Laborsphere

Big Law Hit With A Gender, Pregnancy, And Maternity Discrimination Class Action

This week, three female associates at Morrison & Foerster (“MoFo”) filed a nine-count gender, pregnancy, and maternity (“sex-plus”) discrimination class and collective action against their employer in the Northern District of California. The putative class includes all female attorneys at MoFo and other national and California subclasses of female attorneys who have been or will be employed by MoFo and who have been or will be pregnant, have children, and/or take maternity leave.

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New Jersey Enacts Comprehensive Equal Pay Law – What Employers Need to Know

Governor Phil Murphy recently made good on his campaign promise to make equal pay a top priority in New Jersey. On April 24, 2018, Governor Murphy signed into law the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act (the “Act”), which amends the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“NJLAD”). The Act was passed by the New Jersey Legislature on March 27, 2018, and takes effect on July 1, 2018.

The Act is being heralded as one of the most expansive equal pay laws in the country, and impacts hiring practices, compensation practices, employee arbitration agreements and how HR must respond to employee demands for information regarding their co-workers’ compensation.
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Mandatory Sexual Harassment Training and Other Legislative Changes Come to New York

Buried within a budget bill signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on April 12, 2018 are some major changes for all New York employers in the area of Sexual Harassment. Part KK of Senate Bill 7507-C makes six changes to New York Law. Some pieces of the law went into effect right away, some are delayed until the following dates: July 11, 2018, October 9, 2018 and January 1, 2019.

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Pennsylvania Federal Court Rules that Drivers are Properly Classified as Independent Contractors

In Razak v. Uber Technologies, Inc., a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled last week that drivers for UberBLACK, the company’s higher-end limousine service, are properly classified as independent contractors. In granting Uber’s motion for summary judgment, this court was the first federal court to determine whether drivers for UberBLACK are employees or independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and similar Pennsylvania state laws.

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Marijuana in the Golden State: California Lawmakers Seek to Protect Medical-Marijuana Users in the Workplace

Although California legalized medical marijuana use in 1996 and recreational use in 2016, California employers have always been free to maintain zero-tolerance policies against all users. That could change soon as a result of Assembly Bill 2069 (“AB 2069”), which would amend the California Fair Employment and Housing Act to create a new class of protected persons: medical marijuana cardholders.

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Reliance on Salary History No Defense to Pay Disparity Under Equal Pay Act

Just in time for Equal Pay Day (April 10), in its en banc opinion in Rizo v. Yovino, Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, the Ninth Circuit held earlier this week that prior salary alone, or in combination with other factors, cannot justify a wage differential between male and female employees under the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”). In reaching this holding, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of summary judgment to Fresno County and overruled a prior Ninth Circuit decision, Kouba v. Allstate Insurance Co., 691 F. 2d 873 (9th Cir. 1982). The court in Rizo also took a view of available EPA affirmative defenses which conflicts with the views held by other circuits and the EEOC.

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