Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the City of Philadelphia may enforce its law prohibiting employers from asking applicants about their salary history.

The decision, which overturned a preliminary injunction issued in the district court, upheld the constitutionality of the Philadelphia law under the First Amendment.  The Court held that the law infringed on the free speech rights of employers, but it did not violate the First Amendment because it was narrowly tailored to address a substantial government interest.

Although the World Health Organization (“WHO”) has declared the coronavirus outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern,” WHO has not yet declared the outbreak as a pandemic. Nevertheless, the emergence of the latest coronavirus is an opportunity for employers, as it reminds them to consider policies and procedures related to pandemic planning.  The following are a few of the key considerations for employers when planning for or responding to an outbreak.

Congratulations to Los Angeles Labor & Employment partner Roland Juarez, who has been named one of Los Angeles Business Journal’s Top Minority Attorneys.  According to the LABJ, the recognition is awarded to attorneys who are “…particularly impactful and…maintain the highest professional and ethical standards.” Roland previously was recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as a Top Litigator & Trial Lawyer in 2019.

In his practice, Roland handles high-stakes employment cases with an innovative approach. His experience includes class actions, non-compete ...

Earlier today, Eastern District of California Judge Kimberly Mueller granted a preliminary injunction, prohibiting the state of California from enforcing AB 51, which sought to prohibit companies in California from requiring arbitration agreements as a condition of employment.

AB 51 originally was set to go into effect on January 1, 2020, but the Court granted a motion for temporary restraining order brought by a coalition of business groups, that temporarily prohibited the law’s enforcement through January 31, 2020.  In the interim, the Court considered more fulsome ...

With the new year comes newly-enacted laws in California. Governor Gavin Newsom signed several new laws during the last legislative session, which went into effect January 1, 2020. Is your company ready for these changes?

On December 17, 2019, the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 (the “Fair Chance Act”) was signed by the President as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.  This federal “ban-the-box” law proscribes federal agencies and contractors from asking about a job applicant’s criminal history until after they make a conditional offer of employment.  For federal contractors, the law only extends to positions related to a federal contract.  The Fair Chance Act will go into effect on December 17, 2021.  The Office of Personnel Management and General Services Administration will issue implementing regulations before the law goes into effect.

Restrictive covenants and non-compete agreements are increasingly under attack, this time by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Companies rely on these restrictions to protect investment in intellectual property, technology and employees. On January 9, the FTC suggested that employee freedom of mobility trumps all of these legitimate business reasons companies use restrictive covenants and non-compete agreements. The FTC has increased its attention to restrictive covenants, and non-compete agreements in particular, under the theory that these types of provisions ...

On November 22, 2019, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Sterling Infosystems, Inc. (“Sterling”) regarding allegations that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in providing criminal background checks to employers.  Sterling is a “consumer reporting agency” as defined by the FCRA, which provides background check results to employers when requested.  The CFPB is an independent federal agency tasked with regulating and enforcing a host of consumer protection and financial protection statutes, including the FCRA.

California’s law against arbitration remains in doubt after Eastern District Judge Kimberly Mueller extended the TRO issued on December 31, prohibiting the state of California from enforcing the law against agreements covered by the Federal Arbitration Act.  That law, known as AB 51, seeks to prohibit companies in California from requiring arbitration agreements as a condition of employment.

In the last days of 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a law that bans employers from discriminating against employees based on hairstyles that are associated with race. In doing so, New Jersey joined New York and California—both of which enacted similar legislation earlier in 2019—in prohibiting hair discrimination in the workplace.