Legal Updates

New York Senate Bill 2832, effective immediately, amends the state’s penal law to add wage theft to the definition of “larceny” in the state. The law explains that a person obtains property by wage theft when he or she hires ... Read More

A new Kentucky administrative regulation establishes the registration and reporting requirements that an unemployed worker is required to meet to draw unemployment benefits. Specifically, an unemployed worker must be registered for work with a state employment service before he or ... Read More

Effective September 6, 2023, the New York state legislature has amended the state’s workers’ compensation law, providing that the compensation for permanent or temporary partial disability, or for permanent or temporary total disability due to an accident or disablement resulting ... Read More

Although Kentucky’s unemployment insurance statute authorizes the Education and Labor Cabinet to prescribe by administrative regulation the period of time that constitutes a week of unemployment for the purpose of administering the state’s Unemployment Insurance Program, the state legislature has adopted a ... Read More

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has clarified that all Form I‑9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) requirements remain in effect for areas affected by the 2023 Hawaii wildfire. That is, all employers must continue to complete and retain Form I‑9 for all individuals ... Read More

Emphasizing that existing state law generally voids contractual provisions by which a person is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind (with certain exceptions), California has passed a new bill establishing that any contract that is void as ... Read More

Effective immediately, the New York state legislature has amended Section 296-c of the New York Human Rights Law (“Unlawful discriminatory practices relating to interns”) to add gender identity or expression as a protected class for purposes of the intern provision of the law. In ... Read More

Pursuant to a new ruling from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), workplace policies will be scrutinized under a new standard, i.e., whether they have a “reasonable tendency” to discourage employees from engaging in protected activity. This is a more employee-friendly change ... Read More

The California Supreme Court recently ruled that the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) permits a business entity acting as an agent of an employer to be held directly liable for employment discrimination. Note that, as is the case ... Read More

The Fifth Circuit recently held that liability for employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 extends to “terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.” Previous to this decision, employers were liable only for discrimination in “ultimate employment decisions,” such as ... Read More

The Oregon state legislature has made several changes to the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) to align it with Oregon’s Paid Family Leave Act. Changes to the OFLA include the following: The first two changes take effect on September 3, ... Read More

A new Minnesota law, effective now, requires a contractor entering into a construction contract to assume and be liable for any unpaid wages, fringe benefits, penalties, and resulting liquidated damages owed to a claimant or third party acting on the ... Read More