Thank you to our generous friends at Littler for our annual mid-year legislative information. This is not a substitute for legal advice and is information only.
At the date of publication, some state legislatures were still in session, so these charts may not contain every new generally applicable labor and employment law taking effect soon. Employers with operations in multiple jurisdictions are encouraged to work with counsel to stay up-to-date on legislative and regulatory developments affecting their workplaces.
| Alabama | Arizona | Colorado | Connecticut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho |
| Indiana | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana |
| Maine | Maryland | Minnesota | Mississippi |
| Missouri | Nebraska | New Hampshire | New Jersey |
| New York | Oregon | South Carolina | South Dakota |
| Tennessee | Vermont | Virginia | Washington |
| Wyoming | |||
Alabama |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Alabama SB 9 | Smoking Restrictions | Prohibits the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems in areas where the smoking of tobacco is prohibited. | 10/01/26 |
| Alabama SB 30 (HB93) | Employment Contracts and Agreements: Nondisclosure | Prohibits any contract that bars a party from disclosing facts related to sexual abuse. | 10/01/26 |
Arizona |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Arizona HB 2310 | App-Based Workers: Terminations | Modifies the contract termination requirements for services performed by a qualified marketplace contractor. | 07/25/2026 |
| Arizona HB 2663 | Leave of Absence | Expands existing military leave provisions to require leave for employees during military training or in compliance with military orders. | 09/25/2026 |
Colorado |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Colorado Final Rule re FAMLI Appeals (7 CCR 1107-9) | Paid Family ⁄ Medical Leave and Insurance | Amends the appeals process for challenging administrative decisions issued under the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act and provides that a hearing officer may reconsider a decision within five business days of issuance under certain circumstances. | 07/01/2026 |
| Colorado Final Rule re FAMLI Qualifying Leave Reason Clarification (7 CCR 1107-3) | Paid Family ⁄ Medical Leave and Insurance | Clarifies that an absence is caused by a qualifying condition only if it would not have occurred but for the qualifying condition. | 07/01/2026 |
| Colorado HB1045 | Service Animals | Provides definitions for “assistance animal” and “emotional support animal” for the purposes of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. | 08/12/2026 |
| Colorado HB 1207 | Pay Equity | Requires employers to provide EEO-1 data to the state beginning July 1, 2027, even if federal EEO-1 reporting is discontinued. | 08/12/2026 |
| Colorado HB 1417 | Discrimination; Public Access | Requires a business that offers an exam or course related to an application, license, certification, or credential, for professional or trade purposes, to offer accessible exams and courses to an individual with a disability. | 08/12/2026 |
Connecticut |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Connecticut HB 5003 | Employment Policies | Amends the pay transparency law to require disclosure of the benefits for a posted position; creates retention rights for service workers; requires an employer to notify employees of the right to disability accommodation; requires an employer to provide reasonable break time for expressing breastmilk; requires an employer to publish a guide to pay codes for overtime and pay differentials. | 10/01/26 |
| Connecticut HB 5464 | Workplace Safety | Prohibits driving while using or holding a mobile electronic device except while in a hands-free mode; requires transportation network companies (TNCs) to adopt service animal nondiscrimination policies; requires TNC drivers to annually complete sexual assault prevention and driver education trainings. | 10/01/26 |
| Connecticut SB 4 | Privacy and Data Security | Amends the Connecticut Data Privacy Act by establishing new requirements concerning facial recognition technology; eliminates certain exemptions for processing decisions concerning employment. | 10/01/26 |
| Connecticut SB 5 | AI and Technology | Creates a comprehensive online safety law with significant requirements relating to Automated Employment-related Decision Technology (AEDT).
