Legal Updates

On July 9, 2026, the Washington Supreme Court issued a significant employment law decision in Bolina v. AssureCare Adult Home LLC, holding that Washington’s former exemption from minimum wage protections for certain live-in workers violates the Washington Constitution. The ruling ... Read More

New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) has adopted final rules under the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) that take effect July 23, 2026. The final rules follow significant ESSTA amendments that became effective in ... Read More

The EEOC has released a draft Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2026–2030 for public comment. The plan establishes the agency’s enforcement, outreach, and operational priorities for the next four fiscal years and provides insight into how the EEOC intends to ... Read More

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) has adopted new administrative rules providing additional guidance and clarification regarding the state’s Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) law. The rules establish new standards that employers must follow when administering ESST ... Read More

Effective January 1, 2027, California’s Assembly Bill 2155 amends the California Arbitration Act to provide that arbitration agreements are unenforceable under California law to the same extent they are unenforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The legislation is intended ... Read More

On June 30, 2026, New Jersey enacted bill A5324 (P.L. 2026, c.23), establishing a new employer assessment designed to help offset state Medicaid costs. The law requires certain employers whose workers and dependents receive Medicaid coverage to pay annual fees ... Read More

On July 1, 2026, Virginia launched a sweeping criminal record sealing framework that expands the categories of records eligible for automatic or petition-based sealing. The changes are expected to have an impact on employers that conduct background checks or consider ... Read More

On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted to rescind two longstanding agency policy documents addressing affirmative action under Title VII: “Affirmative Action Appropriate Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964” and the ... Read More

Effective October 1, 2026, South Carolina’s Senate Bill 1043, the Civil Air Patrol Leave Act, creates a new job-protected leave entitlement for employees who serve as members of the Civil Air Patrol. The law applies to both public and private ... Read More

Effective July 13, 2026, Maine’s L.D. 2200, An Act Relating to Noncompete Agreements Between Employers and Health Care Practitioners, expands the state’s regulation of noncompete agreements in the health care sector. The law applies to all noncompete agreements entered into ... Read More

On June 26, 2026, the New York Court of Appeals issued a decision in Walton v. Comfort Systems USA (Syracuse), Inc., addressing the rights of workers on public works projects to enforce prevailing wage requirements under New York Labor Law ... Read More

Effective July 1, 2026, Virginia enacted House Bill 627, expanding its restrictions on covenants not to compete. The law extends existing protections — previously limited to low‑wage employees — to now also cover a broad category of licensed health care ... Read More