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Littler

Minnesota, Iowa Modify Employer Drug Testing Requirements

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Minnesota and Iowa have longstanding drug testing laws that place them among the more difficult states for employer compliance. This year, both states modified their laws in ways that require employers to reevaluate their...more

Littler

Illinois Adopts First of Its Kind Paid Military Funeral Honors Detail Leave

Littler on

On August 1, 2025, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 220, amending the state’s Military Leave Act to require employers to provide up to 40 hours of paid leave for eligible employees when serving on a funeral...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Montana Expands Workplace Protections for Employees Holding Public Office

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

On May 19, 2025, Montana passed HB 667 amending Montana’s law requiring leave for employees holding public office. HB 667 became effective upon passage and applies retroactively to January 1, 2025....more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Rhode Island First in Nation to Require Accommodation of Employee’s Menopause, Effective Immediately

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Rhode Island is the first state to expressly require employers to provide workplace accommodations for job applicants and employees who are experiencing menopause and menopause-related medical conditions. This requirement...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Massachusetts Makarevich: ‘Understandable’ Separation Agreement Language Aids Employer in Unpaid Wages Case

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

In Makarevich v. USI Ins. Services, LLC, a Massachusetts federal district court judge dismissed a former employee’s claims of discrimination and unpaid wages under the Massachusetts Wage Act, concluding that she had knowingly...more

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

Rhode Island's New Menopause Accommodation Law: Key Employer Insights

On June 24, 2025, Rhode Island became the first state to require reasonable accommodation for menopause-related conditions. The Rhode Island legislature amended the state’s Fair Employment Practices Act’s requirement that...more

Hinckley Allen

New Hampshire Employers Must Offer Unpaid Childbirth Leave Beginning in 2026

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Beginning on January 1, 2026, New Hampshire employers with at least 20 employees are required by law to provide employees with up to 25 hours of unpaid leave to attend postpartum and pediatric healthcare visits after the...more

Littler

Puerto Rico Enacts New Lactation Code

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On August 1, 2025, Governor Jennifer González signed Act 87-2025, titled, “Puerto Rico Lactation Code” (“Code” or “Act 87-2025”). The Code compiles all previously enacted breastfeeding-related laws into one (i.e.,...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Rhode Island Bars Workplace Discrimination Based on Menopause Symptoms

On June 24, 2025, Rhode Island enacted a law barring employers from discriminating against workers because of their menopause symptoms. The law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for workers experiencing...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

The Latest Changes to Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time Statute

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

On June 14th, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed into law, S.F. No. 17, which once again included amendments to Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) law that went into effect in January 2024....more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

New Hampshire’s Unpaid Childbirth-Related Leave Law Goes Into Effect 2026

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Effective Jan. 1, 2026, Granite State employers with at least 20 employees must provide employees with up to 25 hours of unpaid leave to attend medical appointments associated with childbirth, postpartum care, and their...more

Franczek P.C.

Appellate Court Finds Employer Intent Matters in Dues-Related Unfair Labor Practice Charges

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Under the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, an employer’s failure to deduct and remit union dues based on a valid authorization by the employee or a collective bargaining agreement may be an unfair labor practice....more

Polsinelli

Washington’s Mini-WARN Act Goes Into Effect

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What You Need to Know: Washington’s new mini-WARN Act applies to smaller employers with 50 or more full-time employees unlike the federal WARN Act which only applies to employers with 100 or more employees....more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Iowa Amends Drug Testing Statute, Relieves Some Employer Burdens

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The Iowa drug testing statute (Iowa Code § 730.5) became more employer friendly effective July 1, 2025. Although the Iowa drug testing law remains one of the most technically challenging in the country, the changes will make...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Legislation Grants Authority to California Labor Commissioner to Enforce Labor Code Provisions Related to Gratuities

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California Governor Newsom recently signed Senate Bill (SB) 648, which authorizes the state’s Labor Commissioner to investigate and issue a citation or file a civil action for gratuities taken or withheld in violation of the...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

California Court Upholds Prospective Meal Period Waivers

In a favorable decision for California employers, the Court of Appeal in Bradsbery et al. v. Vicar Operating, Inc., 110 Cal.App.5th 899, affirmed that employers and employees can enter into prospective, written, and revocable...more

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

Indiana Mandates Employee Leave for School Meetings

Effective July 1, 2025, Indiana generally requires all employers provide unpaid leave for employees to attend school conferences and meetings for their children. Employers are prohibited from taking adverse action against an...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Washington's Mini-WARN Act Goes into Effect on July 27, 2025

Holland & Knight LLP on

Washington state recently enacted the Securing Timely Notification and Benefits for Laid-Off Employees Act (Senate Bill 5525), which takes effect July 27, 2025. This new "mini" version of the federal Worker Adjustment and...more

Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP

NYC Amends Rules to Address Paid Prenatal Leave

The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) recently amended its Earned Safe and Sick Time Act rules to incorporate the paid prenatal leave requirements of the New York Labor Law. DCWP’s amended...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

Nebraska Governor Signs Amendment to State's Paid Sick Leave Law

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As discussed in our January 2025 update, the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, which requires employers to provide paid sick leave to qualified employees, goes into effect October 1, 2025. On June 4, 2025,...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Building an Exemption: California Construction Employers Allowed to Drug Test for Marijuana

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California prohibits employers from discriminating against employees because of off-duty use of marijuana, with some exemptions. One exemption is for “the building and construction trades.” California’s AB 2188 greatly...more

Vedder Price

New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act Is Amended to Include Paid Prenatal Leave

Vedder Price on

Since January 1, 2025, New York State’s Paid Prenatal Leave Law has required that all private-sector employers provide employees with 20 hours of paid leave for health care appointments related to prenatal care or pregnancy. ...more

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Florida Revamps Laws Governing Garden Leave and Noncompete Agreements

On July 3, 2025, the “Florida Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth (CHOICE) Act” became effective in Florida. The CHOICE Act is a significant measure enacted to bolster legal...more

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

New York State’s COVID-19 Sick Leave Law Will Sunset on July 31, 2025

As we previously reported, New York’s COVID-19 Sick Leave Law (amending N.Y. Lab. L. §196-b) will expire on July 31, 2025....more

Miller Nash LLP

Washington Enacts Mini-WARN Act Law

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As most employers know, under the federal WARN Act a covered employer who plans to close a facility or implement a mass layoff must provide 60 days’ advance notice to the affected employees, the designated state agency, and...more

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