2021 saw state and local legislatures shifting their focus away from COVID-19 measures back to traditional employment law matters. Although two states and the District of Columbia have COVID-19 related legislation going into effect in 2022, the remainder of the country will see a more diverse array of employment legislation becoming effective in the new year.
California, Illinois, New York and Oregon were especially active this year. Undoubtedly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, three states and the District of Columbia passed family leave-related legislation, with California adding protected leave for the care of parents-in-law for both private and public sector employees.
On the anti-discrimination landscape, Oregon amended its anti-discrimination statute to include natural hairstyles as a protected characteristic. Certain localities in North Carolina also adopted a similar approach. In keeping with evolving theories of how to effectively distinguish independent contractors from employees, some states have introduced legislation further penalizing employers found to have misclassified their employees as independent contractors. Additionally, three states have further refined their approaches to enforcing non-compete agreements. Of note in this area is Oregon’s update that non-compete agreements longer than 12 months will be unenforceable in Oregon effective January 1, 2022.
Closing out the year, federal OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that will...
Iran Parliament's speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Friday sharply criticised US President Donald Trump, accusing him of making false claims about the ongoing standoff between Washington and Teh...