July 2026 State & Federal Compliance Updates

July brings a fresh wave of state and federal compliance updates. Nextep has the complete rundown to keep your business on track. Get started using these quick links:

Part 1: Federal Compliance Spotlight: New EEOC National Enforcement Plan

On June 4, 2026, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted to replace its previous Strategic Enforcement Plan with a new National Enforcement Plan (NEP). This updated playbook reshapes federal anti-discrimination enforcement parameters to align with administration objectives and executive orders.

The Core Policy Shift: Disparate Treatment vs. Disparate Impact

The new federal baseline shifts resources heavily toward intentional bias rather than systemic statistical patterns.

• Disparate Treatment Prioritized: The EEOC is heavily prioritizing cases involving explicit or intentional discrimination.
• Disparate Impact De-emphasized: The agency is eliminating the use of disparate impact liability theories in investigations “to the maximum degree possible” and dropping litigation that relies on these claims. This adjustment directly aligns with Executive Order initiatives aimed at limiting disparate impact liability.
• Individual Merit Focus: The enforcement model emphasizes treating every worker as an individual under civil rights law, ensuring evenhanded protections across all racial, ethnic, and national-origin groups and sexes.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Programs Under Scrutiny

The NEP specifically targets policies and practices labeled as diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives if they cross the line into intentional discrimination. The agency will explicitly audit and scrutinize the following:

• Race- or sex-based quotas, including any “aspirational” targets that function as quotas.
• Mandated diverse slate policies for open roles.
• Structured diverse hiring panel protocols.
• Diversity statements are required of job candidates during recruitment.
• Corporate executive or management compensation tied directly to demographic diversity goals.
• Employee race or sex data is shared with hiring managers, the public, or other non-HR personnel.

Additional Federal Enforcement Targets

• Foreign National Worker Hiring Preferences: The EEOC will target programs, policies, or practices that give hiring preferences to guest worker visa holders or PERM applicants over domestic workers.
• Testing Judicial Boundaries: The agency is seeking cases to clarify recent Supreme Court precedents, particularly regarding “majority-group” bias claims, sex-discrimination claims involving lateral job transfers, voluntary affirmative action boundaries, and Title VII religious accommodations.
• Gender Identity & Bostock Parameters: Enforcement efforts will focus on clarifying the boundaries of Bostock v. Clayton County, specifically regarding an employee’s right to single-sex intimate spaces, an employer’s right to provide them, and the right of employers/employees to express the binary nature of sex.
• Statutory Horizons: The agency will focus on defining the scope of liability under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and assessing constitutional limits on liability for religious employers.
• Regulatory Rollbacks: The EEOC has recently proposed measures to scrap current employer safe harbors for voluntary affirmative action plans and eliminate standard EEO-1 reporting.

The EEOC’s 5-Step Compliance Strategy for Employers

To navigate this shifting federal landscape, businesses should deploy the following framework in consultation with counsel:

1. Review Workplace Policies: Ensure anti-discrimination rules apply equally to all employees, protecting every demographic group and both sexes evenhandedly.
2. Focus on Consistency and Transparency: Use clear, qualification-based standards for major employment adjustments—such as promotions, demotions, and transfers—and implement legal reviews to verify decisions are free of demographic preferences.
3. Train Personnel: Train HR practitioners and management on unbiased decision-making structures, reinforcing equal opportunity compliance for all workers.
4. Monitor State Law Nuances: While the federal government is moving away from disparate impact claims, state and local jurisdictions continue to pursue them. Audit neutral policies to ensure they remain compliant with localized regulations.
5. Stay Updated: Subscribe to regulatory alert systems to monitor rapid guidance changes from federal and state agencies.

Additional Info: Fisher Phillips Article

Part 2: Mid-Year Minimum Wage & Industry Tiers (Effective July 1, 2026)

State & District Level Rates

Oregon Mobility Rule 

Employers with a fixed location must pay the regional rate applicable to that location if an employee works on-site at least 50% of the pay period. If they work at the fixed location for less than 50% of the period, they must be paid the rate matching the region where the actual work was performed.

