Articles on Labor and Employment Law in All 50 U.S. States
30 Most Recent Articles Posted
- California’s Expanded Red Flag Law Empowers Employers to Seek Gun Violence Restraining Orders; Other States May Follow SuitMore states are enacting so-called “red flag laws,” which allow certain entities and/or individuals to obtain restraining orders to remove firearms from an individual deemed by the courts to be ...
- The Gig is Up – New Jersey Misclassification Laws Create Extreme Risk for Anyone Utilizing Independent ContractorsBackground: Soon after being elected, New Jersey’s Governor created a task force to end misclassification of independent contractors, and the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL) began increasing ...
- Puerto Rico Working Women’s Bill of Rights Includes New Posting RequirementOn January 3, 2020, Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez signed Law No. 9-2020 (“Act 9” or “the Act”), known as the Working Women’s Bill of Rights. While the Act expressly ...
- U.S. District Court Grants Preliminary Injunction Against Enforcement of AB 5: Truckers Can Keep Trucking as Independent Contractors in CaliforniaEarlier this week, the Southern District heard arguments regarding the grant of a preliminary injunction to prevent the enforcement of Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”) against motor carriers operating within ...
- Pennsylvania Court Holds Employees May Sue Under Medical Marijuana ActA Pennsylvania state court held that the state’s Medical Marijuana Act creates a private right of action for medical marijuana users to sue their employers. Pamela Palmiter v. Commonwealth Health ...
- Connecticut’s New Restaurant Wage Law Codifies “80/20 Rule” for Tipped EmployeesFollowing months of political maneuvering, including a gubernatorial veto, Connecticut has enacted compromise legislation that attempts to clarify how restaurants and other hospitality industry employers must pay workers who receive ...
- New Jersey Court Orders Employer to Reimburse Worker for Medical Marijuana Expenses in Workers’ Compensation CaseIn a case of first impression, the New Jersey Appellate Division held that it was appropriate for a workers’ compensation judge to order an employer to reimburse its employee for ...
- Bill Amending New Jersey WARN Act to Mandate Payment of Severance Benefits Sent to GovernorThe New Jersey Legislature has passed an amendment to the Millville-Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act (New Jersey WARN Act) to require companies with at least 100 employees to ...
- Employees’ Compensation Following the Earthquake Situation in Puerto RicoSince late December 2019, a series of earthquakes and aftershocks have struck the southwest region of Puerto Rico, causing many structures to collapse or to sustain severe structural damage. Intermittent ...
- Temporary Restraining Order Remains In Place After Hearing on the California Trucking Association’s Request for InjunctionOn the eve of the Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”) effective date, Judge Roger Benitez granted the California Trucking Association’s (“Association”) request for a Temporary Restraining Order to prevent enforcement ...
- New Jersey Department of Labor Releases Final Regulations for Earned Sick Leave LawOn January 6, 2020, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (the “Department”) issued long-awaited regulations regarding enforcement of New Jersey’s Earned Sick Leave Law (ESLL) as well ...
- Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury Announces 2020 Limits on Qualified Retirement PlansOn December 28, 2019, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury issued Internal Revenue Circular Letter No. 19-17 (CL IR 19-17) announcing the applicable limits for Puerto Rico qualified retirement ...
- Another Win for the Trucking Industry Against AB 5While the trucking industry waits for the federal court to hear arguments on the California Trucking Association’s request for an injunction against application of AB5, Judge William Highberger of the ...
- Court Hears Challenges to California Bar on Mandatory Arbitration Agreements in EmploymentThe U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California heard oral argument on January 10, 2020, on whether to enter a preliminary injunction preventing the State of California from ...
- California Employers May Soon Have to Share Safety PlansSince 1991, California employers with 10 employees or more have been required to develop written workplace injury and illness prevention plans (“IIPP”). But there is no requirement that employers share ...
- Virginia Clarifies New Requirement for Wage Payment Statements Applies to All EmployeesThe Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) has clarified that the requirement to provide employees with a detailed, written statement for each regular pay date applies to all employees, ...
- Court Hears Oral Argument on Challenges to AB 51, Orders Further Briefing, and Maintains Temporary Restraining OrderEarlier today, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California heard oral arguments on whether the court should enter a preliminary injunction preventing the State of California (State) ...
