The Biggest News in State Legislature From Alabama to West Virgin

State and local legislatures were active throughout the first quarter of 2026 in passing employment laws and ordinances concerning topics such as youth employment, workplace electronic monitoring, and noncompete agreements, to name a few.

As always, our team will continue to monitor these and other state employment law developments. If you have questions or need guidance, please reach out to your SPB contact for more information or assistance with compliance.

Alabama

• Alabama Clarifies Child Labor Law Penalties – HB 568 clarifies a previously ambiguous aspect of the state’s child labor law by specifying that the $50 penalty for employing a minor between 14 and 17 years of age without proper certification applies on a per-minor basis.

Colorado

• Colorado AI Policy Workgroup Introduces Revised Policy Framework – On March 17, 2026, the Colorado AI Policy Work Group proposed a new AI legal framework to replace the Colorado Concerning Consumer Protections in Interactions with AI Systems (“CAIA”). As previously reported here, the CAIA, which is slated to take effect on June 30, 2026, applies to “developers” (i.e., creators) and “deployers” (i.e., users) of AI systems classified as “high risk” under the law, which includes AI systems that assist in making employment decisions. If adopted, the proposal would replace many of CAIA’s more burdensome obligations with a narrower, transparency-focused approach. Instead of requiring bias audits, risk impact assessments, and detailed risk reporting, the proposed framework centers on notice and recordkeeping requirements. Developers would be required to provide information about how their systems function and are used, while deployers, including employers, would need to notify applicants and employees of AI use, explain adverse AI-assisted decisions, and allow individuals to request a meaningful human review of such decisions. The proposal also narrows when obligations are triggered, limiting them to situations where AI materially influences decisions, rather than merely assisting in it. If this proposal becomes law, the effective date would shift to January 1, 2027.

Florida

• Florida Prohibits Local Jurisdictions From Taking DEI Actions – Effective January 1, 2027, SB 11345 prohibits counties and municipalities from funding, promoting, or taking official action related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The law broadly covers “any effort” to influence workforce composition based on race, color, sex, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation; provide preferential treatment on those bases; or implement training or other initiatives designed with reference to those characteristics. The law does not prohibit the use of equal opportunity or equal employment opportunity materials designed to inform individuals of the prohibition against discrimination under federal or state antidiscrimination laws. The law also requires recipients of county or municipal contracts or grants to certify, as a condition of award, that they do not and will not use public funds for DEI-related initiatives.

Indiana

• Indiana Repeals Youth Employment Reporting Requirements – Effective July 1, 2026, HB 1302 repeals provisions of Indiana’s child labor law requiring employers to register with the Department of Labor if they hired or employed at least five minors (age 14 to 17) and report any new or changed information related to those employees to the Department monthly.
• Indiana Requires Reasonable Diligence to Determine Employee Eligibility for Hire – Effective July 1, 2026, Senate Bill 76 makes it unlawful for Indiana employers to knowingly or intentionally recruit, hire, or continue to employ an unauthorized alien in Indiana. However, the law provides a safe harbor for employers who engaged in reasonable diligence to confirm the work eligibility of an individual. It defines reasonable diligence to include use of E-Verify or in another “manner that is consistent with industry standard best practices.”

Kentucky

• Kentucky Amends Definition of Tipped Employees – Effective April 10, 2026, HB 185 amends Kentucky’s definition of tipped employees to require that they perform work that either directly supports or is itself the service for which a customer would tip, or directly supports a services that involves customer interaction or is performed in the customer’s line of sight.
• Kentucky Expands Trespass Law to Cover Threatening Conduct in Workplaces  – Effective July 15, 2026, HB 521 makes it a second-degree criminal trespass for an individual to enter or remain in a workplace and engage in threatening behavior (meaning intentional behavior that puts another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury) after receiving verbal or written no-trespass notice.

