On April 23, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy” (the “Executive Order”) seeking to “eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in all contexts to the maximum degree possible.”Continue Reading New Executive Order Aims to End Disparate Impact Liability for Discrimination
The New York Legislature is set to make another attempt to ban non-competes for all but highly compensated individuals. At the end of the 2023 legislative session, the New York Legislature passed a bill that would have banned non-compete agreements for all employees regardless of wage or income level. Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed this bill while expressing her support for a more limited ban stating that she wanted to “strike a balance” between protecting middle-class and low-wage workers and “allowing New York’s businesses to retain highly compensated talent.”Continue Reading New York Legislature Proposes New Bill Banning Non-Compete Agreements
In 2022, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Time to Care Act of 2022 (the “Act”), setting up a paid family and medical leave program for Maryland employees. Through Family and Medical Leave Insurance (“FAMLI”), eligible Maryland employees may receive up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for the various reasons detailed below. FAMLI will be funded by both employer and employee contributions. Though eligible employees are not able to draw from the fund until January 1, 2026, required contributions are currently scheduled to begin on October 1, 2024. Therefore, Maryland employers should begin planning for implementation of the program and ensure that employees have advance notice of the upcoming deductions from their wages related to FAMLI.Continue Reading Maryland Paid Family Leave Employer Contributions Begin This Year – What Employers Need to Know and Expect
In 2022, Washington D.C. voters passed Initiative 82, or the “District of Columbia Tip Credit Elimination Act,” which later became law in February 2023. As we previously reported, the law will gradually phase out the “tip credit” that allows employers to pay tipped employees a lower wage while using gratuities to cover the difference between the lower wage and Washington D.C.’s minimum wage. Under this law, the tip credit is set to be gradually phased out by 2027, at which time employers will be required to pay tipped employees the Washington D.C. minimum wage.Continue Reading Washington D.C. Attorney General Offers Guidance for Restaurant Employers Amidst Spike in Service Fees
Last summer, the Washington D.C. Council unanimously passed a bill that prohibits employers from refusing to hire, terminating, suspending, failing to promote, demote, or otherwise penalizing any employee who uses marijuana, even if they fail a drug test. In October 2022, the bill, referred to as the D.C. Marijuana Protections Amendment Act of 2022, was signed by Mayor Bowser. The law goes into effect on or after July 13, 2023.[1] Continue Reading On the Horizon: Broad Employment Protections for Marijuana Users in the District of Columbia
On July 27, 2022, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law the Non-Compete Clarification Amendment Act of 2022, scaling back certain aspects of D.C.’s original Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020. As we previously reported, the original ban included some of the most substantial non-compete restrictions in the country, including prohibiting the use of non-compete agreements for nearly all employees working in D.C. and banning anti-moonlighting policies. Here are some key takeaways from the Amendment:Continue Reading The District of Columbia Revises Ban on Non-Competes
In Lawson v. PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc., __ P.3d __, 2022 WL 244731 (Cal., Jan. 27, 2022), the California Supreme Court clarified that whistleblower retaliation claims brought under Labor Code section 1102.5 should not be evaluated under the McDonnell Douglas test, but instead the standard enumerated in Labor Code section 1102.6. Under the section 1102.6 standard, a plaintiff must show that a protected activity was a contributing factor in a prohibited action against the employee by a preponderance of the evidence. The employer must then demonstrate with clear and convincing evidence that the action would have occurred for legitimate, independent reasons, even if the employee had not engaged in protected action.
Continue Reading California Supreme Court Holds That McDonnell Douglas Standard Should Not Be Used When Evaluating Whistleblower Retaliation Claims
On October 25, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) expanded its prior guidance “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws” to include recommendations for employers who receive religious objections from employees in response to the employer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. Specifically, the EEOC added section L to its prior guidance, which addresses specific questions relating to religious objections. The newly added questions are set forth below. All employers should review and familiarize themselves with this guidance as they continue to face objections and accommodation requests from employees with respect to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Continue Reading EEOC Publishes New Guidance Regarding Objections to COVID-19 Vaccines Based Upon Employee Religious Beliefs
On Monday, March 8, 2021, the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) issued new Guidance for Fully Vaccinated People. The CDC defines “fully vaccinated people” as those who received both doses in a 2-dose series, or one dose of a single-dose vaccine, and two weeks have elapsed since receiving the final dose. Alongside its recommendations as detailed below, the CDC released a Background Rationale which provides a scientific analysis in support of its recommendations.
Continue Reading CDC Issues New COVID-19 Guidance For Vaccinated Individuals
The Ninth Circuit and the California legislature recently updated employer leave requirements, impacting California employers. The Ninth Circuit recently handed down two decisions regarding leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), including a decision concerning what constitutes a “workweek” for FMLA purposes. Additionally, as of January 1, 2021, smaller employers in California will have to grant 12 weeks of leave under the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”). Employers should consider these changes as they update their leave policies, especially as employees may take more extended leaves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Continue Reading California Employers Should Be Aware of Updates to Leave Requirements
The Workers Adjustment and Retaining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers with over 100 employees to follow certain notice requirements when laying off employees. 20 C.F.R. 693.6. WARN requires employers with 100 employees or more to give affected workers at least 60 days’ notice of any plant closing or mass layoff, with exceptions for, among others, “unforeseeable business circumstances.”
Continue Reading States May Have Additional Layoff Notice Requirements Under “Mini-WARN” Statutes