Employment Law Watch

Analysis and commentary by Reed Smith attorneys on developments in employment and labor law

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By: Reed Smith LLP

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Anne Cherry Barnett
Amy Ferrington
Ariana Goodell
Andrew Turner
Aaron Rutschman
Amy Treppass
Anita Wan
Allison Williams
Barbra Williams Diallo
Betty S.W. Graumlich
Brittany Hernandez
Brian Morris
Bethany Parker
Catherine S. Ryan (Casey)
Craig N. Baumgartner
Cheryl Blount
Carl De Cicco
Cindy Schmitt Minniti
Courtney Ofosu
Carmen Jo Rejda-Ponce
Courtlyn G. Roser-Jones
Christina Tellado
David Ashmore
Don A. Innamorato
E. David Krulewicz
Desmond Liaw
Daniel A. Schleifstein
David L. Weissman
Erin Bailey
Elizabeth B. Carder-Thompson
Eugene K. Connors
Edward Hunter
Elizabeth Nguyen
Erica Spilde
Eric M. Walder
Eleanor Winslet
Fazila Issa
Floortje Nagelkerke (NL)
Graham Green
Garrett Parks
Grace Curran (AU)
Ginevra Ventre
Hannah L. Sorcic
Helenanne Connolly
Helena Tiernay
Iris Kuhn
Ilana Sinkin (US)
Ian Wright
Joel S. Barras
James A. Burns, Jr.
John A. DiNome
Jonah D. Mitchell
Jake Ebers
James A. Holt
Jamie Knauer
Jean F. Kuei
John H. Lien
John T. McDonald
Jessica Middleby-Clements
Jonathan R. Nadler
Joeri Noteborn (NL)
Julia O'Halloran
Joanna Whiteman
Joanna Powis
Joseph C. Rudolf
Julia Trankiem
L. Julius M. Turman
Jan Weißgerber
Kimberly A. Craver
Kirin K. Gill
Laura Jones
Laura Bedson
Lisa M. Carvalho
Laura E. Phillips
Lindsay Vernick
Leora Grushka
Laura H. Juillet
Laurence Rees
Mary R. Bates
Michele J. Beilke
Marie Brunot
Miriam Edelstein
Melissa M. Ferrara
Mark S. Goldstein
Michele Haydel Gehrke
Michael D. Jones
Michael D. Smith
Michael Kleinmann
Mara Curtis
Mariah McGrogan
Meghan O. Offer
Mark Passero
Megan J. Pence
Marytza J. Reyes
Marianne Rittenburg
Matthew R. Sheldon
Marc Spielberger
Mark Temple
Nikki D. Kessling
Noah Oberlander
Nicolas C. Sauvage
Paul Knettel
Priya Magar
Patrick W. Ritchey
Peter Stuhldreher
Rania Afram
Rebecca Blaw
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Renee Feldman
Remy Kessler
Roy D. Prather, III
Rachel C. Shim
Raeann Traficante
Rafael N. Tumanyan
Sherri A. Affrunti
Samantha M. Kagan
Sara A. Begley
Samantha M. Clancy
Shannon Diggory
Sonya Goodwin
Sarah T. Hansel
Steven B. Katz
S̩verine Martel
Stephanie Wilson
Saranne Weimer
Thomas Ince
Thomas McLaughlin
Timothy J. Nagle
Tom Remington
Valerie E. Brown
Adam Weiner
William Bevan III

Latest from Employment Law Watch

On March 21, 2019, the full en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit clarified that in order to establish a prima facie case of workplace discrimination through alleged preferential treatment of a comparator outside the plaintiff’s protected class, a plaintiff must show that the alleged comparator is “similarly situated in all material respects.” The opinion clarifies the “similarly situated” standard in discrimination cases and may assist employers in obtaining summary judgment, particularly…
On March 18, 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed new legislation (S121) that significantly impacts the scope of certain employment agreements and settlement agreements between employers and employees/former employees. The controversial legislation addresses the following: Ban on waiver of substantive and procedural rights in employment contracts related to discrimination, harassment or retaliation claims The legislation voids any provision in an employment contract that waives “any substantive or procedural right or remedy relating to a…
On February 19, 2019, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) issued new enforcement guidance regarding (1) policies that place restrictions, or ban, naturally curly hair, dreadlocks, braids and cornrows, among other hairstyles; or (2) neutral grooming policies that are discriminatorily applied to employees based on aspects of their appearance associated with race. In its guidance, the NYCCHR emphasized that the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) “protects the rights of New…
On February 19, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law a proposed bill to increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. The bill, known as “Lifting Up Illinois Working Families Act,” sets incremental increases to the state’s hourly minimum wage for employees 18 years or older as follows: (i) $9.25 on January 1, 2020; (ii) $10 on July 1, 2020; and (iii) $11 on January 1, 2021. Starting on January…
On February 6, 2019, the Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of an employer on claims that it discriminated against the plaintiff based on her transgender status. In Wittmer v. Phillips 66 Company, the plaintiff sued Phillips 66 Company for sex discrimination under Title VII in the Southern District of Texas, claiming that the company rescinded her offer of employment after learning she was transgender. The District Court granted the company’s motion for summary…
In a recent decision involving retail store employees, the Second Appellate District Court held that employees subject to on-call scheduling must be paid reporting time pay, even when the employee only has to make a short call to determine if they are needed, but does not physically report to work. The case, Skylar Ward v. Tilly’s Inc., Case Number B280151, involved a putative class action complaint filed by Plaintiff Skylar Ward (Plaintiff), a former sales…
California has long been known as a state that bans post-employment non-compete and customer non-solicitation agreements for its employees, absent very limited exceptions related to the sale of a business and trade secret protection. Employee non-solicitation provisions were believed to be the last post-employment restrictive covenant that California law still generally allowed, assuming they were properly drafted. Now, because of two recent California court decisions, even inclusion of limited employee non-solicitation provisions needs to be…
On January 31, 2019, the three-member National Mediation Board (NMB), which oversees labor relations for the airline and railroad industries, published a proposed rule-making to simplify the process for workers covered by the Railway Labor Act (RLA) to decertify the unions representing them. Currently, RLA-represented employees seeking to decertify a union must identify an individual willing to be personally named and represent the bargaining unit. After more than 50 percent of the unit’s members sign…
In Amaya v. Ballyshear LLC, et al., a case before a New York Federal District Court, Nelly Amaya, a Long Island resident, alleged that her former employers engaged in unlawful discrimination and retaliation, in violation of the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). Amaya’s employers argued that Amaya failed to show that their alleged conduct had an “impact” on her within the confines of New York City. At the time of the alleged conduct,…
In a recent decision involving SuperShuttle drivers, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) overruled a 2014 decision making it less likely a worker would be deemed an independent contractor, returning to the more employer-friendly common law test to determine independent contractor status. In 2014, the Board purported to clarify the standard for evaluating whether a worker is an independent contractor (see FedEx Home Delivery, 361 NLRB 610 (2014)). In FedEx, the Board articulated…