Maine

• Maine Regulates Workplace Electronic Monitoring – On January 11, 2026, an Act to Regulate Employer Surveillance to Protect Workers took effect in Maine. The Act requires all employers to notify employees and prospective employees of any employer surveillance use. Employers who do not currently use employer surveillance must notify employees before beginning any surveillance. Prospective employees must be informed that the employer engages in employer surveillance during the interview process. Under the law, “employer surveillance” means an employer’s monitoring of an employee through the use of an electronic device or system. The law does not apply to an employer’s use of surveillance cameras for security or safety purposes or the use of GPS tracking or other safety devices on employer-owned vehicles operated by employees.
• Maine Revises Workplace Drug Testing Framework – Effective July 15, 2026, L.D. 2110 makes several changes to Maine’s drug testing framework. Key updates include replacing the “probable cause” standard with a “reasonable suspicion” standard requiring observable signs of impairment; introducing “criteria-based” testing tied to defined triggering events, such as an employment anniversary or assignment to a specific worksite; requiring Medical Review Officer oversight, including review of valid prescriptions and medical cannabis use; prohibiting employer access to unconfirmed non-negative results for current employees; capping return-to-duty testing at one unannounced test; reducing the rehabilitation window after a first positive test result from six months to twelve weeks while shifting costs to the employee; and requiring employers to notify the Maine DOL before discontinuing a drug testing program.

Mississippi

• Mississippi Places Union-Related Conditions on Eligibility for Economic Development Incentives – SB 2202, signed into law on March 13 and effective July 1, requires employers who accept state economic development incentives to comply with specified labor-related requirements, including but not limited to prohibiting voluntary union recognition based on authorization cards and instead requiring a secret-ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board.

New Jersey

• New Jersey Expands Labor Protections to Cannabis Employees – Assembly Bill 4182, effective May 12, 2026, requires cannabis employers to bargain in good faith, permit greater union access to employees, and submit to mediation and binding arbitration if a first contract is not reached within prescribed timelines. The law also allows unions to obtain certification through a “Majority Support Petition” based on authorization cards rather than a secret-ballot election, and expands enforcement through the New Jersey State Board of Mediation and a new Division of Private Employment Dispute Settlement.
•  New Jersey Expands New-Hire Reporting Requirements – Effective January 20, 2026, Assembly Bill 4750 expands New Jersey’s new-hire reporting requirements to include a broader range of entities, including gig economy or platform-based businesses, e.g., ride-sharing and delivery services.
• New Jersey Issues Guidance on Language-Based Discrimination – In January 2026, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and the Division on Civil Rights released guidance stating that employers can be found to have violated the state’s civil rights law if (i) a worker faces discrimination or harassment tied to their language or accent and (ii) can establish that the alleged discrimination or harassment was tied to one or more protected characteristics under state law. Since language is not a protected characteristic under state law, the complainant must show the alleged discrimination was also related to a protected characteristic, e.g., national origin, ancestry, nationality, race, and/or religion.
• New Jersey Expands Antidiscrimination Law to Cover Military Service – S. 3800 amends New Jersey’s antidiscrimination law to expressly cover individuals who are serving or have served in the Armed Forces of the United States. The amendments also make it an unlawful employment practice to deny reemployment to employees who take leave for military service.
• New Jersey Revises Family Leave Law to Expand Definition of Employer – Effective July 17, 2026, New Jersey will expand employee eligibility under the state’s Family Leave Act by reducing work history minimums from 12 to three months’ service and 1,000 to 250 base hours in the 12 months prior to leave. In addition, employees who use Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) or Family Leave Insurance (FLI) must be reinstated to their previous or equivalent position upon the expiration of the leave period. Finally, the amendments clarify that employees can choose the order in which to apply TDI, FLI, or paid sick leave benefits but may not use more than one type of paid leave simultaneously.
• New Jersey Expands Mandatory Participation in State Retirement Savings Program – A. 5358, effective April 21, 2026, requires all New Jersey employers who do not offer a qualified retirement plan to employees to participate in the New Jersey Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program. Previously, only employers with 26 or more employees who did not offer a qualified retirement plan were required to participate in the program.

New York

• New York Requires Opioid Antagonists in Workplace First Aid Kits – Under A. 2725, effective June 10, 2026, New York employers who are covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) will be required to include an opioid antagonist in their first aid supplies, which must be readily available to employees.

Oklahoma

• Oklahoma Revises Drug Testing Law Requirements – Under HB 3127, effective November 1, 2026, employers may take adverse action against applicants or employees solely on the basis of a marijuana-positive drug test if such action is taken pursuant to a written drug testing policy that complies with Oklahoma’s Standards for Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Act. The bill also amends the definition of “safety-sensitive position” to explicitly include positions involving certain job duties and requires such positions to have a zero-tolerance drug and alcohol standard, regardless of employer policy. The specified job duties include firefighting, work with hazardous or flammable materials, utilities work, carrying a firearm, operating or repairing machinery and equipment, dispensing pharmaceuticals, and direct patient or child care.

