In New Prime Inc. v. Oliveria, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion, holding that Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) limits the scope of a court’s authority to stay litigation and compel arbitration when addressing “contracts of employment of seamen, railroad Read more [...]Sexual Harassment Settlements and Confidentiality – Keep it quiet and you’ll lose the tax deduction. There has been much ado about the confidential settlement of sexual harassment claims. And while no one was looking, Congress took a big step toward making confidentiality expensive. A little-known Read more [...]The Arizona House of Representatives will soon be considering legislation that makes confidentiality agreements in cases of alleged sexual assault or sexual harassment “void and unenforceable."  This bill, House Bill (“HB”) 2020, was filed in the Arizona House of Representatives last week, and Read more [...]Monday was California Governor Jerry Brown’s final day to sign new legislation.  This included a flurry of new laws impacting California employers.  All new legislation goes into effect on January 1, 2018.  Highlights below. New Parent Leave Act for Small Employers (SB 63)  This New Parent Read more [...]Effective July 1, 2017, California issued a new set of regulations expanding protections under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) related to the transgender community. Transitioning/Transitioned Employees The new regulations expressly prohibit discrimination against an individual Read more [...]In an effort to become more user-friendly, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services office (“USCIS”) released a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, in July of this year.  All employers must use the revised form starting September 18, 2017. The revisions Read more [...]Beginning July 1, 2017, Arizona employers were required to begin allowing their employees to accrue paid sick leave (“PSL”) under the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act, Arizona’s new paid sick leave law. The Basics • Employees must accrue 1 hour of PSL for every 30 hours worked. • Read more [...]The answer is still no – unless you employ individuals in Illinois, Indiana, or Wisconsin. On April 4, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, became the first U.S. Court of Appeals to rule that discrimination on the basis of sex under Read more [...]Beginning in 2016, Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities Foundation, Inc. (“AID”) filed a flood of lawsuits—eventually totaling more than 1,700—in Arizona Superior Court against small businesses in Arizona. In the lawsuits, which were largely “copy-and-paste” versions of one another, Read more [...]On November 9, 2016, my colleagues David Barton and Christie Hammerle blogged about Arizona’s new minimum wage and earned paid sick time law called the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act.  That article can be found here. The Industrial Commission of Arizona has since released Notices related to the Read more [...]