California Healthcare Industry Minimum Wage Tiers

Covered healthcare facilities in California must implement highly specific mandatory wage minimums based on their tier structure:

• Large Hospitals / Integrated Health Systems (≥ 10,000 FTEs): $25.00 / hour
• Dialysis Clinics: $25.00 / hour
• Facilities Operated by Large Counties: $25.00 / hour
• Facilities Operated by Medium-Sized Counties: $23.00 / hour
• Community, Rural Health, or Urgent Care Clinics: $22.00 / hour
• Safety Net Hospitals & Small County Facilities: $19.28 / hour
• All Other Covered Healthcare Facilities: $23.00 / hour

Local & Municipal Minimum Wage Adjustments

The following local jurisdictions are increasing their minimum wages effective July 1, 2026

*Chicago Compliance Note: Covered employers must visibly display an updated minimum wage poster and distribute an individual notice alongside an official paycheck issued within 30 days of July 1, 2026. Incoming new hires must receive this individual disclosure with their very first paycheck.

Part 3: State-by-State Statutory & Regulatory Updates

Arkansas

Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (July 1, 2026): Enacted via HB 1717 (Act 952), Arkansas establishes explicit online privacy protections split across two distinct minor age groups.

• Scope of Coverage: Applies to for-profit entities operating websites, online services, online applications, or mobile apps that are explicitly directed toward children (12 years of age or younger) or teens (ages 13–16 / younger than 17), or where the business has actual knowledge that it is actively collecting minor personal information.
• Mandated Notice and Consent: Covered operators must provide a clear, conspicuous notice outlining what data is collected, the purpose of processing, and their third-party disclosure practices.
• For Children (12 years of age or younger): Operators must secure verifiable parental consent before collecting or processing any personal data.
• For Teens (Ages 13 to 16): Consent may be given directly by the teenager or by their parent.
• Data Restrictions: The law completely prohibits targeting advertisements to minors utilizing their personal data and restricts data collection to only what is strictly necessary to perform the requested service.
• Enforcement: Exclusive enforcement power rests with the Arkansas Attorney General; the statute does not grant individuals a private right of action.

Connecticut

• Warehouse Performance Standards Act (July 1, 2026): The state establishes new operational, notice, and data-tracking requirements for logistics and warehouse distribution center operators. 
• Scope of Coverage: Applies to employers maintaining 250 or more total employees at a single warehouse distribution center, or 1,000 or more employees collectively across multiple in-state centers.
• Written Quota Notices: By August 1, 2026, covered employers must deliver a detailed written description of each performance standard or quota to which an employee is subject, including potential disciplinary actions for failing to meet them.
• Unlawful Metrics: Employers are prohibited from enforcing performance standards based on time increments shorter than a standard workday or on metrics that rank workers solely against peers.
• Data Logs & Requests: “Work speed data” tracking performance must be preserved for 3 years. Current or separated employees have the right to request personal logs and aggregated peer data, which must be delivered within 10 calendar days. Adverse actions taken within 90 days of an employee’s exercise of these rights carry a rebuttable presumption of illegality.

Florida

Civil Rights Act (FCRA) Procedural Revisions (Effective July 1, 2026): Florida has tightened the procedural window governing workplace discrimination civil actions and administrative remedies.

• Strict Statutory Window: Employees asserting claims under the FCRA must officially commence civil or administrative litigation within exactly one year from the date of a Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) reasonable cause determination or an EEOC right-to-sue letter, whichever occurs earlier.

Georgia

• Disability Subminimum Wage Elimination (July 1, 2026): Under the “Dignity and Pay Act” (SB 55), Georgia is eliminating subminimum wage structures for employees with disabilities. The law strips the state Labor Commissioner’s authority to award lower-rate exemptions and restrains the utilization of federal Section 14(c) certificates.
• Transitional Timeline: From July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, employers holding grandfathered certificates may pay a transitional wage rate of at least 50% of the standard minimum wage. Beginning July 1, 2027, paying the full standard state minimum wage is completely mandatory.