Oregon

• Portland, OR Expands Protected Classes – Ordinance 192153 amends the Portland City Code to broaden protected categories. It expands “sexual orientation” to cover a person’s actual or perceived romantic, physical or sexual attraction to others, including having no attraction. The amendments also prohibit discrimination based on a person’s “family or relationship structure,” meaning whether and how someone is in a consensual intimate relationship, including non-monogamous relationships and multi-partner families.
• Oregon Protects Employees Who Update Work Authorization Documents – Effective June 5, 2026, HB 4111 makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discharge or in any manner discriminate, retaliate or otherwise take adverse action against an employee because the employee updates or attempts to update the employee’s personal information based on a lawful change in the employee’s federal employment authorization documentation.

South Dakota

• South Dakota Prohibits Non-Competes for Community Service Providers – Effective July 1, 2026, SB 153 prohibits non-competes in employment contracts with individuals who provide services to persons with developmental disabilities. The law does not prohibit provisions prohibiting post-employment solicitation of current patients or clients of the former employer. 

Tennessee

• Tennessee Preempts Local Employment Laws – SB 674, effective March 6, 2026, prohibits local governments from adopting or enforcing any law, ordinance, or policy that imposes employment terms or conditions that exceed or conflict with state or federal law. As a result, local governments may no longer enact measures, such as paid sick leave requirements, where no comparable obligation exists under Tennessee or federal law.
• Tennessee Amends Employment Eligibility Law – Effective January 1, 2027, HB 1194 expands the definition of “private employer” to include any employer required to report wages for at least one employee (down from six), significantly broadening coverage. It maintains existing work authorization requirements (including E-Verify for larger employers) but clarifies penalties: business licenses must be suspended for first and second violations until cured and permanently revoked for a third or subsequent violation.
• Tennessee Introduces Organ Donor Leave  – Effective April 23, 2026, SB 579 provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to recover from a living organ donation. The law adopts the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) definition of eligibility, requiring 12 months of service, 1,250 hours worked in the preceding 12 months, and employment at a worksite where the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles. The law applies to employers with at least one employee in Tennessee.

Utah

• Utah Clarifies Sexual Assault Definition for Employment Contract Provisions – HB 90 clarifies that Utah’s definition of sexual assault as it relates to the enforceability of nondisclosure and non-disparagement clauses in employment contracts includes the following criminal conduct: enticing a minor, sexual battery, lewdness, and lewdness involving a child.
• Utah Employers Must Pay for Required Medical Examinations –  Effective May 6, 2026, HB 130 requires employers to cover the costs of required medical examinations and prohibits requiring employees to use leave to attend them. “Medical examinations” include drug tests and any physical examinations required as a condition of pre-employment, employment, or continued employment, but excludes appointments related to medical leave for a non-work-related injury or illness.
• Utah Requires Hospital Workplace Violence Reporting – Under HB 380, hospitals are required to establish a comprehensive workplace violence incident reporting system that complies with statutory requirements as to what data must be collected, notice requirements for employees, and guidelines on actual reporting, by November 1, 2026.

Virginia

• Virginia Limits to Enforceability of Noncompete Agreements – Under SB 170, noncompete and customer and employee non-solicitation agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2026 will be unenforceable against an employee whose employment is terminated without cause, unless the agreement provides for payment of severance or other compensation. Violations can result in civil penalties of $10,000 per violation, and employees can bring a civil suit against an employer attempting to enforce an invalid agreement.
• Virginia Expands Employer Coverage Under Human Rights Act – Effective July 1, 2026, SB 637 amends the Virginia Human Rights Act to cover employers of 5 or more employees (previously 15). The bill also extends the timeframe for filing a complaint alleging unlawful discrimination from 300 days to two years.
• Virginia Enacts Protections for Volunteer Emergency Responders – Effective July 1, 2026, SB 100 prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for failing to report for work due to serving as a voluntary emergency responder in certain circumstances. An employer is not required to pay employees for time missed due to that service. Employees may choose to use accrued vacation or sick leave to cover otherwise unpaid time off for covered purposes, but the employer cannot require them to do so. Employees alleging a violation can bring a civil action seeking injunctive relief, reinstatement, and compensation for lost wages, benefits, and other remuneration.
• Virginia Passes Pay Transparency Law and Prohibits Salary History Inquiries – Effective July 1, 2026, SB 215 prohibits employers from seeking applicants’ wage or salary history or relying on such information when considering the applicant for employment. Employers must also include the wage, salary, or the expected wage or salary range in each external and internal job posting. The law also prohibits refusing to interview, hire, or otherwise discriminating against an applicant or employee for not providing wage or salary history or requesting a wage or salary range for a posted position.
• Virginia Regulates Storage of Handguns In Vehicles – Effective July 1, 2026, SB 496 prohibits the storage of handguns in unattended vehicles or trunks unless it is placed out of plain view in a locked hard-sided container, such as a locked glove compartment.
• Virginia Creates Uniform Penalty for Wage & Hour Violations – Effective July 1, 2026, HB 238 creates a uniform penalty for employer violations of minimum wage, overtime, employee classification, or prevailing wage laws, requiring payment of all unpaid wages, an equal amount as liquidated damages, 8% annual interest on the amount owed, and reasonable attorneys’ fees.

