Approved on July 3, 2024, Hawaii’s captive audience meeting bill is now in effect. Under this new law, employers may no longer require employees to attend employer-sponsored meetings whose primary purpose is to communicate the employer's opinion concerning religious or political matters. Nor may employers punish them for refusing to attend such meetings.

Illinois Governor Pritzker recently signed Senate Bill 3649, implementing additional political activity protections for employees. Effective January 1, 2025, employers may no longer require employees to attend employer-sponsored meetings whose primary purpose is to communicate the employer's opinion concerning religious or political matters. Nor may employers punish them for refusing to attend such meetings. We will update our tool one month before the effective date of these changes.

On July 31, 2024, in Mothering Justice v. Attorney General, the Michigan supreme court ruled that the state legislature overstepped by amending the voter-adopted Earned Sick Time Act. The court reinstated the law as it was originally written. Beginning February 21, 2025, employers with at least one employee must provide paid sick leave to their employees. Employers with 10 or more employees must allow employees to accrue and use up to 72 hours of paid sick leave per year. Employers with less than 10 employees are unaffected by the change and must still allow employees to accrue and use up to 40 hours of leave per year. We will update our tool one month before the effective date of these changes.

As a part of SF 3852 Minnesota clarified that leave taken for prenatal medical care appointments does not count against leave available under the state's Parental Leave law. Employers are also required to maintain health benefits for employees using pregnancy and parental leave. We have already updated our Parental Leave policy to comply with these changes.

New Hampshire passed HB 1169 which protects employees from discrimination based on hairstyles and hair types traditionally associated with race. This includes protections for styles like braids, locs, curls, corn rows, Bantu knots, Afros, twists, and head wraps. We have updated our EEO and Anti-Discrimination Policy to comply with this change.

New Hampshire passed HB 182 which requires that employers provide employees who are volunteer members of a fire or ambulance department with unpaid time to respond to an emergency that they witness or come across while on their way to work. Employees are also protected against discipline or discrimination for failing to report to work due to an emergency response. We have updated our Emergency Services and Civil Service Leave Policy to comply with this change.

Rhode Island passed HB 7171 which schedules increases to Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) benefits. Employees can currently receive up to 6 weeks of benefits in a year. Beginning January 1, 2025, TCI benefits will increase to 7 weeks per year. On January 1, 2026, TCI benefits will increase to up to 8 weeks per year. We will update our Family and Medical Leave policy one month before the effective date of these changes.

We have added Bernalillo County, New Mexico to our Paid Leave for Any Reason Policy. This policy is required for employers with a physical location and 2 or more employees within the unincorporated areas of Bernalillo County.

We have added paid leave posters to the Employee Handbook and State Addenda for Chicago and Cook County as well as Minneapolis, MN and St. Paul, MN. These posters must be included in employee handbooks as well as posted in an obvious location in the workplace.

On August 20, 2024, a Texas federal court struck down the FTC’s Rule banning non-compete agreements. Unless an appeal overturns that decision, employers no longer need to concern themselves with the Rule’s September 4 effective date and may continue to use non-competes as other state and federal laws allow. Read more about this decision and its implications in our special update.

Effective September 3, 2024, employers in Los Angeles county with at least 5 employees may not ask about applicants’ criminal histories until after they have extended a job offer. Nor may employers ask about non-criminal incidents or anything in a criminal history over 7 years old. Employees in the county must also post a notice of the ordinance in a place where employees can see it and include language in all job postings that qualified applicants will be considered for employment despite arrest or conviction records.

Florida’s minimum wage will increase to $13 per hour on September 30, 2024, per the state constitution.

On August 9, 2024, Illinois Governor Pritzker signed H.B. 377, imposing new responsibilities on employers who use artificial intelligence to help make employment decisions. Beginning January 1, 2026, employers may not involve AI in employment decision-making if using the AI has the effect of discriminating against people of protected classes. Employers will also be required to provide notice to employees that artificial intelligence is used in the employer’s decision-making process.

Kentucky updated its EEO poster. Employers should replace their existing notice. The updated version is included in the 50-State Hiring Kit and the Research Center.

Beginning October 1, 2024, employers must disclose the wage range and a general description of benefits and other compensation in all job postings for positions that will be performed, at least in part, inside the state. We have updated our tools to reflect this new requirement.

Effective October 1, 2024, SB 38 requires the notice that employers provide to new hires of their payment information to be written. The bill also requires employers to provide written notice of additional pay information every pay period on the employees’ pay stub, including rates of pay, any deductions made to their pay, and the employer’s name and address so they can be contacted if employees have questions.

Last month, Massachusetts Governor Healy signed Bill H.4890, implementing new wage transparency requirements, which take effect on different dates depending on employer size. Beginning February 1, 2025, employers with 100 or more employees in Massachusetts must provide annual wage data reports to the State Secretary. Beginning July 31, 2025, employers with 25 or more employees in Massachusetts must provide wage ranges to applicants on all job postings, to employees who are offered a new position, and to both applicants and employees upon request.

On July 31, 2024, in Mothering Justice v. Attorney General, the Michigan supreme court ruled that the state legislature overstepped by amending the voter-adopted Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act. The court reinstated the law as it was originally written, increasing the state’s minimum wage. Under this decision, Michigan’s minimum wage will increase to $12 per hour beginning on February 21, 2025

Virginia updated its Occupational Safety and Health poster. Employers should replace their existing notice. The updated version is included in the 50-State Hiring Kit and the Research Center.