Hawaii

• Family Leaves for Military Needs (July 1, 2026): Hawaii has amended its state Family Leave Law to add qualifying military exigencies as a legally permissible reason to take leave under the statute.
• Scope of Coverage: A qualifying military exigency mirrors the federal Family and Medical Leave Act rules and refers to urgent obligations relating to the active duty service of an employee’s child, spouse, reciprocal beneficiary, sibling, grandchild, or parent in the United States armed forces.

Illinois

• Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act (NICLA) (Effective June 1, 2026): This new state law mandates job-protected, unpaid leave for any employee when their child is admitted into a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
• Tiered Leave Allowances: * Employers with 16 to 50 employees: Must provide up to 10 days of unpaid leave.
  • Employers with 51 or more employees: Must provide up to 20 days of unpaid leave.
• Key Guidelines & Broad Scope:* No Tenure Barriers: Unlike FMLA, there is no minimum length of service or minimum hour requirement—all full-time and part-time workers qualify immediately upon hire.
  • FMLA Sequencing: This leave operates in addition to the federal FMLA. FMLA-eligible staff must use FMLA first; if the child is still in the NICU when FMLA is exhausted, NICLA leave kicks in. Non-FMLA-eligible staff can use NICLA leave immediately.
  • Intermittent Use: Staff can take leave continuously or intermittently (employers can enforce a minimum increment of 2-hour blocks).
  • Paid Leave Rules: Employers cannot require workers to exhaust accrued PTO or sick time before using unpaid NICLA leave, though employees may voluntarily substitute paid leave.
  • Employer Obligations: Health benefits must be maintained on the same terms during leave, and employees must be restored to their prior or equivalent position. Violations carry civil penalties up to $5,000 per affected worker.
• Chicago Pay Increases for Employees Under Fair Chance Workweek (July 1, 2026): the maximum pay for employees covered by the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance is adjusted for inflation, as required by the city code. Chicago, Illinois Code of Ordinances Sec. 6-110-020. The maximum pay increases:
  • From $62,561.90 per year to $64,945.55 per year for salaried employees; and
  • From $32.60 per hour to $33.85 per hour for hourly employees.

Indiana

• Minor Tracking Repealed (July 1, 2026): HB 1302 eliminates the requirement to register minor employees (ages 14–17) on the state portal if employing 5 or more minors. Standard child labor work hour limits still apply.
• Employment Eligibility & E-Verify (July 1, 2026): SB 76 makes it explicitly illegal under state law to recruit or employ an unauthorized alien knowingly. Employers gain a legal safe harbor if they use E-Verify or standard best-practice verification documentation.
• Unemployment Insurance Offboarding Notices (July 1, 2026): Employers face expanded administrative reporting requirements that require immediate notification to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development whenever a worker separates from employment under specific trigger conditions.

Kentucky

Workplace Trespass Protections (July 1, 2026): HB 521 creates a second-degree criminal trespass offense if an individual remains on site and engages in “threatening behavior” after being given a verbal or written “no-trespass” warning. Threatening behavior is defined as creating a reasonable apprehension in employees of physical harm.

Louisiana

Noncompete Bans for Interns and Apprentices (Effective August 1, 2026): House Bill 315 prohibits employers from entering into noncompete agreements or provisions with any intern (paid or unpaid) or apprentice.

• Carve-out: Interns and apprentices remain fully subject to an employer’s standard confidentiality, intellectual property, and data protection agreements.