Washington

• Washington Amends Youth Employment Laws – Beginning July 1, 2026, House Bills 1121 and 1164 expand scheduling flexibility and increase workplace safety requirements for certain minors. Under the laws, 16- and 17-year-olds enrolled in approved college or career and technical education programs may work the same hours during the school year as they are permitted to work during school breaks. The laws also introduce new compliance and safety requirements for employers, including safety consultations with the state labor department, and they increase penalties for youth-employment violations.
• Washington Expands Potential Penalties for Wage & Hour Violations – Effective June 11, 2026, Washington’s House Bill 2479 allows the Department of Labor & Industries to expand wage complaint investigations beyond the initial complaint, which could lead to broader, company-wide audits. The law also broadens the definition of willfulness and removes the $20,000 cap on penalties for willful wage violations. 
• Washington Moves to Expand Jurisdiction Over Private-Sector Labor Disputes– Washington enacted Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2471 on March 26, 2026, allowing the state’s labor board to step in and regulate labor relations, including union recognition, collective bargaining, and litigation of unfair labor practice charges, for workers not covered by federal labor law. As reported on here, here, and here, similar state laws have been swiftly challenged by the NLRB, with federal courts enjoining the enforcement of similar laws in California and New York. The Washington law is expected to face similar challenges.
• Washington State Bans Noncompete Agreements – Effective June 30, 2027, HB 1155 prohibits employers from entering into or enforcing “noncompetition covenants” with employees in Washington. Employers must also make reasonable efforts to provide written notice to all current and former workers with noncompetes that those covenants are void and unenforceable by October 1, 2027. It includes an exception for certain agreements to repay out-of-pocket educational expenses and a narrow exception for non-solicitation agreements. Previously, Washington law only prohibited noncompetes entered into with employees making less than twice the state minimum hourly wage.
• Washington Revises Mass Layoff Notification Law – Under SB 6106, Washington employers are no longer required to include employee names and addresses in mass layoff notices provided to affected employees. Instead, that information must be provided only to the state or, where applicable, the bargaining representative.
• Washington Clarifies Pregnancy Accommodations Law – Under SB 6014, effective January 1, 2027, employers may not request medical certification for pregnancy accommodations that limit lifting over 17 pounds.
• Washington Expands Military Leave Law – SB 5420 expands the definition of “uniformed services” under the state’s military leave law to include the Commissioned Officer Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It also clarifies that the seniority rights for reinstated employees apply to a period of service in any uniformed service. 
• Washington Requires Notifications of I-9 Deficiencies – Under HB 2105, effective June 11, 2026, if the results of an I-9 inspection find deficiencies in an employee’s I-9, the employer must notify the employee and describe the deficiencies, state the time period for correcting any potential deficiencies, provide options for times and dates for a meeting to correct the deficiencies, and inform the worker that they have the right to representation during any meeting scheduled with the employer.

West Virginia

• West Virginia Clarifies Child Labor Law – HB 4005 revises the state’s child labor law to clarify the prohibited employment categories for minors under age 18. The bill aligns West Virginia’s child labor laws more closely with federal standards by eliminating many state-specific restrictions and tying permissible work for minors to U.S. Department of Labor rules. It expands opportunities for 16- and 17-year-olds, allowing broader employment and certain higher-risk roles through approved training or apprenticeship programs, while maintaining core prohibitions (e.g., work in bars).