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Quick Hits In 2025, Washington State passed thirty-nine new laws impacting all aspects of employment. State agencies increased and expanded enforcement tools and activity in 2025. Heading into 2026, employers may want to review their policies and practices for compliance as well as prepare for an increase in litigation and administrative enforcement. New Employment Laws Washington’s 2025 legislative session had a renewed focus on labor and employment that largely expanded…

Quick Hits California employers face steep penalties for failing to provide compliant rest breaks, including additional pay, potential wage statement violations, waiting time penalties, and attorneys’ fees. The high penalties reflect the consensus among the legislature, courts, and labor commissioner that rest breaks are essential for employee health, safety, and productivity, benefiting both employees and employers. Employers may want to ensure they adopt clear policies, ensure breaks are duty-free, accurately…

Quick Hits Under the new California “Workplace Know Your Rights Act,” employers must provide a stand-alone written notice to employees by February 1, 2026, detailing workers’ compensation, immigration-related protections, union organizing rights, and other key legal rights. The California labor commissioner has provided a template notice in English and Spanish, with plans to offer additional translations in several other languages soon. Employers must distribute the notice to current employees by…

Quick Hits The Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main (Oberlandesgericht – OLG) recently held that termination of a managing director without notice is effective if the director granted inadmissible salary benefits to works council members outside the department. The managing director’s claims to bonuses and remuneration are valid until termination takes effect. The Case The employee had worked as a managing director of a municipal public transportation company since…

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…