- New York Joins Other States in Banning Salary History QuestionsExecutive Summary: As of January 6, 2020, New York employers are prohibited from inquiring about an applicant’s prior salary. The ban, codified as N.Y. Lab. Law § 194-a, was signed ...
- New York State May Be the First to Pass a New Paid Leave Law in 2020In yesterday’s State of the State, Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed legislation that would require private employers to provide sick leave to their workers. Under his proposal, employers with five to ...
- California Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument on Whether a Settling Employee is an “Aggrieved Employee” for Purposes of Proceeding with a Claim under the Private Attorneys General ActIn Kim v. Reins International California, Inc. 18 Cal.App.5th 1052 (2017), the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District held an employee-plaintiff that settled and dismissed his individual ...
- Brief Reprieve for Truck Drivers from Assembly Bill 5The California Trucking Association (“Association”) challenges Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”) by arguing the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (“FAAAA”) of 1994 preempts state laws “relating to a price, route ...
- Guidance on New York’s Ban on Salary Inquiries IssuedNew York state has issued guidance on its new law barring employers’ direct and indirect inquiries about an employee’s salary history that became effective on January 6, 2020. For New ...
- Will Your Fiscal Intermediary Be Chosen to Participate in New York’s CDPAP?Executive Summary. The New York State Department of Health (DOH) recently issued a Request for Offers (RFO) from eligible entities who want to continue or first commence participating as Fiscal ...
- The Case that Sparked the CCPA Gets an FTC Final OrderRecently, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued an important opinion, concluding that Cambridge Analytica, LLC, the data analytics and consulting company, engaged in “deceptive practices to harvest personal information” of ...
- Cal/OSHA Shows Concern After Increase in Work-Related FatalitiesOn December 18, 2019, Cal/OSHA issued a news release outlining California’s fatal workplace injury data for 2018. Each year California, in conjunction with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, conducts ...
- Non-Compete Commences From Termination, Not Judgement, Louisiana Appellate Court HoldsAn employee’s termination date – that is, the date the employee quits or is fired – may be critical to determining when his non-competition obligations expire. Under Louisiana law, a ...
- Tipping in New Jersey: Proposed Regulations to Affect All Employers Utilizing Tip CreditsThe New Jersey Department of Labor (NJDOL) has proposed regulations revising the current definition of “wages” to expressly exclude “any gratuities received” by a tipped employee from the employer’s obligations ...
- How Might Virginia’s New Legislative Trifecta Affect Employers in the Commonwealth in 2020?In the November 2019 election Virginia gained a Democratic “trifecta”—both legislative chambers and the governorship are now controlled by one political party. It has been over two decades since Democratic ...
- Initiative to Overturn California Independent Contractor Law for App-Based Drivers, Deliverers AdvancesOn January 2, 2020, the Attorney General for the State of California released the title and summary of Initiative 19-0026—a proposed ballot measure that would overturn the state’s recently enacted ...
- 2020: The Year Ahead for Employers and The California Year-End SummaryWelcome and thank you for your interest in the 2020: The Year Ahead for Employers and the California Year-End Summary. jQuery(document).ready(function($) { if ( $.fn.waypoint ) { $("#facebook-after-13322").waypoint( function() { $("#facebook-after-13322").sharrre({ share: { ...
- Federal Court Taps Brakes on New York’s Sweeping New Farmworker Labor LawNew York’s Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act went into effect on January 1, 2020. Two days earlier, two agricultural business associations filed a challenge to the law in federal ...
- New York Governor Vetoes “Wage Theft” Lien Bill, Promises ReplacementConcluding that it too broadly defined “employer” and raised a myriad of due process concerns that subjected it to risks of unconstitutionality, on December 31, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo Governor ...
- New York State to Eliminate Tip Credit for All But Hospitality Industry WorkersIn New York, 2020 will be the last year employers who employ tipped employees in car washes, nail salons, and parking garages, among other establishments, will be permitted to pay ...
- Iowa Drug Testing Statute Provides Exclusive Remedy For Violations; Separate Wrongful Discharge Claim Is BarredAddressing a matter of first impression, the Iowa Supreme Court determined that “when a civil cause of action is provided by the legislature in the same statute that creates the ...