Maine

• Mandatory Posting of Labor Violations (July 29, 2026):Under LD 1587, employers receiving a final notice of wage, employment, or unemployment law violations must physically display the notice in a highly visible area at the worksite. If a physical posting is structurally impossible, the notice must be delivered directly to the workforce.
  • Historical Reach: If a wage violation spans a past timeframe, the business is legally required to directly notify every current and former employee who worked during that period via mail, email, or text message.
  • What You Must Display: If your business is found to have violated state employment, wage and hour, or unemployment laws, the exact document you receive from the Director of Labor Standards is what must be physically posted or digitally distributed to your workforce.
• Pay Transparency Implementation (July 29, 2026): Authorized under LD 54 for all employers maintaining 10 or more total employees:
  • Job Postings: External and internal job listings must publish a good-faith prospective wage or salary range. Commission-only openings must explicitly state the commission structure within the posting advertisement.
  • Internal Rights: Upon a worker’s request, the employer must deliver the standard pay scale range matching their current job position.
  • Record Retention: Companies must formally document and preserve a 3-year post-termination log of each worker’s job titles and historical pay changes.
• Drug Testing Parameters Restructured (July 29, 2026): House Bill 1425 heavily alters the state Substance Abuse Testing Law. It eliminates arbitrary event-based screening (such as automatic promotion or annual anniversary screens) for general employees, restricting testing to three paths:
  • Reasonable Suspicion: Replaces the “probable cause” standard. Must rest on observable signs of impairment (behavior, appearance, speech, odor). Supervisors must document behaviors in writing and provide the statement to the worker before the test occurs.
  • Random Testing: Neutral selection frameworks where every employee has an equal probability of selection.
  • Safety-Sensitive Positions: Maintains zero-tolerance screening parameters for occupations presenting serious threats to public or coworker safety.
  • MRO Protections: Workers must be provided a formal, documented window to explain a “non-negative” lab result to a Medical Review Officer (MRO) before a confirmed positive is delivered to the employer.

• UI Returned Payment Fines (July 29, 2026): Under LD 2101, an unemployment tax payment returned unpaid (due to NSF, invalid routing, or closed accounts) triggers a mandatory fine. The penalty equals $25 or 1% of the total tax amount returned, whichever is greater.
• Healthcare Practitioner Noncompete Ban (July 29, 2026): Completely prohibits the use of noncompete covenants with licensed healthcare practitioners, including physicians, nurses, and associates. This restriction invalidates any noncompete executed, modified, or renewed on or after the effective date.
• Employer Surveillance Law (July 29, 2026): The Maine Act to Regulate Employer Surveillance to Protect Workers requires employers to:
  • Notify employees before beginning surveillance and provide written notice at least once per calendar year; and
  • Notify prospective employees during interviews that the employer engages in surveillance. 
  • The Act also prohibits employers from using audiovisual monitoring in employee residences and personal vehicles unless required for job duties.
• Lactation Break Parameters (July 1, 2026): For all employers maintaining 6 or more employees, the state mandates unpaid 30-minute expression breaks for every 3 hours of work. These breaks must be provided inside a private, clean, non-bathroom space.
• PFML Cap Adjustment (July 1, 2026): The maximum statutory weekly benefit ceiling for Paid Family and Medical Leave claims is officially capped at $1,249.12.

Minnesota

Disability Accommodation (August 1, 2026): Failing to engage in the disability accommodation interactive process is now independently unlawful—not just evidence of discrimination.

Nebraska

State Mini-WARN Act (July 18, 2026): Effective July 18, 2026, Nebraska employers with 100 or more employees must provide 90 days’ advance notice and comply with information requirements of the state version of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act before implementing a business closing or mass layoff. Notice must be provided to employees or their union and the Nebraska Department of Labor.

New Jersey

Family Leave Act (NJFLA) Expansion (July 17, 2026): Sweeping changes drastically expand employee leave access:

• Employer Coverage Threshold: Cut from 30 to 15 or more total employees company-wide. (*This threshold counts employees who meet the hours and tenure requirements for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the then current or immediately preceding calendar year.)
• Employee Eligibility: Drops from 12 months/1,000 hours to just 3 months of tenure and 250 base hours in the prior 12-month window.
• Job Protection Restoration: Grants explicit, standalone job reinstatement rights to workers away on Temporary Disability (TDI) or Family Leave Insurance (FLI) benefits.

New York

Secure Choice Retirement Mandate (July 15, 2026): Private employers operating for 2+ years with 10 to 14 NY-based employees who do not offer a qualified retirement plan must act. You must either certify an exemption or register to facilitate automatic payroll deductions (default 3% gross wage contribution, employee can opt out) into the state-managed Roth IRA. No employer monetary match is required.

• Direct Assistance: Questions can be directed via email to the Nextep 401(k) team at 401k@nextep.com.