Read here for more information. |
10/01/26 |
| Connecticut SB 90 | Discrimination; Public Access Issues | Makes certain discriminatory public accommodation practices a hate crime. | 10/01/26 |
| Connecticut SB 439 | Privacy | Exempts third-party self-service kiosks from the prohibition on electronic surveillance devices and systems in employee lounges. | 10/01/26 |
| Connecticut SB 472 | Privacy | Requires employers to notify employees of electronic surveillance and to inform them of which prohibited activities may require surveillance without prior notice. | 10/01/26 |
| Connecticut SB 1295 | Privacy and Data Security: Artificial Intelligence | Amends the Connecticut Data Privacy Act to expand coverage standards; requires a controller that uses personal data for profiling to conduct an impact assessment. | 07/01/26 |
Florida |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Florida HB 1069 (SB1168) | Home Health Care: Criminal Background Checks | Amends the list of offenses that must be included in a background check for care placement service employees. | 07/01/26 |
| Florida HB 1407 | Discrimination and Harassment | Requires certain civil actions with the Florida Commission on Human Relations to be commenced within specified time periods. | 07/01/26 |
Georgia |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Georgia HB 668 | Service Animals for Persons with Disabilities | Clarifies that a “service dog” includes an animal that is being trained; expands the definition of qualifying persons with disabilities who are eligible to use a service dog. | 07/01/26 |
| Georgia HB 987 | Independent Contractors: Benefits | Provides for portable benefit plans and portable benefit accounts for independent contractors. | 07/01/26 |
| Georgia HB 1097 | Healthcare: Criminal Background Checks | Requires criminal background checks for owners, applicants, and employees of certain mental health facilities; provides procedures regarding applicants or employees with ineligible determinations and civil penalties for failure to terminate those with ineligible determinations. | 07/01/26 |
| Georgia SB 570 | Hospitality: Human Trafficking Training | Requires hotel employees to complete human trafficking training upon hire and annually thereafter. | 07/01/26 |
Hawaii |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Hawaii SB 3082 (HB 2263) | Family Military Leave | Authorizes an eligible employee to take family leave for a qualifying military exigency under state law. | 07/01/26 |
| Hawaii HB 2576 | Healthcare: Criminal Background Checks | Clarifies requirements for criminal background checks of employees and volunteers at healthcare facilities. | 07/01/26 |
Idaho |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Idaho HB 494 | Criminal Background Checks | Requires background checks for individuals with direct access to children, elderly, or vulnerable adults. | 07/01/26 |
| Idaho HB 521 | Criminal Background Checks | Defines qualified entities required to perform background checks for employees who will be working with children, the elderly, or individuals with disabilities. | 07/01/26 |
Indiana |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Indiana HB 1193 | Discrimination and Harassment: Civil Procedure | Amends requirements related to civil actions involving the state civil rights commission. | 07/01/26 |
| Indiana HB 1249 | Healthcare: Workplace Violence | Requires a healthcare employer to report incidents of workplace battery. | 07/01/26 |
| Indiana HB 1302 | Child Labor | Repeals the requirement that an employer submit and maintain information about minor employees in the state’s Youth Employment System. | 07/01/26 |
| Indiana SB 162 | Unemployment | Updates definitions related to unemployment insurance. | 07/01/26 |
| Indiana SB 214 | Unemployment | Codifies certain administrative rules regarding, among other topics, seasonal and part-time workers, contribution rates, and benefit payments to deceased workers. | 07/01/26 |
Kansas |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Kansas HB 2602 | Independent Contractors: Benefits | Provides for portable benefit accounts for independent contractors. | 07/01/26 |
Kentucky |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Kentucky HB 48 | Criminal Background Checks | Requires an employer to report a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant who has been convicted of certain misdemeanors. | 07/15/26 |
Louisiana |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Louisiana HB 185 | Workers’ Compensation; Independent Contractors | Expands the definition of an “independent contractor” for purposes of workers’ compensation. | 08/01/26 |
| Louisiana HB 301 | Independent Contractors | Provides for portable benefit accounts for independent contractors. | 08/01/26 |
| Louisiana HB 315 | Noncompete Agreements | Prohibits noncompete agreements for interns and apprentices. | 08/01/26 |
| Louisiana SB 288 | Background Checks | Provides that qualified private sector entities cannot be provided with expunged criminal records from the state. | 08/01/26 |
| Louisiana SB 409 | Leaves of Absence | Requires a private employer to grant a leave of absence to an employee serving as an organ donor or bone marrow donor. | 08/01/26 |
Maine |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Maine LD 54 (HP 18) | Wage Transparency | Requires employers with 10 or more employees to disclose the pay range for a position in each job posting and to current employees upon request.
