Nicholas J. Horton

Senior Associate

Sacramento

nhorton@orrick.com

Read full biography at www.orrick.com

As a former active duty Marine and combat veteran, Nick Horton understands adversity and pressure. Now as an employment litigator, he uses that experience to calmly guide clients through high-stakes collective and class actions.

Nick handles matters related to pay practices for global tech corporations, including a nationwide FLSA collective action seeking damages for up to 40,000 workers, multiple putative California class actions and a regulatory compliance matter, each affecting thousands of employees. When helping clients navigate these challenging cases, Nick draws upon his range of litigation experience. Prior to focusing on employment, Nick handled breach of contract, fraud, and unfair competition law cases in both federal and state courts, and was a member of an Orrick trial team that secured a $52.8 million verdict in a trade secrets trial. 

To help his clients avoid litigation, Nick walks them through the most recent employment laws, case trends and ways to mitigate potential loss.

Before attending law school, Nick served seven years as an infantry officer and instructor in the United States Marine Corps.

Posts by: Nicholas Horton

New Guidance Available for New York Employers About the Recent Salary History Ban

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The New York State Department of Labor has created a website to provide guidance on the state’s recent Salary History Ban. We previously reported on the state’s Salary History Ban in detail here after it was passed by the New York legislature. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the salary history ban into law on July 10, 2019 and it went into effect on January 6, 2020. The new website summarizes the Salary History Ban by explaining that, “The new law prohibits all employers – both public and private – from asking prospective or current employees about their salary history and compensation.  It also prohibits businesses from seeking similar information from other sources.” READ MORE →

Legislative Update: Illinois is the Latest State to Join Nationwide Trend of Salary History Ban Laws

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Orrick’s Equal Pay Pulse has been tracking the nationwide wave of salary history bans in recent years.  A growing number of states and territories now have laws restricting the use of salary history information, including Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Vermont, and Washington.  Illinois became the latest state to catch this wave with a recent amendment to the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003. READ MORE →

Pick Your Procedure: EEOC Launches Parallel Gender Discrimination Pay Suits Under Different Statutes

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The EEOC has been no stranger to headlines in recent months, particularly on the issue of equal pay. As we recently reported, the EEOC’s long-dormant pay data collection rule, revived by the D.C. District Court in March, has caused an uproar of speculation as employers race to comply with increased data reporting requirements for their annual EEO-1 forms by September 30, 2019. But the EEOC is also busy addressing pay issues in court.

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Legislative Update: States Continue to Update and Refine Their Pay Equity Laws

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2019 is not even two months old and already there are significant developments in equal pay legislation. As we explained recently, there is proposed federal legislation that reignites the battle to pass the “Paycheck Fairness Act.” And now states are getting in on the action with a flurry of legislative activity around pay equity issues – particularly among legislatures that saw a change in party control as a result of the November elections. In fact, a number of states have introduced a variety of pay equity proposals, making clear that salary history bans and wage discussion protections are here to stay. Proposed new legislation also looks to refine the bona fide factors that employers may consider in setting pay, as well as remedies available under the pay laws. READ MORE →

Is it Safe to Wade into the “Safe Harbor” Waters in Recent Pay Laws?

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A growing number of state and local governments have passed equal pay laws in recent years. These statutes and ordinances have varied in their specific content and have created a patchwork of legal requirements vexing employers who are attempting to comply. Two states have added wrinkles to this patchwork. While many of the obligations have favored employees, Massachusetts and Oregon have attempted to tip the scales to employers by creating “safe harbor” provisions aimed at providing some form of relief for employers who perform voluntary pay audits and correct any adverse findings through “safe harbor” provisions. These provisions, however, raise significant questions that employers must consider before concluding that they are fully protected. READ MORE →