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Quick Hits A Massachusetts federal court extended a temporary restraining order halting new data reporting requirements for state colleges and universities until April 6, 2026, while considering a preliminary injunction. Seventeen states claim the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) survey imposes unlawful burdens and violates administrative laws by politicizing data collection. The federal government argued that states will not face irreparable harm from the reporting deadline and asserted that…

Quick Hits On March 18, 2026, the State Department added twelve countries to the visa bond program: Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, and Tunisia. The visa bond program now includes a total of fifty countries. The State Department expanded its list of designated ports of entry to include all commercial airports, including CBP preclearance locations. This measure is aimed at reducing visa…

Quick Hits Utah has enacted H.B. 380 to address and reduce workplace violence in healthcare, requiring hospitals to implement comprehensive reporting systems for such incidents. The law, which takes effect on May 6, 2026, mandates detailed tracking of workplace violence incidents, protection for employees reporting these incidents, and annual reporting of data to the state health department. The collected data is intended to drive improvements in prevention strategies, such as…

Quick Hits On March 23, 2026, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed a bill into law that will ban noncompete agreements for employees and independent contractors. The law will declare all current employment-based and independent contractor-based “noncompetition agreements” to be void and unenforceable, and will prohibit employers from enforcing them. The law will prohibit entering into new employment-based and independent contractor-based noncompetition covenants. The ban will not apply to certain other…

Quick Hits Voluntary equality action plans will be introduced in the UK in April 2026. Mandatory publication is expected from spring 2027, subject to secondary legislation. Equality plans will need to address both the gender pay gap and menopause support. The guidance emphasises practical, evidence-based action. Employers may want to use the voluntary period to prepare ahead of the mandatory requirements. From April 2026, employers with 250 or more employees…

On November 21, 2025, the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Five, issued a published decision in Lorenzo v. San Francisco Zen Center addressing the scope of the ministerial exception under the First Amendment in the context of wage-and-hour claims brought by a former staff member against the San Francisco Zen Center, a Zen Buddhist training center. The court reversed summary judgment in favor of the defendants, holding…

Quick Hits The Trump administration released an AI policy framework, largely reiterating the administration’s previously stated policy goals to promote AI. In particular, the framework urges Congress to establish preemption of state and local regulations to promote innovation. The likelihood of these policy goals being fully implemented is uncertain at this time. The “National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence” provides broad, overarching legislative recommendations for Congress for governing the development…

Quick Hits The DOL’s new website for the Center for Faith includes resources on preventing workplace religious discrimination and how faith organizations can access federal grants. The website is part of the Trump administration’s focus on addressing religious bias in the workplace. Federal antidiscrimination laws protect all types of religious belief, as well as atheism. The DOL established the Center for Faith in response to an executive order in 2025.…

Quick Hits On March 17, 2026, Washington Governor Ferguson signed legislation that amends the definition of “employers” that are required to comply with the state’s mini-WARN law to exclude Native American tribes. The bill also changes the notices that must contain the names and addresses of employees affected by layoffs. The amended mini-WARN Act also stops disclosure under the Public Records Act of the names and addresses of affected employees.…

Quick Hits Artificial intelligence, facial recognition systems, and body cameras on security guards are some of the newer methods retailers are using to prevent crime in stores. Recording audio without consent may be prohibited under federal and state laws. Employees and customers have certain privacy rights where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. Retailers are under pressure to balance security concerns, such as preventing theft, with the privacy rights…