DE Under 3: EEOC Consent Decree Illustrated Enforcement Stance Regarding Natural Hair Texture & Race Discrimination
Illegal or ill-mannered? Title VII meets Ms. Manners
Employment Law Now: Volume 3 Episode 45- Part 1 of 2 Back From The Summer Hiatus
In 2019, California became the first state to pass the CROWN Act—short for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. This legislation prohibits discrimination based on natural hair textures and protective...more
In 2024, we witnessed a wave of transformative changes in employment laws, from expanded leave protections and new paid leave mandates to increased pay transparency requirements for employers....more
The California minimum wage has now increased from $16 per hour to $16.50 per hour. Correspondingly, the minimum salary threshold for exempt employees has increased to $68,640 annually, $5,720 monthly or $1,320 weekly....more
The Allen Matkins Labor & Employment Practice provides annual updates to California law on amended discrimination laws, captive audience bans, freelance worker protections, and updated leave requirements....more
The new year provides an excellent opportunity for employers of all sizes to update their employee handbooks and policies to stay compliant with new laws and regulations. This is especially true in California, where...more
In the spirit of the season, we are using our annual "12 Days of California Labor and Employment" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on employers. On the third day of the holidays, my labor and...more
In this brief update, we detail several changes impacting employers in jurisdictions across the nation. California- •California’s Department of Industrial Relations issued updated FAQs for the State’s Private Attorney...more
With the Governor’s September 30 deadline to sign bills behind us, we review the employment bills that made the cut to become laws, as well as those that didn’t survive the season. The most notable new laws read...more
The 2024 Colorado legislative session concluded on May 8, 2024. Consistent with last year’s session, the 74th General Assembly ended with a number of new employment-related laws passing. Enacted legislation will enhance...more
Colorado recently amended its CROWN Act of 2020 to include hair length as a protected characteristic for purposes of the state’s nondiscrimination law....more
While federal employment laws set nationwide standards, state and local laws often go well beyond – not only creating additional compliance obligations but also a patchwork of workplace rights to navigate. These laws vary...more
Since its inception in 2019, the Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair (CROWN) movement has been a catalyst for change, inspiring over twenty states to address workplace inequality by confronting the...more
The state of Texas is experiencing some Texas-size changes in discrimination and harassment law, including changes to where claims can be filed, who can sue whom, and what standards are used. Join Houston office managing...more
The Texas legislature meets only for approximately six months every other year. This session, many bills signed into law impact employers. This article summarizes some of these new laws and how they impact employment...more
As we have previously reported, the most recent Minnesota legislative session resulted in a number of new laws that affect employers with Minnesota-based employees. We have issued client alerts about Minnesota’s new law...more
Although not widespread, ordinances prohibiting discrimination based on natural hairstyles and textures are not completely foreign to Florida, and amidst a perceived rise in “anti-wokeness,” employers in the Sunshine State...more
Maine recently wrapped a busy 2023 legislative session that brought several significant legal changes relevant for employers. Those changes include increasing the cap on damages for violations of the Maine Human Rights Act...more
Governor Greg Abbott recently signed House Bill No. 567, also known as the CROWN Act, into law. Following the bill’s enactment on September 1, 2023, Texas law will prohibit race-based hair discrimination in employment,...more
The State of Texas infrequently regulates the workplace. This summer, however, Texas enacted two notable workplace laws about which employers should be aware....more
At a Glance - The trend of increasing workplace regulations by state and local governments continued throughout the second quarter of 2023....more
Michigan is the latest state to expand its legal definition of race as a protected class to include hairstyle descriptors. As we recently explained, legislation with the acronym for “Creating a Respectful and Open Work for...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Natural hairstyles have become increasingly popular among Black Americans of both sexes. Despite their popularity, these hairstyles have been overregulated frequently in the workplace. To address this...more
On June 15, 2023, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bill 90, which amends the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (“ELCRA”) to prohibit discrimination based on traits historically associated with race, such as hair...more
On May 12, 2023, Lexington became the fourth city in Kentucky to protect hairstyles under its local anti-discrimination ordinances. The Lexington CROWN Act (Ordinance No. 49-2023), an acronym for "Creating a Respectful and...more
Massachusetts employment laws are notoriously complex. Employers face the constant challenge of managing their workforces while also complying with the commonwealth’s ever-evolving legal requirements. Below we have listed 10...more