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Quick Hits Several new state laws that took effect January 1, 2026, significantly impact employer compliance in areas such as wage and hour regulations, leave administration, and workplace notices, requiring multistate employers to update policies and procedures accordingly. Notable changes include California’s expansion of leave protections for crime victims and the introduction of the mini-WARN Act, Illinois’s new human rights protections for artificial intelligence, and Pennsylvania’s CROWN Act. California Crime…

Quick Hits Registered mail is not prima facie evidence of receipt of a letter, the Hamburg Regional Labor Court recently ruled. After renewed illness, employers must enable employees to undergo a workplace integration management program. The Case—Reintegration of an Employee on Long-term Sick Leave The dispute concerned the validity of a dismissal due to illness. The employer had sent the frequently ill employee an invitation to participate in the employer’s…

Quick Hits Colorado lawmakers amended the FAMLI program to provide an additional twelve weeks of paid leave for employees to care for a child in neonatal intensive care. The premium payments for FAMLI will decrease to 0.88 percent of a worker’s wages in 2026. These changes will take effect on January 1, 2026. Under Colorado’s FAMLI program, employers started paying premiums in 2023, and employees were eligible for FAMLI leave…

Quick Hits CBP updated the Carrier Liaison Program on December 18, 2025. The new list of countries exempt from the six-month passport validity rule has been issued. Citizens of these countries need only have a passport valid for their intended period of stay in the United States. Understanding the Six-Month Passport Validity Rule The six-month passport validity rule requires visitors traveling to the United States to possess passports that are…

Quick Hits Businesses in the hospitality industry may want to ensure they are complying with state service charge laws, which often encompass both consumer and employment regulations. In 2025, several states, including California, Colorado, Florida, and Massachusetts, enacted laws regulating or prohibiting automatic service charges, emphasizing clear disclosure and transparency to protect consumers and employees. A service charge is not a tip or gratuity, and if the service charge is…

Quick Hits The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB Act), which was enacted in 2025, eliminated taxes on tips and overtime through 2028, prompting the IRS to issue guidance that underscores the importance of employer compliance with tip laws. Employers taking a tip credit under the FLSA must provide specific notice to employees about their direct wage, tip credit amount, and tip retention rules, with failure to comply potentially resulting…

Quick Hits On 18 December 2025, the European Commission announced that it expects all EU member states to complete implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive by the 7 June 2026 deadline. Employers that fail to comply with the obligations of the directive risk regulatory sanctions. The question in Parliament followed the Netherlands’s announcement that they expect delays in its implementation of the directive until January 2027. However, the EC…

Quick Hits Under the UK Employment Rights Act, employers may introduce equality action plans on a voluntary basis in April 2026. From 1 January 2027, changes to gender pay gap reporting requirements for employers with 250 or more employees will make equality action plans mandatory. Plans must include measures to address gender pay gaps and details of the support offered to employees during menopause. Employers are not currently obligated to…

Quick Hits DHS finalized a rule to replace the random H-1B selection process with a weighted, wage-level based system, effective February 27, 2026. The new rule prioritizes higher-paid foreign workers by giving them a greater chance of selection in the H-1B cap lottery, while still allowing entry-level workers to participate. USCIS will announce H-1B lottery registration dates at least thirty days in advance, and employers must provide accurate wage and…

Quick Hits New York’s “Trapped at Work Act” bans “stay or pay” agreements that require repayment of training costs if employees leave employment. The law applies to all workers, including employees and independent contractors, classifying repayment agreements for training costs as unconscionable and unenforceable. Employers may want to revise documents and agreements to ensure compliance, particularly regarding tuition assistance and training distinctions. The “Trapped at Work Act” (Article 37, N.Y.…

Quick Hits On December 15, 2025, New Jersey issued rules codifying disparate impact liability under the Law Against Discrimination (LAD) across various sectors, including employment, by clarifying that neutral practices with a disproportionately negative effect on protected classes could violate the law unless proven necessary for a legitimate business interest. The rules clarify a burden-shifting framework for disparate impact claims, requiring complainants to demonstrate impact and employers to provide empirical…

Quick Hits Rather than simply amending the Labour Code, the Polish government plans to implement EU Pay Transparency Directive 2023/970 in a standalone piece of legislation. Employers will be obliged to go through a process of job evaluation, consisting of four core basic criteria. The plan will also see the introduction of a “Job Evaluation Tool.” A failure to comply with the changes may result in a fine of up…

Quick Hits The IRS recently declared it will not enforce tax and reporting requirements for state paid family and medical leave (PFML) benefits in 2026. Thirteen states and Washington, D.C., have enacted state-run paid family and medical leave programs. Under Revenue Ruling 2025-4, amounts paid to an employee under a state’s PFML program should be included in an employee’s gross income and are wages for federal employment tax purposes. However,…

Quick Hits The enhanced premium tax credits for individual health insurance from state-run exchanges or the federal exchange under the ACA will likely expire as Congress adjourns for the rest of the year without passing a measure to extend them. Employee demand for employer-sponsored health benefits will likely surge in 2026 if ACA premiums become unaffordable. It is unclear if Congress will pass a bill to revive the subsidies in…

Quick Hits On December 16, 2025, President Trump issued a proclamation restricting the entry of foreign nationals from select countries, effective January 1, 2026, citing national security and public safety concerns. The proclamation affects nationals of newly designated countries who are outside the United States on January 1, 2026, and do not possess a valid visa, although it does not prohibit the issuance of new visa stamps. Exceptions to the…

Quick Hits USCIS will continue to accept adjustment of status filings based on the Dates for Filing Chart in January 2026. EB-1 applicants born in India and China will advance on final action dates and dates for filing. Most EB-2 applicants will advance on final action dates and dates for filing. EB-3 shows little movement with respect to final action dates and dates for filing. EB-5 Unreserved applicants born in…

Quick Hits The Illinois Department of Human Rights unveiled draft rules for implementing Illinois’s new ban on AI discrimination in employment, clarifying potential notice and recordkeeping obligations for employers regarding their use of AI. The draft rules would apply broadly to all employers under the Illinois antidiscrimination law and would necessitate notice whenever AI is involved in covered employment decisions, regardless of whether it leads to unlawful discrimination. Under the…