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Quick Hits Spain published its draft Royal Decree on 4 August 2026, and Portugal published its draft proposal on 5 August 2026. Consultation for both drafts closed recently—24 August for Spain and 25 August for Portugal. Further legislation is expected to provide greater clarity on unaddressed provisions. Despite being published within days of each other, the approaches taken by the two governments vary considerably. Both drafts have been open for…

Quick Hits In Hillsborough County v. Giambrone, a Florida appellate court overturned a lower court’s unprecedented ruling that required a county to accommodate a firefighter-paramedic’s off-duty medical marijuana use after a positive random drug test. The court emphasized that the language in the parties’ collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and drug-free workplace policies must be carefully considered. The court also held that Florida’s medical marijuana framework does not: 1) create a…

Quick Hits On July 9, 2026, Governor Mike Kehoe signed a law extending legal protections under USERRA to Missouri National Guard members and Missouri employees of other states’ National Guards. The law extends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to Missouri National Guard members and Missouri employees of other states’ National Guards called to active state duty for more than thirty consecutive days. National Guard members who are public employees…

Quick Hits DHS is proposing a $103,265 fee for every new fiscal year (FY) 2028 H-1B cap-subject petition on top of all existing fees. The fee would apply to all cap-subject employers, regardless of size. The fee would not apply to cap-exempt petitions (i.e., those filed by universities, nonprofit research organizations, and government research organizations) or to petitions to extend or amend existing H-1B status or to change an existing…

Quick Hits A California appellate court reinstated a $13.1 million jury verdict in a gender discrimination case, rejecting trial court limits on noneconomic damages. The court found the trial court had erroneously found a cap on damages for noneconomic damages, even when limiting claims to “usual” distress. The court further held that witnesses are competent to testify to their own retirement plans to support future economic damages. In Glick v.…

Quick Hits OFCCP finalized three rules rescinding and revising federal contractors’ and subcontractors’ affirmative action obligations following the 2025 revocation of EO 11246. The final rules significantly modify obligations under Section 503 by rescinding disability self-identification invitations and the 7 percent utilization goal, rescinding OFCCP’s race- and sex-based regulations, and making technical amendments to the VEVRAA regulations. The rules have varying effective dates, which means that contractors will need to…

Quick Hits San Francisco recently amended its Fair Chance Ordinance to prohibit employers from making adverse employment decisions based on out-of-state criminal convictions or arrests for abortion, miscarriage, gender-affirming care, and drag performances. If an employer sends notice to a candidate or employee regarding an intent to take adverse action based upon a criminal history and the candidate or employee timely responds, the employer must send a reply within fourteen…

Quick Hits Maryland’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance will soon take effect, with contributions commencing on January 1, 2027, and benefits starting no later than January 3, 2028. The MDOL’s FAMLI Division has released new guidance documents covering employer registration, equivalent private insurance plan (EPIP) options, and quarterly wage and hour reporting to help businesses prepare. Employers considering an EPIP must file a declaration of intent (DOI) between September 1…

Quick Hits Employers that wish to pursue an EPIP rather than participate in the FAMLI state plan must file a DOI between September 1 and November 15, 2026, in order to be exempt from making contributions to the state plan during the 2027 calendar year seeding period. The DOI process requires employer registration through the FAMLI Portal, a consultation with and attestation from a licensed insurance agent, and completion of…

The bill was introduced in February 2026 by Assembly Member Liz Ortega (D–District 20), chair of the California State Assembly’s Committee on Labor and Employment, with Assembly Members Ash Kalra (D–District 25) and Alex Lee (D–District 24) signing on as coauthors. As introduced, the bill would have applied statewide, expanding the role of local district attorneys in investigating serious workplace injuries and fatalities across California. Since then, the bill has…

Quick Hits On August 14, 2026, Cal/OSHA released an updated draft of its heat illness regulations that aligns both the indoor and outdoor regulations to be more consistent in language and terminology. The draft outdoor regulation removes the exception which allowed industries other than agriculture, construction, landscaping, oil and gas extraction, and some transportation companies to be exempt from the high-heat procedures. The deadline for submitting comments is September 21,…