in the Carolinas.

The North Carolina “Single-Sex Multiple Occupancy” Act (also known as “HB-2”) prevents cities and counties from passing their own anti-discrimination rules. It is attracting nationwide attention due to its adverse treatment of transgender persons in public accommodations, and it is being challenged in a lawsuit filed on March 28. The Act also amended the North Carolina Equal Employment Practices Act (NCEEPA), calling into question the viability of wrongful discharge in violation of public policy claims premised upon NCEEPA. Finally, the Act amended North Carolina’s wage and hour act. Read more…

Approximately one week before changes to Charlotte’s non-discrimination ordinances were to take effect, the State of North Carolina enacted a law that not only invalidates the amendments, but also has broader implications for all state discrimination claims.

As the year draws to a close, employer claims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) against departing employees for stealing or otherwise diverting employer information without authorization to do so are dying slow deaths in many federal courts across the nation.

For cases filed on or after Oct. 1, 2015, in North Carolina state courts, there are new changes to how the parties will approach expert disclosure and discovery.

A wrongful discharge claim under North Carolina law may not be based on federal public policy, including policy expressed in the federal Constitution, a federal district court has ruled. Santifort v. Guy, 4:14-cv-00225-F, DE # 34 (E.D. N.C. Sept. 8, 2015).