North Carolina House Bill 2 (HB2) has generated controversy, both inside the Tar Heel State and across the nation. The bill, signed into law late in March, voids a Charlotte LGBT rights ordinance and that provision has received the lion’s share of the attention. However, HB2 also prohibits local governments from requiring government contractors to pay employees a set wage. It also removes state court as an option for employment discrimination lawsuits.
Womble Carlyle Labor & Employment attorney Richard Rainey discussed HB2 with the Winston-Salem Journal said the wage restrictions could backfire, since they may hinder the abilities of cities and counties to offer market-competitive contracts.
“It was essentially a preemptive strike against municipalities who are more liberal than other parts of the state,” Rainey tells the Winston-Salem Journal.
Click here to read the full article in the Winston-Salem Journal.
Richard Rainey is a labor and employment attorney with extensive experience litigating employment disputes on behalf of employers in the courtroom and before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board and the US and N.C. Department of Labor. His litigation practice also includes actions involving covenants not to compete, theft of trade secrets, unfair competition, employee raiding, fair housing and equal credit. Rainey practices in Womble Carlyle’s Charlotte office.