On January 17, 2024, New York’s Appellate Division Second Department held that “manual workers” under the state labor law do not have a private right of action to pursue alleged violations of the labor law’s weekly pay...more
New class action and California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) filings have grown exponentially in recent years and reached record numbers in 2023. This trend is raising concerns for California employers as the state...more
With high-profile challenges to employer diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and “reverse discrimination” claims on the rise, a case reinforcing the circuit split over whether plaintiffs from a “majority” group...more
1/4/2024
/ Appellate Courts ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Evidence ,
Evidentiary Standards ,
Reverse Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Title VII
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....more
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...more
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...more
Beginning on July 1, 2024, New York City employers will be required under a newly enacted city law to distribute and post a city-created “Workers’ Bill of Rights” notice informing employees of their employment rights....more
On December 5, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States vacated a case over whether a self-proclaimed “tester” had standing to bring Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claims against a hotel that she did not plan to...more
New York State recently enacted laws to further restrict the use of nondisclosure agreements in connection with resolution of employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims and extend the statute of limitations...more
The New York City ordinance banning discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations on the basis of an individual’s height and weight is set to go into effect on November 22, 2023....more
On October 13, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law that will reinforce the state’s ban on noncompete agreements in employment by making it unlawful for employers to mandate that employees sign...more
Employers in Washington are facing a flurry of class actions alleging violations of the state’s new pay transparency law. While it is too early to gauge the viability of the claims, employers doing business in Washington may...more
10/17/2023
/ Class Action ,
Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Governor Inslee ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Job Ads ,
Pay Transparency ,
Posting Requirements ,
Putative Class Actions ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On September 6, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law that prohibits employers from requiring employees to attend employer-sponsored meetings the “primary purpose” of which is to communicate the employer’s...more
Luis Rubiales resigned as the president of the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) amid controversy over his kissing a women’s national team player without her consent following the team’s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup win. The...more
On August 30, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released two decisions that will make it more difficult for employers to implement past practices during a break in bargaining or at an impasse, opening the door...more
9/8/2023
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
On August 18, 2023, in Hamilton v. Dallas County, the full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upended a longstanding precedent, significantly broadening the types of adverse employment actions that could give rise to an...more
8/23/2023
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Commission on Human Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
En Banc Review ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Public Employees ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
The Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH) has unveiled a new comprehensive state emphasis program (SEP) aimed at mitigating heat-related illnesses and injuries at both indoor and outdoor workplaces....more
Under a recently introduced bill, employers across New York State could face new restrictions on the electronic surveillance of workers and the growing use of automated decision-making and artificial intelligence (AI)...more
Maine recently wrapped a busy 2023 legislative session that brought several significant legal changes relevant for employers. Those changes include increasing the cap on damages for violations of the Maine Human Rights Act...more
7/21/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Damage Caps ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Human Rights ,
Human Rights Code ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
State Labor Laws ,
Veterinarians
In a recent decision, a federal trial court in Illinois allowed an employee’s tortious interference claim to continue against his former employer alleging it had exaggerated the reach of a noncompete agreement that he had...more
On June 29, 2023, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) issued new guidance on the enforcement of the city’s law regulating the use of automated employment decision tools (AEDTs) ahead of the...more
7/5/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Audits ,
Automation Systems ,
Bias ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disparate Impact ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Guidance ,
Notice Requirements
A putative class action recently filed in Seattle, Washington, against a solar energy equipment company could be the first lawsuit to test the bounds of the state’s relatively new restrictions on noncompetition agreements for...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) issued a memorandum on May 30, 2023, declaring her opinion that the “proffer, maintenance, and enforcement” of noncompete agreements in employment contracts and...more
On May 24, 2023, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed into law a sweeping omnibus jobs and economic development and labor funding bill that will invest $500 million in a fund to match federal investments in infrastructure and...more
In yet another effort to speed up the processing of cases, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) general counsel on May 22, 2023, issued a memorandum instructing Regional Offices to speed up compliance with Board-ordered...more