On April 9, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in Rizo v. Yovino 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. No. 16-15372 (Apr. 9, 2018). This Rizo decision overturns a 2017 Ninth Circuit decision, which held that prior salary was a permissible “factor other than sex” under the Equal Pay Act. The Rizo decision is now the federal law across the Ninth Circuit jurisdiction - Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

On May 2, 2018, the Maine Legislature overrode Governor Paul LePage’s veto and enacted An Act to Implement a Regulatory Structure for Adult Use of Marijuana (“the Adult Use Act”). The Adult Use Act deletes the anti-discrimination provision that prohibited Maine employers from refusing to employ or otherwise penalizing any person age 21 or older based on that person’s “consuming marijuana outside the . . . employer’s . . . property.”

On March 1, 2018, the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General issued its much-anticipated guidance on the state’s new pay equity law, set to take effect on July 1, 2018. The Massachusetts pay equity legislation amended the state’s Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (MEPA). Among other things, the amendment changed the definition of comparable work, prohibited employers from asking applicants about salary history, and established a safe harbor for employers who conduct pay audits. The Attorney General’s Guidance does not have the legal force of a regulation, but it provides clear insight into how the Attorney General’s Office views the law and will enforce it.

A provision in the Massachusetts criminal justice reform law signed by Governor Charlie Baker amends the state’s restrictions on the questions employers may ask a job applicant regarding the applicant’s criminal history during the hiring process. The new restrictions include an adjusted limitation on asking about misdemeanor convictions and a bar on asking about sealed or expunged criminal records.

New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy (D), has signed into law the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act (the “Act”), which will provide eligible employees with paid leave for their own medical needs, those of a family member, or other covered reasons.

New Jersey has enacted legislation that significantly expands the state’s equal pay law.

The New York State Legislature has proposed, passed and implemented significant laws combating sexual harassment in the workplace. Provisions on the prevention of sexual harassment in New York workplaces affect state contracts, mandatory arbitration clauses, mandatory nondisclosure agreements and other subjects.

On May 9, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act. We've included key highlights of the legislation that apply to private employers.

A federal district court in Philadelphia has ruled in Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia v. City of Philadelphia, No. 17-1548 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 30, 2018) that Philadelphia’s ban on salary history inquiries violates the First Amendment. The court, however, did not strike down the other major portion of the law, which prohibits employers from relying on salary history to set compensation. That piece of the law remains intact. The decision will likely have national implications as Philadelphia's law is similar to others around the country, including laws in California and New York City.

San Francisco amended its “ban-the-box” law or Fair Chance Ordinance, further restricting an employer’s ability to consider criminal record information. The new restrictions prohibit employers from inquiring about, requiring disclosure of, or basing employment decisions on convictions for decriminalized behavior, including the non-commercial use and cultivation of marijuana. In addition, employers are prohibited from inquiring about, requiring disclosure of, or basing employment decisions on a person’s conviction history until after a conditional offer of employment.