Read here for more information. |
07/29/26 |
| Maine LD 61 (HP 25) | Employee Monitoring and Surveillance | Requires employers that use employee surveillance to provide notice to employees and candidates for employment; prohibits employers from using audiovisual monitoring in an employee’s residence or personal vehicle.
Read here for more information. |
07/29/26 |
| Maine LD 1587 (HP 1045) | Civil Procedure: Notification Requirements | Enhances labor department enforcement powers for violations of state employment laws; requires employers found to be in violation of the law to post a notice of the violation in the workplace.
Read here for more information. |
07/29/26 |
| Maine LD 2018 (HP 1348) | Paid Family ⁄ Medical Leave and Insurance | Clarifies that the state’s paid family and medical leave law does not allow self-insured employers to pool risks with other employers, but allows an employer to share legal, accounting, and administrative costs with multiple employers. | 07/29/26 |
| Maine LD 2101 (HP 1416) | Unemployment: Employer Penalty | Establishes a monetary penalty for employers whose unemployment payment is returned unpaid. Reasons commonly include insufficient funds, account closure, stop-payment order, or nonexistence of the account. | 07/29/26 |
| Maine LD 2110 (HP 1425) | Drugs and Alcohol | Modifies requirements related to employer substance use testing policies by replacing “probable cause” testing with “reasonable suspicion” testing. | 07/29/26 |
| Maine LD 2200 (HP 1479) | Healthcare: Noncompete Agreements | Prohibits employers from requiring or permitting health care practitioners to enter into noncompete agreements in certain circumstances. | 07/29/26 |
Maryland |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Maryland HB 273 (SB14) | Health and Welfare Plans | Alters the effective dates for the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) insurance enrollment. | 10/01/26 |
| Maryland HB 624 (SB411) | Healthcare: Staffing Plans | Requires certain hospitals to establish and maintain a staffing committee and to implement a clinical staffing plan. | 10/01/26 |
| Maryland HB 829 (SB473) | Rideshare Operators: Human Trafficking Training | Prohibits transportation network company (TNC) operators from allowing applicants and license holders to provide TNC services without completing human trafficking awareness training. | 10/01/26 |
| Maryland SB 14 (HB273) | Health and Welfare Plans | Alters the effective dates for the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) insurance enrollment. | 10/01/26 |
| Maryland SB 411 (HB624) | Healthcare: Staffing Plans | Requires certain hospitals to establish and maintain a staffing committee and to implement a clinical staffing plan. | 10/01/26 |
| Maryland SB 417 (HB45) | Mandatory Meetings (“Captive Audience”) | Creates the Maryland Worker Freedom Act; prohibits mandatory employer-sponsored meetings on religious or political matters. | 10/01/26 |
| Maryland SB 694 | Discrimination and Harassment: Civil Procedure | Provides that filing an initial discrimination complaint with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights satisfies the prerequisites for commencing a civil action alleging a violation of certain county discrimination laws. | 10/01/26 |
Minnesota |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Minnesota SB 3210 (HB2380) | Disability Discrimination and Accommodation | Clarifies that failure to engage in the interactive process for disability accommodations may be an unfair discriminatory employment practice. | 08/01/26 |
Mississippi |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Mississippi HB 4073 | 401k ⁄ Retirement ⁄ Pension | Establishes the Mississippi Work and Save Program; allows employers to offer eligible employees the choice to contribute to an IRA through a payroll deduction. | 07/01/26 |
| Mississippi SB 2704 | Health and Welfare Plans | Allows trade association member employers to purchase health coverage from self-funded association plans. | 10/01/26 |
Missouri |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Missouri SB 907 | Website Accessibility: Civil Procedure | Authorizes the state attorney general to bring suit on behalf of businesses that are subject to abusive litigation alleging that a website or web content fails to comply with the accessibility requirements of the ADA or state disability law. | 08/28/26 |
Nebraska |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Nebraska LB 320 | Hospitality: Human Trafficking Training | Requires lodging establishments to display posters relating to human trafficking and provide trafficking recognition training to employees. | 09/17/26 |
| Nebraska LB 397 | Workplace Safety and Health | Repeals the requirement that employers must maintain a workplace safety program and workplace safety committees. | 09/17/26 |
| Nebraska LB 847 | Child Labor | Creates a registered apprenticeship program for minors aged 16 and older; modifies recordkeeping requirements for employment of minors. | 07/15/26 |
| Nebraska LB 921 | Reductions in Force (RIFs ⁄ WARN); Healthcare; Non-English Speaking Employees | Enacts the Nebraska Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act; creates the Health Care Staffing Agency Registration Act; amends the Non-English-Speaking Workers Protection Act.
