State AG Pulse | The Laboratories of Democracy
On July 31, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision that the Michigan Legislature violated the state constitution in Mothering Justice v. Attorney General, when it applied an “adopt-and-amend” approach in...more
On July 31, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court reinstated Michigan’s original (2018) voter-initiated versions of the Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act (IWOWA) and the Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA). ...more
In a major decision issued Wednesday, the Michigan Supreme Court reinstated both the Earned Sick Time Leave Act (ESTA) and the Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act (IWOWA). As discussed further below, the Mothering Justice...more
On July 25, 2024, the Supreme Court of California upheld a state law permitting ride-sharing apps to continue classifying their drivers as independent contractors, rather than employees. ...more
In November 2023, soon after Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed amendments to the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act (the “Act”), several staffing agencies and associations sued for an injunction against...more
In a unanimous decision (Mothering Justice, et al. v Attorney General) issued January 26, 2023, the Michigan Court of Appeals overturned a July 2022 Court of Claims ruling that the Michigan Legislature lacked the...more
Happy New Year! Several employment laws became effective January 1, 2023, and our team at Franczek P.C. has compiled them in its new Labor & Employment Law Legislative Update, focused on new laws in effect in 2023. The new...more
For nearly two decades, Nevada has utilized a unique two-tier minimum wage system that permitted employers that offered qualified health benefits to employees to pay $1.00 less per hour than employers that did not offer such...more
A Michigan court recently held that the current versions of the state’s minimum wage and paid sick leave statutes are unconstitutional due to legislative foul play, immediately voiding the existing laws. Mothering Justice v....more
In the words of Tom Cruise’s character Lt. Daniel Kaffee in A Few Good Men, “the hits keep on coming.” This quote crystallizes how California employers will undoubtedly feel following the California Supreme Court’s ruling in...more
As we wrote back in January, Massachusetts is in the midst of a multi-fora battle over whether gig drivers (those using app-based platforms such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart) should be treated as employees or...more
On February 18, 2022, in LaFace v. Ralphs Grocery Co., 2022 WL 498847 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb. 18, 2022), the California Court of Appeal (2nd District) ruled in a published decision that there is no right to a jury trial in claims...more
Washington’s Supreme Court disrupted the state’s agricultural industry on November 5, 2020, when it held that the agricultural overtime exemption at RCW 49.46.130(2)(g) violated the state’s constitution as applied to dairy...more
On February 25, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied a motion for preliminary injunction brought by the California Grocers Association (CGA) against the City of Long Beach. In California...more
Last November, California voters convincingly (almost 60% supporting) enacted Proposition 22. This Proposition was a well-funded effort that allows gig drivers working for companies like Uber, Lyft and Doordash to avoid the...more
In a sweeping 5-4 opinion last week, the Washington Supreme Court held that dairy workers are entitled to overtime pay, concluding that a state statutory exemption violated the Washington State Constitution. For the previous...more
This 14th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, showcases new and evolving trends. Employers are facing claims for both doing too much and too little in response to the COVID-19 pandemic....more
AB 5, California’s hastily passed and controversial independent contractor statute, which codifies the use of an “ABC test,” is set to go into effect on January 1, 2020. Already, the California Trucking Association has filed...more
On 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 other minimum wage) and...more
The City of San Antonio’s Sick and Safe Leave ordinance has been enjoined. The ordinance was originally scheduled to go into effect on August 1, 2019, but on July 24, 2019, a Texas state court delayed implementation until...more
In response to a lawsuit filed by a number of San Antonio business groups, the San Antonio City Council approved certain revisions to the city’s paid sick leave (PSL) ordinance, including renaming it the Sick and Safe Leave...more
Austin, San Antonio and now Dallas have joined an ever-growing number of American cities passing paid sick leave ordinances. Though Austin was the first to adopt such an ordinance, in November 2018 Texas’ Third Court of...more
In 2006, Nevada’s Constitution was amended to establish a two-tier minimum wage system dependent upon whether an employer provides “health benefits” to its employees. This amendment, Section 16 of Article 15, is often...more
Despite broad-based support, the Texas Legislature failed to pass a law preempting the type of paid sick leave ordinances enacted in Austin, San Antonio, and most recently Dallas before the end of its regular session on May...more
Employers in Michigan have been on a roller coaster ride over the last several months regarding new paid sick leave and minimum wage requirements. In the fall of 2018, the Michigan Legislature adopted paid sick leave and...more