Please note the list below is not intended to be comprehensive. Our team is constantly monitoring for updates that may impact organizations across the country.
In this edition of State of Compliance, your monthly guide to the world of employment legislation, we look at changes at the federal level and across five states.
From the East Coast to the Midwest, updates include new job applicant protections, changes to background checks and paid leave revisions. On the national stage, a new law in California sparked a conversation about workplace disputes and arbitration.
Federal HR compliance updates
Colorado
Illinois
Minnesota
Vermont
Virginia
Federal HR compliance updates
On June 15, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempted portions of the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). California’s court held PAGA prevented individual and non-individual cases from resolving through arbitration. While the Supreme Court held that the FAA allows arbitration with individual claims, how PAGA affects non-individual claims is still unclear. Learn more here.
Colorado
Effective July 1, 2024, House Bill 1383 prevents an employer from requiring any job applicant to disclose information related to a juvenile:
- arrest
- detention
- processing
- diversion
- supervision
- adjudication
- court disposition
Illinois
Effective Jan. 1, 2023, House Bill 4332 amends the Health Care Worker Background Check Act to include people acting as allied health professionals on the Health Care Worker Registry. The registry features an individual’s:
- name
- current address
- Social Security number or their federal tax ID
- date and location of their training
- disqualifying convictions from the date of their completed training
- date of their last criminal background check
Effective Jan. 1, 2023, Senate Bill 3120 amends the Child Bereavement Leave Act. Businesses with 50 or more employees will be required to give two weeks of unpaid leave to workers who experience pregnancy loss, failed adoptions, unsuccessful reproductive procedures and other events affecting pregnancy and fertility.
Minnesota
The governor signed front-line worker payments into law. This allows employees in certain sectors to apply for a Frontline Worker Pay bonus until July 22. Learn more here.
Vermont
Effective since May 24, House Bill 477 redefines “alleged victim” to clarify which employees may take crime victims’ leave to attend a related criminal hearing. This also expands the bill’s scope to include family members of an alleged victim of a violent crime to attend a related criminal proceeding.
Virginia
Effective July 1, the state will use the Fair Labor Standards Act instead of the Virginia Overtime Act.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided herein does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional legal, tax, accounting or other professional advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a professional adviser who has been provided with all pertinent facts relevant to your particular situation and for your particular state(s) of operation.