South Dakota

Developmental Care Noncompete Ban (July 1, 2026): SB 153 declares any employment noncompete contract completely void and unenforceable if executed with direct care or support service providers for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Tennessee

• Variable Pay & Commission Timelines (Effective July 1, 2026): For any employee compensated via piece-rate or commission structures, all earned variable wages must be fully paid no later than the last day of the following calendar month. This identical deadline strictly applies to final separation paychecks following both voluntary resignations and involuntary terminations.
• Noncompete Compensation Baseline (July 1, 2026): Under House Bill 1034, Tennessee completely bans the execution, request, or enforcement of noncompete restrictions against any worker or independent contractor earning less than $70,000 annualized.
  • The Math: Compensation calculations include base pay, salaries, commissions, and non-discretionary bonuses. For hourly workers, extrapolate the floor by multiplying the base hourly rate by 40, then by 52.
  • Reasonableness Presumptions: For workers who clear the $70,000 threshold, post-employment covenants lasting two years or less are statutorily presumed reasonable; longer periods are legally presumed unreasonable.

Due to the legal complexities surrounding non-compete agreements, Nextep recommends that clients consult with employment law attorneys to update their non-compete agreements. Nextep partners with several law firms that offer discounted rates; if you would like more information, please contact your HR Business Partner.

Virginia

• Human Rights Act (VHRA) Expansion (July 1, 2026): HB 925 expands employer legal liability by extending the statute of limitations for filing administrative discrimination claims from 300 days to 2 full years from the date of the alleged act. It also provides an avenue for employees to bypass agency backlogs and initiate a private civil lawsuit exactly 180 days after their initial administrative complaint is filed. The Virginia Human Rights Act’s definition of a covered “employer” drops down from 15 employees to include all small businesses maintaining 5 or more total employees.
• Statewide Pay Transparency & Salary History Ban (July 1, 2026): Applies universally to all public and private listings with no employer size exemption:
  • The Inquiry Ban: Employers are completely barred from requesting, seeking, or relying on an applicant’s historical wage or salary history to screen fit or to establish starting pay.
  • The Posting Rule: Every internal or external job posting, transfer path, or promotion listing must clearly publish a good-faith minimum and maximum salary range.
  • 15-Day Cure Period: Features a built-in 15-business-day safe harbor. If a listing accidentally omits the pay range, the company cannot be sued or fined if the omission is corrected across all advertising venues within 15 business days of receiving written notice of the error.
• Severe Noncompete Restrictions (July 1, 2026): Post-employment covenants are restricted via two standalone bills:
  • Void Upon Termination Without Cause (SB 170): Noncompete terms are void against any employee discharged without cause, unless the employer supplies clear severance or monetary compensation that was explicitly disclosed upfront upon contract execution. This applies prospectively to agreements executed or renewed on or after July 1, 2026.
  • Total Healthcare Practitioner Ban (SB 128 / HB 627): Employers may no longer execute noncompete agreements with any licensed, registered, or certified healthcare professional. Narrow exceptions are preserved exclusively for business sales or specific relocation recruitment cost clawbacks under 5 years.

• Paystub Retention Mandate (July 1, 2026): HB 238 requires employers to maintain paper or digital records of employee pay stubs and payroll accounting for at least 3 years.
• Definition of Wages (July 1, 2026): The definition of wages under the wage payment law includes any remuneration an employer owes to an employee, including hourly wages, minimum wages, piece rates, day rates, overtime, legally required prevailing wages, commissions, tips, bonuses, and damages available due to worker misclassification.
• Volunteer Emergency Responder Leave (July 1, 2026): SB 100 prohibits employers from discharging or retaliating against an employee who misses shifts due to serving as an active volunteer emergency responder during state-declared emergencies or alarm calls. Leave is unpaid, but workers may substitute accrued PTO or vacation blocks to maintain pay continuity.
• Workplace Handgun Storage Restrictions (July 1, 2026): Employees are prohibited from storing handguns in unattended vehicles or in trunks on company grounds unless the weapons are completely locked and kept out of plain sight. Commercial property owners preserve the legal right to ban weapons completely on private property, including private parking facilities.