Read here for more information. |
07/15/26 |
New Hampshire |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| New Hampshire HB 1168 (LSR 2459) | Wage and Hour: Wage Claims | Extends the time an employer has to file objections to a wage claim from 10 days to 20 days after receiving notice of the claim. | 07/07/26 |
| New Hampshire SB 402 (LSR 2148) | Healthcare: Noncompete Agreements | Prohibits any contract or agreement that creates or establishes terms of a partnership, employment, or other form of professional relationship with a physician associate. | 07/07/26 |
New Jersey |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| New Jersey AB 3451 | Paid Family ⁄ Medical Leave and Insurance | Lowers the employer coverage threshold under the state Family Leave Act; provides for reinstatement of employees who use state Temporary Disability Insurance or Family Leave Insurance under certain circumstances.
Read here for more information. |
07/17/26 |
| New Jersey Final Rule re Independent Contractor Classification (NJAC 12:11) | Independent Contractors | Clarifies that the employer has the burden of proof to establish independent contractor status under the applicable regulations and must establish that the services at issue and the individual providing the services meet all three prongs of the regulations.
Read here for more information. |
10/01/26 |
New York |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| New York AB 203 (SB5294) | Healthcare: Workplace Violence | Requires hospitals to establish a violence prevention program consistent with regulatory requirements regarding emergency events and workplace violence standards. | 09/18/2026 |
Oregon |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Oregon Final Rule re Federal Hazard Communication Standard Incorporation with Revised Effective Dates (OAR 437-002-0376) | Workplace Safety | Adopts most of OSHA’s amended standards regarding employer requirements for classified hazards present in the workplace as published in the Federal Register on February 13, 2026; extends multiple compliance dates past the federal standard’s effective dates. | 07/01/2026 |
South Carolina |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| South Carolina SB 688 | Unemployment | Employers with delinquent unemployment tax who have a department-approved installment payment agreement may be permitted to pay unemployment compensation tax at the annual rate unless the employer fails to make a deferred payment or fails to submit certain wage reports. | 07/01/2026 |
South Dakota |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| South Dakota HB 1180 | Noncompete Agreements | Permits the seller of a business entity to enter into a noncompete agreement with the buyer in certain circumstances. | 07/01/2026 |
Tennessee |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Tennessee HB 1034 (SB995) | Noncompete Agreements | Prohibits the use of noncompete agreements, except under certain circumstances.
Read here for more information. |
07/01/26 |
| Tennessee HB 2175 (SB2458) | App-Based Workers | Requires delivery network companies to collect specific information during the application process, establish a reporting process for customers who suspect their driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, maintain trip and driver records for one year, and conduct criminal background checks on potential drivers. | 07/01/26 |
| Tennessee SB 1587 | Immigration | Provides that it is a Class A misdemeanor and creates strict liability for personal injury or property damage, for an employer to knowingly employ and allow a person unlawfully present in the United States to operate a commercial vehicle. | 07/01/26 |
| Tennessee SB 1683 | Employer Liability | Provides that employers that subsidize costs of certain childcare services for employees are not liable for harm caused by the childcare provider with certain exceptions. | 07/01/26 |
| Tennessee SB 2024 (HB1958) | Wage Payment Obligations | Sets the limits for timely payment of wages for employees paid on a piece rate or commission basis. | 07/01/26 |
Vermont |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Vermont HB 849 | Discrimination and Harassment: Civil Procedure | Establishes a state cause of action for violations of federal constitutional rights. | 07/01/26 |
Virginia |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Virginia HB 176 (SB 149) | 401k ⁄ Retirement ⁄ Pension | Amends the definition of “eligible employer” for purposes of the state-facilitated IRA savings program; provides penalties for failure to timely submit contributions. | 07/01/26 |
| Virginia HB 238 | Wage and Hour Penalties | Provides applicable remedies for violations of certain wage and hour requirements; expands overtime coverage to include home care and long-term care workers.
