New York City Adds “Sexual and Reproductive Health Decisions” as a Protected Class In December 2018 the New York City Council passed legislation adding “sexual and reproductive health decisions” to the list of protected classes under the City’s Human Rights Law. As NYC employers are already aware, the New York City Human Rights Law is the primary local law in NYC protecting individuals against discrimination and harassment on the basis of, among other things, their…

District of Columbia Council To Allow Some City Employees to Access Medical Marijuana (For Now) While the District of Columbia (D.C.) has had a medical marijuana program on its books since 2013, there has been some debate regarding whether or not city workers are allowed to participate in the program, even if they have a written recommendation from a physician. Since 2016, it has been up to individual city government agencies to decide whether or…

District of Columbia Council To Allow Some City Employees to Access Medical Marijuana (For Now) While the District of Columbia (D.C.) has had a medical marijuana program on its books since 2013, there has been some debate regarding whether or not city workers are allowed to participate in the program, even if they have a written recommendation from a physician. Since 2016, it has been up to individual city government agencies to decide whether or…

Does your parental leave or “bonding time” policy provide more time off to one gender over the other following the birth or adoption of a child? If so, it is time to revisit the policy as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”)–the federal agency tasked with enforcing workplace anti-discrimination laws–is actively pursuing policies that are not gender-neutral but instead provides more parental leave to women compared to men. Many companies offer “two-tiered” types of leave…

On June 5, 2019, Nevada became the first state to make it unlawful for employers to reject job applicants who test positive for cannabis. The new law will go into effect on January 1, 2020 and fits with existing Nevada law, which already prohibits employers from discriminating against employees who lawfully use “products” outside of the work premises which do not adversely affect job performance or the safety of other employees. However, there are exceptions…

On June 5, 2019, Nevada became the first state to make it unlawful for employers to reject job applicants who test positive for cannabis. The new law will go into effect on January 1, 2020 and fits with existing Nevada law, which already prohibits employers from discriminating against employees who lawfully use “products” outside of the work premises which do not adversely affect job performance or the safety of other employees. However, there are exceptions…

Maryland recently joined the growing number of states to enact laws that restrict the use of noncompete agreements for low wage employees with the passage of Senate Bill 328. A noncompete agreement is a contract executed between an employee and employer that typically states the employee is prohibited from working for a direct or indirect competitor of the company for a certain period of time, or within a certain geographic area, after the termination…