On April 12, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) signed legislation effectively banning local governments from passing right-to-work ordinances. The law took effect immediately.
The Puerto Rico DOL has issued a last-minute administrative determination allowing employers to submit their quarterly unemployment returns corresponding to the first quarter of 2019 on paper instead of electronically.
The 2019 session was a busy one for the Arkansas General Assembly, as the state enacted at least nine labor and employment-related measures in its recently concluded legislative session. Most of these new laws will take effect in July 2019.
On April 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court held that even if an arbitration agreement is ambiguous as to whether classwide arbitration is permitted, that is insufficient to find that the parties consented to class arbitration.
The Second Circuit recently rejected its prior precedent, joining the Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh Circuits in adopting a “but-for” causation standard in disability discrimination cases brought under the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
In response to the dangerous levels of air quality last fall after the wildfires in California, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has issued a proposed regulation addressing hazardous wildfire smoke exposure.
A district court has ordered the EEOC to collect detailed data on employee compensation and hours worked from covered employers sorted by job category, pay band, race, ethnicity, and gender by September 30, 2019.
The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued three sets of proposed regulations that significantly impact the Hospitality industry. Employers are encouraged to review the proposals and submit comments as part of the rule-making process.
Within his first few months of taking office, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has signaled a strong and clear focus on employers that have misclassified workers as independent contractors.
