Employment & Labor

Illinois Legalizes Recreational Marijuana: Impact on Employers

By Steven J. Pearlman, Edward Young & Caralyn M. Olie on June 25, 2019

Illinois will soon become the eleventh state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. On June 25, 2019, Governor Pritzker signed into effect House Bill 1438—the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (“CRTA”). The CRTA, which is set to take effect on January 1, 2020, leaves some open questions for employers, but there are a few important features with which Illinois employers should quickly become familiar. Prohibitions on Disciplining or Discharging Employees for Off-Duty Consumption…

California Workplace Law Blog

What’s Left of the De Minimis Doctrine in California? Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals May Soon Decide

By Scott C. Lacunza & David T. Wiley on June 25, 2019

Last year, the California Supreme Court held the federal “de minimis” doctrine does not apply to California state law claims for unpaid wages for off-the-clock work allegedly performed on a regularly occurring basis in store closing and related activities. Troester v. Starbucks Corp., 5 Cal. 5th 829. However, the California Supreme Court also noted that it was “leaving open whether there are wage claims involving employee activities that are so irregular or brief in duration…

California Public Agency Labor & Employment Blog

Does the First Amendment Apply to Public Agency Social Media Platforms? Three Cases Work Toward an Answer

By David Urban on June 25, 2019

This post was authored by David Urban. Cities, counties, special districts, public educators, and other government entities who invite public comment and contribution on their Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, websites, or other spaces on the internet might face liability for violating the First Amendment if they remove content posted by members of the public or block certain members of the public from participating. The theory is that such virtual spaces function the same way…

EPL Risk Mitigation Blog

Significant Expansion of Harassment Laws in New York State

By Jeffrey M. Schlossberg on June 25, 2019

Employers in New York State will soon be faced with greater potential liability for sexual harassment under legislation passed last week. The same law contains a variety of other changes governing workplace harassment. For a complete summary see our article by clicking here.…

Ogletree Deakins Podcasts

Tech-Tuned Workplace, Episode 1: Advanced Technologies (Podcast)

By ByJenniferG.Betts@ogletree.com & Ruthie L. Goodboe on June 25, 2019

In the first episode of our “Tech-Tuned Workplace” series, Jennifer Betts and Ruthie Goodboe provide a high-level overview of advanced technologies that already exist or are coming soon to the workplace—from artificial intelligence to biometric devices to blockchain. They also discuss the benefits and potential risks of these technologies and provide some practical insights on legal and employee relations issues.…

GT L&E Blog

Recapping the Many Legal Developments Affecting Private Employers in New York and New Jersey, So Far, in 2019

By Robert Bernstein, Mark D. Lurie, Michael J. Slocum, Noel A. Lesica, Christopher Katsimagles, Katarina S. Kingston & Ryan P. O'Connor on June 25, 2019

There have been many significant developments in the first half of 2019 impacting private employers in New York and New Jersey. Federal, state, and local legislatures and agencies have been particularly busy in the employment arena, promulgating sweeping laws and regulations affecting a broad range of well-entrenched employment practices. For instance, New Jersey adopted prohibitions against non-disclosure provisions in settlement agreements resolving discrimination and harassment claims (with, as discussed in this GT Alert, New York…

The Employer Report

Best Practices For Avoiding Class Arbitration After Lamps Plus

By Michael Leggieri & Robin Samuel on June 25, 2019

Baker McKenzie’s Mike Leggieri and Robin Samuel were recently interviewed on how best to avoid class arbitration in light of the US Supreme Court April 2019 Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela decision. In Lamps Plus, the Supreme Court held that when an arbitration agreement is ambiguous on the availability of class arbitration, courts may not compel arbitration on a classwide basis. The Supreme Court emphasized that arbitration is a matter of consent under the Federal…

Employee Benefits Blog

The Art of Using Preemption to Defend Wage-and-Hour Cases

By Michael Giambona on June 25, 2019

Preemption technically means situations where federal law displaces state law: a function of the supremacy clause of the US Constitution. Often, lawyers speak of preemption even where it is one federal law displacing another or one state law displacing another. When statutory laws abut or overlap like tectonic plates, which should apply? As large-scale cases proliferate under federal and state wage-and-hour laws, there is more and more reason to study plate tectonics for potential defenses.…

ERISA & Employee Benefits Litigation Blog

The Supreme Court Will Take Another Look At Its ERISA Stock-Drop Pleading Standard

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on June 25, 2019

By: Mark Casciari Synopsis: ERISA stock-drop litigation has diminished in recent years due to the Supreme Court’s Dudenhoeffer decision (and a rising stock market). Now, the Court will have another chance to weigh in on whether federal ERISA litigation in this space should breathe new signs of life. There is a trend-line in recent Supreme Court decisions limiting federal court jurisdiction before a plaintiff ever enters the world of expansive and expensive discovery. This trend-line…

Socially Aware Blog

Legislators Propose Narrowing § 230’s Protections, the Law that Gave us the Modern Internet

By Aaron Rubin on June 25, 2019

As we have frequently noted on Socially Aware, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects social media sites and other online platforms from liability for user-generated content. Sometimes referred to as “the law that gave us the modern Internet,” Section 230 has provided robust immunity for website operators since it was enacted in 1996. As we have also written previously, however, the historically broad Section 230 immunity has come under pressure…