Washington

Stricter Fair Chance Act Background Checks (July 1, 2026): Applies to employers with 15 or more employees (smaller employers with fewer than 15 have until January 1, 2027). HB 1747 alters how criminal background histories can be handled during recruitment. Automatic criminal exclusion filters are prohibited, and early recruitment applications or interviews cannot mention criminal histories. The Mandated Workflow:

• A formal, conditional job offer must be signed and extended before any criminal background check is initiated.
• If an adult conviction is uncovered, the employer cannot automatically rescind the offer. HR must execute a documented, 6-factor assessment to substantiate a “legitimate business reason” for rejection.
• The employer must notify the applicant in writing and keep the job opening held for at least 2 business days, allowing the candidate time to provide context, corrections, or proof of rehabilitation. Violations carry civil penalties ranging up to $15,000 per violation.

West Virginia

UI Administrative Fee Increase (July 1, 2026): SB 1053 applies a new 7% administrative fee on an employer’s total unemployment-taxable wages, assessed on the 12-month payroll window ending June 30 annually.

Part 4: Employer Action Checklists

Use these compliance checklists to guide internal audits and operational updates before the mid-summer deadlines hit:

CHECKLIST: Federal Compliance & DEI Initiatives (EEOC NEP)

• Update Enforcement Frameworks: Align internal legal and HR guidance to reflect the federal shift prioritizing Disparate Treatment (intentional bias) over Disparate Impact (statistical patterns) theories in investigations.
• Qualification-Based Reviews: Implement formalized legal reviews to ensure that all promotions, demotions, and lateral job transfers are based strictly on qualification-based, demographic-blind standards.
• HR and Management Training: Conduct training for all HR practitioners and corporate managers on unbiased, individual-focused decision-making structures to maintain equal opportunity compliance.
• DEI Operational Audit: Audit corporate diversity initiatives, mentorship programs, and executive bonus metrics against the EEOC’s new National Enforcement Plan parameters to eliminate quotas, mandated diverse slates, structured diverse hiring panels, candidate diversity statements, or the sharing of employee demographic data with non-HR personnel.

CHECKLIST: Payroll & Minimum Wage Configurations

Alaska Wage Adjustments: Update payroll architectures to raise the standard base minimum wage to $14.00 per hour and increase the white-collar exempt minimum salary for Professional, Administrative, and Executive workers to at least $1,120 per week.

District of Columbia Minimum Wage: Elevate the standard base rate to $18.40 per hour across the district.

Oregon Regional Tracking & Mobility Rule: Configure systems to pay tiered regional rates ($14.55 Non-Urban, $15.55 Standard, $16.80 Portland Metro) and implement tracking software to enforce the 50% pay period mobility rule for mobile workers.

California Healthcare Wage Adjustments: Audit covered California healthcare facilities and adjust base rates to match their specific statutory tier, ranging from $19.28 up to $25.00 per hour.

Multi-State Local Minimum Wages: Reconfigure payroll architectures to reflect localized municipal minimum wage updates for all covered jurisdictions, including:

• Alameda ($17.76)
• Berkeley ($19.61)
• Emeryville ($20.34)
• Fremont ($18.05)
• Glendale (Hotel: $25.00)
• Long Beach (Hotel/Concessionaire: $26.50)
• Los Angeles City ($18.42; Airport: $25.00 + $7.65/hr health benefits or $32.65 flat; Hotel: $25.00 + $4.25/hr health benefits or $29.25 flat)
• Los Angeles County Unincorporated ($18.47)
• Malibu ($17.91)
• Milpitas ($18.50)
• Pasadena ($18.57)
• San Diego (Hotels/Amusement: $19.00; Event Centers: $21.06)
• San Francisco ($19.61)
• Santa Monica ($18.47; Hotel: $25.00)
• West Hollywood (Hotel: $20.87)
• Chicago ($17.05; Tipped: $12.96)
• Cook County Unincorporated ($15.40; Tipped: $9.25)
• Howard County Small ($16.00)
• Montgomery County (Large: $18.00; Mid: $16.50; Small: ≤ 10 EEs: $15.95)
• St. Paul (6-100 EEs: $16.37; ≤ 5 EEs: $14.25)
• Lincoln ($15.00)
• Everett ($19.77)
• Renton ($21.57)

Chicago Poster & Notice Distribution: Visibly display the updated minimum wage poster at Chicago worksites, distribute individual notice with an official paycheck within 30 days of July 1, 2026, and ensure incoming hires receive this disclosure with their first paycheck.

