On August 11, Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law the North Carolina Employee Fair Classification Act. The portion of the legislation that deals with worker classifications will take effect December 31.

The legislation does not change existing definitions of “employee” and “independent contractor” under state law but creates an Employee Classification Section of the North ...

The North Carolina General Assembly voted today to repeal the infamous HB 2 "bathroom law," and Governor Roy Cooper has signed the repeal into law. The law is very short. It repeals HB 2 and provides that local governments, and the state university and community college systems, cannot regulate access to multi-user restrooms, locker rooms, or changing facilities until ...

In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, 23 North Carolina counties have been approved to receive federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance. Gov. Pat McCrory has directed the state Department of Employment Security not to enforce the one-week waiting period that normally applies to unemployment claims.

The eligible counties are as follows: Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Columbus ...

In one of the many lawsuits* filed in North Carolina related to the notorious H.B. 2, Judge Thomas Schroeder of the Middle District of North Carolina has preliminarily enjoined the University of North Carolina from enforcing the "bathroom" provisions of the law with respect to three individual transgender plaintiffs. Here is a copy of Judge Schroeder's decision.

*UPDATE ...

It's been a while since I've written about H.B. 2, the North Carolina "bathroom bill," and I need to get with it.

Wrongful discharge claim based on discrimination is back. As we expected, on July 18, Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law H.B. 169, which amends H.B. 2 by restoring the cause of action for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy based on the North Carolina Equal ...

I don't plan to post much more about North Carolina's HB 2 "bathroom bill" until we start getting court decisions, but this is newsworthy.

As I've previously noted, HB 2 had a provision that eliminated the cause of action for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy based on violations of the N.C. Equal Employment Practices Act, NCGS Section 143-422.2. That law says that it ...

All these HB 2 lawsuits are making me dizzy.

Here is a copy of the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit filed yesterday afternoon against the State of North Carolina. The McCrory (North Carolina) v. USA lawsuit is pending in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina (Raleigh). The DOJ lawsuit is pending in federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina ...

Law360 reported this morning that the State of North Carolina has filed suit against the U.S. Department of Justice in federal court in Raleigh. The suit seeks a declaratory judgment (official ruling from the court) that, by enforcing HB 2's provisions regarding "bathroom use and changing facility use by state employees," the state is not in violation of Title VII of the Civil ...

The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter yesterday to Gov. Pat McCrory, giving him until Monday, May 9, to "confirm" that he does not plan to enforce the "bathroom" provisions of HB 2 as they apply to public agencies. If he fails to confirm, the DOJ is putting him on notice that he and the State of North Carolina are engaged in a "pattern or practice" of discrimination against ...

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has published a new Fact Sheet on LGBT discrimination that employers will find helpful. As I've reported before here and here, the agency is taking an aggressive position regarding coverage of LGBT issues under Title VII's sex discrimination provisions. The EEOC's fact sheet, as well as other materials linked in it, should answer most ...