Legal News

October 1, 2019 triggered Massachusetts employers’ obligations to make deductions from wages and payments under the new Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave law (MAPFML). Signed into law by Governor Baker in June 2018, the MAPFML provides...By: Locke Lord LLP

While vacations and barbecues were the order of business for many this summer, New York’s lawmakers were busy at work serving up a broad, new set of legal protections for employees and applicants in the State of New York. Effective dates for these...By: Locke Lord LLP

In the recently-passed Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, Illinois legalized recreational marijuana effective January 1, 2020. The legalization of recreational marijuana will have a significant impact on workplace drug policies in Illinois....By: Locke Lord LLP

On September 18, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the controversial Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), which codified the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision issued in April 2018. Governor Newsom hailed “AB5” as “landmark...By: Locke Lord LLP

Following in the footsteps of numerous other states and localities, the Illinois legislature has amended the Illinois Equal Pay Act, effective September 29, 2019, to prohibit employers from inquiring about the wage or salary history of applicants for...By: Locke Lord LLP

On September 6, 2019, the California Fair Employment and Housing Council of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing proposed amendments to regulations regarding criminal history, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), and the New Parent Leave...By: Locke Lord LLP

Over the last several years, the “ban the box” movement has gained an impressive amount of momentum and support from lawmakers and activists across the nation. With an aim to provide job applicants a chance to obtain employment without the stigma of...By: Locke Lord LLP

Last May, in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 584 U.S. __, 138 S.Ct. 1612 (2018), the United States Supreme Court held that employee agreements waiving workers’ rights to class and collective actions, and requiring individualized arbitration to resolve...By: Locke Lord LLP

In Prime Healthcare Paradise Valley LLC, 368 NLRB No. 10 (2019), the National Labor Relations Board ruled that an arbitration agreement that did not explicitly limit an employee’s ability to file charges with the Board nonetheless violated the...By: Locke Lord LLP

In Velox Express, Inc., 368 NLRB No. 61 (2019), the National Labor Relations Board ruled that misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor, standing alone, does not constitute a violation of the National Labor Relations Act....By: Locke Lord LLP