Four new and notable laws affecting Louisiana employers are taking effect in summer 2024, including an expanded statute of limitations for employment torts, meal breaks for minors, a ban on predispute arbitration agreements...more
8/2/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Biden Administration ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hostile Environment ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
Governor Jeff Landry recently signed into law Act No. 556, which updates the Louisiana Wage Payment Act (LWPA) to address commissions and plans for incentive payments and bonuses. The new law becomes effective on August 1,...more
The Louisiana Legislature recently unanimously passed Act No. 273, which limits noncompete agreements for physicians in the state. The act requires all applicable new noncompete agreements to sunset after three years for...more
Governor John Bel Edwards recently signed into law Act No. 210, which provides unpaid leave for employees in Louisiana to receive genetic testing and preventive cancer screening. The act requires employees to satisfy numerous...more
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States revived an employee’s religious discrimination lawsuit, unanimously holding that to deny a sincere religious accommodation request under Title VII of the 1964 Civil...more
During recent oral arguments, justices for the Supreme Court of the United States seemed conflicted on whether to upend the existing standard that allows an employer to refuse religious accommodations to its employees if the...more
Louisiana regulates noncompete agreements by statute. The statute declares that a noncompete is invalid unless the agreement complies with at least one of several exceptions based on the type of relationship. ...more
On February 22, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a former oil rig employee who was paid a daily rate that totaled more than $200,000 annually is entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards...more
The Louisiana Court of Appeal, First Circuit, in DiVittorio v. Seale & Ross, PLC, affirmed a trial court’s judgment in favor of associate attorneys, granting them certain bonus compensation but denying another bonus claim....more
In Louisiana, restrictive covenants—known locally as “no competes”—are unenforceable by statutory default. The applicable statute declares, “Every contract or agreement, or provision thereof, by which anyone is restrained...more
On October 12, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in a case regarding whether an oil rig worker who performed supervisory duties and was paid more than $200,000 per year on a day rate...more
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade, holding that the U.S. Constitution does not protect a right to an...more
8/30/2022
/ Abortion ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Leave of Absence ,
Pregnancy ,
Roe v Wade ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Triggering Event ,
Unemployment Benefits
The 2022 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature was a busy one, although there were only two new notable employment laws. The biggest news from the session was that Louisiana joined a growing list of states and...more
On June 21, 2022, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signed into law legislation prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of hairstyles or textures historically associated with race. The CROWN Act (House Bill No....more
In the first ruling from a federal appellate court examining COVID-19–related layoffs and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held in Easom v. US Well Services,...more
High temperatures in the Southwestern United States have and continue to break records. In Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas, the heat index could reach triple digits and in some cases exceed 110°F. These elevated...more
A recent opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit applying Louisiana’s restrictive law governing noncompetition agreements, reminds employers of the importance of establishing an employee-employer...more
On May 13, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of an employer, finding that a fired employee had failed to create a genuine dispute of material fact as to pretext. In Owens...more
6/15/2022
/ Appeals ,
Employee Evaluations ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Investigations ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Performance Improvement Plans ,
Race Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Termination ,
Title VII
A federal district court in Louisiana, in Huber v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Florida, Inc., recently denied an employer’s motion for summary judgment in an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Louisiana Employment...more
6/14/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Contract Terms ,
Drug Testing ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Interference Claims ,
Public Contracts ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Wrongful Termination
Advanced Medical Rehab, L.L.C. (AMR), is a marketing company that represents several medical clinics in Louisiana and markets the medical services of those clinics to personal injury law firms. When AMR learned that Shelby...more
In a pair of related rulings in Hayes v. University Health Shreveport, LLC, and Nelson v. Ochsner Lafayette General, the Supreme Court of Louisiana held on January 7, 2022, that private Louisiana employers may mandate...more
1/14/2022
/ At-Will Employment ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Discipline ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
LA Supreme Court ,
OSHA ,
State Labor Laws ,
Termination ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
New Orleans has revived its mask mandate for indoor spaces, effective January 12, 2022. Citing increased COVID-19 infection and hospitalization rates, Mayor Latoya Cantrell has ordered that all individuals over the age of two...more
Effective August 1, 2021, the Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law was amended to expressly require Louisiana employers with more than 25 employees to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with limitations arising...more
Mask mandates, with certain exceptions, are ending in Louisiana. This week, Louisiana’s governor lifted the statewide mandate, which allowed cities to impose their own mandates. New Orleans’ mandate, which has been in effect...more
On June 10, 2021, the Louisiana State Legislature passed House Bill (HB) No. 379, a measure that provides for civil liability for injuries caused to individuals who have experienced sexual assault in the workplace, as defined...more
11/1/2021
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Civil Code ,
Civil Liability ,
Criminal Code ,
Damages ,
Governor Bel Edwards ,
Pending Legislation ,
Punitive Damages ,
Sexual Assault ,
Special Damages ,
Workplace Violence