Read here for more information. |
07/01/26 |
| Virginia HB 627 (SB 128) | Healthcare: Noncompete Agreements | Expands the prohibition on non-competes for low-wage employees to also cover certain health care professionals. | 07/01/26 |
| Virginia HB 636 (SB 215) | Wage Transparency, Salary History | Requires employers to include the wage range for a position in each job posting; prohibits employers from seeking the wage or salary history of prospective employees. Creates a private right of action.
Read here for more information. |
07/01/26 |
| Virginia HB 675 | Discrimination and Harassment: Immigration Status | Creates a civil penalty for coercion or threat by an employer based on immigration status. | 07/01/26 |
| Virginia HB 925 | Discrimination and Harassment: Civil Procedure | Extends the statute of limitations for filing a discrimination complaint; allows a civil action to be filed after making a complaint with a local human rights commission. | 07/01/26 |
| Virginia HB 1100 | Garnishments | Revises the maximum amount of aggregate disposable earnings that may be subject to garnishment pursuant to a treasurer’s lien. | 07/01/26 |
| Virginia HB 1218 | Child Labor | Provides that children 14 years and older may be employed at certain summer camps. | 07/01/26 |
| Virginia HB 1469 | Rideshare Operators: Criminal Background Checks | Requires a transportation network company’s criminal background checks of prospective drivers to include every address at which the driver has resided, not limited to a specific time frame. | 07/01/26 |
| Virginia HB 1489 | Healthcare: Workplace Violence | Expands workplace violence reporting requirements for hospitals. | 07/01/26 |
| Viriginia SB10 (HB 275) | Child Labor | Allows children aged 16 and older to work in voluntary apprenticeships or other work-based learning experiences provided certain conditions are met. | 07/01/26 |
| Virginia SB 100 | Emergency Responder Leave | Prohibits retaliation against employees for absence due to serving as voluntary emergency responders. | 07/01/26 |
| Virginia SB 170 | Noncompete Agreements | Provides that a noncompete is not enforceable if an employer discharges the employee from employment without providing severance benefits.
Read here for more information. |
07/01/26 |
| Virginia SB 173 | Healthcare: Weapons Restrictions | Prohibits the possession of specified weapons in hospitals that provide mental health services or developmental services. | 07/01/26 |
| Virginia SB 288 | Workplace Safety and Health: Heat Illness Standard | Requires employers to adopt heat illness standards promulgated by the Safety and Health Board.
Read here for more information. |
07/01/26 |
| Virginia SB 301 | Garnishments | Provides the maximum percentage an employer may deduct from an employee’s disposable earnings, as well as the exemptions under certain circumstances. | 07/01/26 |
| Virginia SB 430 | Anti-Preemption of Local Laws: Successorship Obligations | Permits local governments to enact right of recall and right of retention laws covering service employees. | 07/01/26 |
| Virginia SB 433 | Labor Management Relations: Unemployment | Excludes an employer’s lockout from the definition of a labor dispute for purposes of unemployment benefit eligibility. | 07/01/26 |
Washington |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Washington Final Rule re Non-Agricultural Youth Employment Updates (WAC 296-125) | Child Labor | DOL amendments to child labor regulations to conform to existing laws. | 07/01/26 |
| Washington HB 1121 | Child Labor | Permits individuals 16 or 17 years of age that are enrolled in a college, career, or technical education program to work the same number and frequency of hours during the school year as would be permitted during school vacations or holidays. | 07/01/26 |
| Washington HB 1332 | App-Based Workers: Notification Requirements | Requires a transportation network company (TNC) to provide an accessible record system available to drivers. | 07/01/26 |
| Washington HB 1644 | Child Labor: Wage and Hour Penalties | Increases penalties for certain child labor violations. | 07/01/26 |
| Washington HB 2105 (SB 5852) | Immigration: Notification Requirements | Requires employers to notify employees in the event of a Form I-9 audit; requires employers to post a notice of immigration-related rights in the workplace. | 10/01/26 |
Wyoming |
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| Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Wyoming SB 41 | Independent Contractors: Benefits | Authorizes the establishment of portable benefit accounts for independent contractors. | 07/01/2026 |
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The information contained in this article is not a substitute for legal advice or counsel and has been pulled from multiple sources.
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