Chicago Fair Workweek Scheduling: Update scheduling configurations to track the new Fair Workweek inflation exemption thresholds ($64,945.55 salaried / $33.85 hourly).

Tennessee Variable Pay Systems: Align close-out payroll systems to ensure all earned variable, piece-rate, and commission wages are fully paid no later than the last day of the following calendar month for active and separated employees.

Virginia Paystub Record Retention: Update standard document destruction cycles to ensure paper or digital employee paystub records are retained for a minimum of 3 years.

West Virginia Fee Budgeting: Update tax and accounting budgets to absorb the new 7% administrative fee assessed on the organization’s total unemployment-taxable wages.

CHECKLIST: Hiring, Recruitment, & Background Check Adjustments

Job Application Audit: Remove historical salary queries, checkboxes, and interview script questions regarding salary history for applicants in Virginia.

Good-Faith Pay Ranges: Coordinate with talent acquisition teams to establish and integrate formal, good-faith salary ranges on all job listings, promotions, and transfer paths across Maine (for employers with 10+ employees) and Virginia (universal). Explicitly state commission structures on commission-only listings in Maine.

Washington Background Check Sequencing: Redesign recruitment sequencing for Washington openings (employers with 15+ employees) to ensure criminal background screenings are legally delayed until after a signed, conditional job offer is extended.

Washington Mandated Workflows & Notices: Establish workflows for Washington rejections based on adult convictions to execute a documented 6-factor assessment, use state-specific pre-adverse action letters, and hold the job open for at least 2 business days to allow candidate context or rehabilitation proof.

Indiana Employment Verification: Review hiring and recruitment processes to verify compliance with the unauthorized alien employment ban, utilizing E-Verify or standard verification documentation to secure the legal safe harbor.

CHECKLIST: Noncompete Agreement Restructuring

Tennessee Compensation Baseline: Ensure new Tennessee noncompetes are strictly reserved for workers or independent contractors earning at least $70,000 annualized, and track the statutory 2-year post-employment reasonableness presumption.

South Dakota Healthcare Carve-outs: Strip noncompete constraints from standard agreements for South Dakota developmental care or support service providers.

Maine Medical Practitioner Bans: Remove noncompete clauses from agreements with Maine licensed healthcare practitioners executed, modified, or renewed on or after the effective date.

Louisiana Intern & Apprentice Rules: Prohibit the execution of noncompete agreements or provisions with any paid or unpaid intern or apprentice in Louisiana, ensuring they remain subject only to standard confidentiality, IP, and data protection agreements.

Virginia Healthcare & Termination Bans: Cease executing noncompete agreements with licensed, registered, or certified healthcare professionals in Virginia, and ensure prospective noncompetes for other staff are void upon termination without cause unless upfront severance is explicitly provided.

CHECKLIST: Leave Policy State Adjustments

New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) Expansion: Cross-reference company-wide headcount: if your organization hits 15+ employees overall, deploy expanded NJFLA policies for New Jersey staff (reducing eligibility thresholds to 3 months of tenure and 250 base hours) and grant standalone job reinstatement rights for workers on TDI or FLI.

Illinois Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act (NICLA): If your organization maintains 16+ workers in Illinois, roll out a formal NICLA Policy authorizing job-protected, unpaid leave (10 days for 16–50 employees; 20 days for 51+ employees) for workers with infants admitted to a NICU, ensuring no tenure barriers and proper sequencing after FMLA.

Hawaii Military Exigency Leave: Amend state Family Leave policies to allow employees to take job-protected leave for qualifying military exigencies relating to a covered family member’s active duty service.

Virginia Volunteer Responder Protection: Update attendance and disciplinary policies to prohibit retaliation or discharge against employees who miss shifts to serve as active volunteer emergency responders during declared emergencies.

