News & Analysis as of

Private Right of Action State Labor Laws

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

California Ban on Stay or Pay Provisions Takes Effect January 1, 2026

Employers throughout the United States often offer to pay for employees’ training, school tuition, or other benefits so long as the employee receiving the benefit executes an agreement agreeing to remain employed for a...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Assembly Bill 692: California Passes Prohibition Against Workers Contracting to Repay Debts

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Governor Newsom has signed Assembly Bill (AB) 692, which adds Section 16608 to the Business and Professions Code and Section 926 to the Labor Code, making it unlawful to include in any employment contract or require a worker...more

Woods Rogers

Virginia General Assembly Expands Employer Liability for Acts Done by Employees

Woods Rogers on

Virginia law now provides a private right of action against employers for “vulnerable victim[s]” injured by an employee. As of July 1, 2025, employers have a duty to “exercise reasonable care” in preventing or controlling...more

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

California Bans Most “Stay-or-Pay” Agreements as of January 1, 2026

California is poised to sharply curtail “stay-or-pay” arrangements beginning in 2026, extending the state’s long-standing commitment to employee mobility. Assembly Bill 692 (AB 692), passed by the Legislature and expected to...more

Fisher Phillips

California Legislature Passes Law Banning “Stay-or-Pay” Provisions: How Employers Can Prepare

Fisher Phillips on

Last week, the California legislature passed a law that seeks to ban many “stay-or-pay” contracts, including training repayment agreements, as part of the state’s continued emphasis on employee mobility. But the bill excludes...more

Vedder Price

New Jersey Prohibits Employers from Holding Mandatory Meetings on Labor Organizing

Vedder Price on

On September 3, 2025, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law New Jersey Assembly Bill 4429 which expands on prior statutory prohibitions on employers’ requiring employees “to attend or listen to communications related to...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Applicants Do Not Need to Be “Bona Fide” Under the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act, but Washington Supreme Court Leaves...

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

On September 4, 2025, in a 6-3 decision, the Washington Supreme Court held in Branson v. Washington Fine Wine & Spirits that a plaintiff need not prove he or she was a “bona fide” applicant to recover damages under...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Supreme Court of California Rules Employers Can’t Claim Ignorance on State Wage Violations

On August 21, 2025, the Supreme Court of California ruled that employers must demonstrate that they took reasonable steps to comply with minimum wage laws to mount a good-faith defense against liquidated damages. The decision...more

Snell & Wilmer

New Washington Law Shortens Deadline for Personnel File Requests, Requires Statement About Termination

Snell & Wilmer on

As of July 27, 2025, employers with Washington employees have less time to respond to requests for personnel files, and have greater obligations and exposure to litigation related to doing so. With the passage of HB 1308,...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Massachusetts employers: Proposed private attorney general act for wage-hour claims is a major concern

For the third consecutive legislative session, Massachusetts state representative Tram T. Nguyen (D-Essex) has proposed a bill (H.1916) to establish a private right of action by employees on behalf of themselves, their fellow...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

Missouri's Paid Sick Leave Repeal: FAQs and What Employers Need to Know Now

Husch Blackwell LLP on

Background: the sick leave law that was—and wasn’t - Missouri employers are preparing for another pivot in the state’s paid leave requirements. Just months after businesses scrambled to comply with new sick leave rules...more

Fisher Phillips

Washington Ramps Up Personnel File Rules and the Consequences for Noncompliance: 5 Employer Takeaways + 5 Steps to Take Now

Fisher Phillips on

Washington law has long given employees the right to inspect their personnel records and former employees the right to receive a written statement about the reasons for their termination – but, until now, employers faced no...more

Fisher Phillips

Washington State Workplace Law Roundup: Nearly 20 New Laws Taking Effect Within the Next Year – Starting Now

Fisher Phillips on

Washington lawmakers were busy this year, and a wave of new laws will have a major impact on the workplace. Employers must be aware of significant workplace laws taking effect within the next year, including 11 new laws that...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

“Re-do” bill would fundamentally change New York non-compete law

Two years ago, a bill that would have effectively gutted New York non-compete law made it as far as the Governor’s desk where Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) vetoed it, much to the relief of the New York business community. However,...more

Littler

Washington State Enacts New Legislation to Define Employee Access to Their Personnel Records and Termination Information

Littler on

As many Washington employers are acutely aware, there exists sparse statutory guidance on how employers must respond to personnel file requests by their employees – and no statutory definition of what constitutes a “personnel...more

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

Labor Law Amendments Limit Damages for Violation of New York’s Weekly Pay Law

As we’ve blogged on previously, there’s a split in the New York intermediate-level appellate courts as to whether a private right of action exists for a violation of Labor Law § 191(1)(a), which—absent a waiver by the...more

Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP

Second Time’s a Charm? New York’s Latest Proposed Ban on Non-Competes

Once again, the New York State legislature has initiated legislation that would ban nearly all employee non-competes. Introduced on February 10, 2025, Senate Bill S4641A seeks to prohibit non-compete agreements for health...more

ArentFox Schiff

MA Job Applications Should Provide Notice That You Will Not Use a Lie Detector Test as a Condition of Employment

ArentFox Schiff on

Though most in-house counsel (and even a lot of employment lawyers) are unaware, M.G.L. c. 149, Section 19B makes it unlawful for any employer to subject its employees or job applicants to a lie detector test....more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Noncompete Bans – Next Up: Ohio

Foley & Lardner LLP on

This month, Ohio joined the list of states with pending legislation to ban noncompetes.* With the FTC noncompete ban blocked on a nationwide basis last year, Ohio lawmakers introduced a bill on February 5, 2025, that would...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

New York City Publishes Updated FAQs for Earned Safe and Sick Time Act

On September 26, 2024, New York City published updated frequently asked questions (FAQs) for the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) in light of the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection’s...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

The Best of Intentions: State Law Protections for Employee Cannabis Use May Not Protect Them After All

While not enough blogs these days quote Toad the Wet Sprocket lyrics, a recent decision from a federal appellate court holding that a would-be employee can suffer negative employment consequences for cannabis use even when...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Drug Test Woes: State Law Protections for Employee Cannabis Use May Not Protect Them After All

The changing landscape of the cannabis industry is keeping employers on their toes nationwide. As more and more states expand the legalization of cannabis products, we are also seeing a trend in the cannabis statutes for...more

Littler

Maryland WARN Act Does Not Provide a Private Right of Action to Workers Terminated in Violation of the Law

Littler on

On August 26, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland decided in Teamsters Local Union No. 355 v. Total Distribution Services, Inc., that the Maryland Economic Stabilization Act (“Maryland WARN Act” or...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

New Illinois Law Aims to Curtail Employers’ Mandatory, Captive Audience Meetings

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Illinois joined a handful of other states in limiting employers’ ability to conduct “captive audience” meetings when Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law SB3649, commonly known as the Worker Freedom of Speech Act. The Act...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Massachusetts Mandates Wage, Salary Transparency

Fox Rothschild LLP on

Massachusetts employers with 25 or more workers will soon be required to include pay ranges in all job postings under a new state law aimed at increasing salary transparency. The Commonwealth joined the wave of states and...more

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