- CCPA Is Here, and it Does Have Requirements for Employees, Applicants, etc.Some business leaders and HR professionals may be waking up this morning not realizing they must provide a “Notice at Collection” to some or all of their employees and applicants ...
- New York Governor Orders Elimination of the Tip Credit for Employers Subject to the Minimum Wage Order for Miscellaneous Industries and OccupationsFor over a year, New York State employers harbored concerns that New York State would enact rules that would eliminate their ability to apply a tip credit towards the wages ...
- Enforcement of California’s Anti-Arbitration Law Put on HoldA federal court in California has prevented, at least for now, an expansive anti-arbitration law from taking effect on January 1, 2020. Under Assembly Bill (AB) 51, enacted on ...
- California Bar on Mandatory Arbitration Agreements in Employment Temporarily EnjoinedThe State of California has been temporarily enjoined from enforcing its prohibition on mandatory employment arbitration agreements under Assembly Bill 51. Chamber of Commerce of the United States, et al. ...
- 2020 Brings Changes to California Employment LawsAs 2019 comes to a close, here is a look ahead to some of the legislation going into effect on January 1, 2020, that affects employers in California. jQuery(document).ready(function($) { if ( ...
- Virginia’s New Restrictions on Nondisclosure, Confidentiality Agreements Affect the WorkplaceA new Virginia statute limits employers’ use of nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements with respect to “sexual assault” as a condition of employment. jQuery(document).ready(function($) { if ( $.fn.waypoint ) { $("#facebook-after-13330").waypoint( function() { $("#facebook-after-13330").sharrre({ ...
- ‘Coyotes’ on the Loose at Utah Construction Sites May Be Trouble for ContractorsFollowing a local television station’s report of labor brokers paying cash to construction laborers to avoid paying taxes for these workers, a Utah state legislator said she plans to introduce ...
- CCPA Notice of Collection – Are You Collecting Geolocation Data, But Do Not Know It?Businesses subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) are working diligently to comply with the law’s numerous mandates, although final regulatory guidance has yet to be issued. Many of ...
- New Jersey Latest State to Ban Hairstyle DiscriminationWith its “Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair Act” (CROWN Act), New Jersey just became the third state to enact legislation specifically prohibiting discrimination based on hair ...
- New Jersey Bans Discrimination Based on Hair Type, StyleOne year after news broke nationwide of south New Jersey high school wrestler Andrew Johnson forced to choose between forfeiting a wrestling match or having his dreadlocks cut off, New ...
- New Year, New Shields: How Can You Prepare for the New York SHIELD Act?As we’ve previously reported, the New York Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act (the “SHIELD Act”) goes into effect on March 21, 2020. The SHIELD Act, which amends ...
- New York Mandates That Fiscal Intermediaries Be Joint Employers to Continue in Consumer Directed Personal Assistant ProgramExecutive Summary. On December 18, 2019 New York State’s Department of Health (DOH) issued a Request for Offers (RFO) from those who wish to continue or first become Fiscal Intermediaries ...
- Connecticut Retains ‘80/20’ Tip Credit Rule in New Wage and Hour LegislationThe Connecticut Legislature has passed legislation mandating that the state’s minimum wage regulations incorporate the “80/20” or “20%” tip credit rule. Governor Ned Lamont is expected to sign House Bill ...
- An Anticlimactic End of 2019 for Michigan Paid Sick and Minimum Wage AmendmentsOn December 18, 2019, the Michigan Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision on whether the Michigan legislature’s strategy to enact two ballot proposals (one concerning paid sick leave and the ...
- Pittsburgh Paid Sick Days Act Will (Finally) Take Effect – Prepare for the Ides of MarchAfter more than a four-year delay, the City of Pittsburgh’s Paid Sick Days Act (“the Ordinance”) will go into effect on March 15, 2020. The city passed the Ordinance ...
- 2019 Recap: New York Leads the Nation in Expanding Work Harassment ProtectionsExecutive Summary. New York has become the most progressive State in the nation when it comes to protecting workers against harassment, discrimination and retaliation on the job. In the last ...