Maine Lactation Spaces: If maintaining 6 or more employees in Maine, reconfigure break guidelines to provide unpaid 30-minute expression breaks for every 3 hours of work inside a private, clean, non-bathroom space. 

CHECKLIST: State-Specific Reporting & Workplace Disclosures

Arkansas Minor Data Privacy Protocol: If your organization operates public-facing digital assets, consumer apps, or online services directed at or knowingly collecting data from Arkansas youth, audit your digital workflows before the July 1, 2026, effective date. Ensure your system turns off targeted ad tracking for all minors under 17. Implement distinct authorization flows to secure verified parental consent for children 12 years of age or younger, and direct or parental consent for teenagers aged 13 to 16 before any data processing occurs.

Connecticut Warehouse Quota Management: For covered distribution operators, deliver detailed written quota descriptions to existing staff by August 1, 2026. Formally log and preserve all “work speed data” for 3 years, and establish a protocol to deliver requested data logs to current or former employees within 10 calendar days.

Retirement Plan Registrations: If maintaining 10 to 14 New York employees without a private qualified plan, register with the New York Secure Choice state portal by July 15 to facilitate automated 3% payroll deductions or formally certify an exemption.

Maine Surveillance Disclosures: Implement a workflow for Maine sites to deliver an annual written electronic monitoring disclosure to staff, integrate a surveillance notification step directly into applicant interview scripts, and cease residential/vehicle monitoring unless required for job duties.

Nebraska Mass Layoff Preparedness: Ensure operations teams with 100+ employees in Nebraska are briefed on the updated 90-day notification timeline mandated by the state’s Mini-WARN Act before implementing a closing or mass layoff.

Georgia Subminimum Wage Transition: Track the complete elimination of subminimum wage structures under the Dignity and Pay Act, ensuring grandfathered certificate holders transition to paying at least 50% of the standard minimum wage starting July 1, 2026.

Indiana Minor Tracking Elimination: Discontinue registering minor employees (ages 14–17) on the state portal, even if employing 5 or more minors. 

Indiana Unemployment Offboarding Notices: Deploy expanded administrative reporting workflows to immediately notify the Indiana Department of Workforce Development whenever a worker separates under specific trigger conditions.

Kentucky Workplace Trespass Protocols: Update workplace security and manager response training to leverage second-degree criminal trespass options if an individual exhibits threatening behavior after receiving a no-trespass warning.

Maine Labor Violation Postings: Establish a protocol to physically display final notices of wage, employment, or unemployment violations at the worksite, and conduct retroactive outreach (via mail, email, or text) to affected current and former employees during the wage-violation timeframe.

Maine Drug Testing Overhaul: Restructure substance abuse testing procedures to eliminate event-based screening, restrict testing to random, safety-sensitive, or documented “reasonable suspicion” paths, and ensure a formal window for employees to explain non-negative results to a Medical Review Officer.

Maine PFML Maximum Benefits: Align state benefit monitoring systems with Maine’s updated maximum weekly benefit amount cap of $1,249.12. Nextep’s system will update.

Maine Unemployment Payment Audits: Monitor corporate bank accounts linked to unemployment tax payments to ensure sufficient funds and prevent the minimum $25 or 1% penalty triggered by returned payments. Nextep’s system will update.

Minnesota Interactive Process Protocol: Train HR personnel to treat the disability accommodation interactive process as a standalone legal mandate, ensuring documented engagement to prevent liability for independent discrimination.

Virginia VHRA Statute of Limitations: Make sure your HR teams are aware that the window for filing a discrimination claim in Virginia is now 2 full years. Also, employees can now choose to skip the agency backlog and start a private lawsuit 180 days after they first file their complaint.

Virginia Workplace Handgun Regulations: Update the handbook and safety guidelines to mandate that employees who store handguns in vehicles while on company property keep them locked and completely out of plain sight. Ensure operations teams understand that commercial property owners retain the legal right to ban weapons entirely on private commercial property.

Legal Notice: This document is intended solely for informational and structural tracking and should not be interpreted as formal legal advice. For assistance with multi-state wage assessments or the re-drafting of specific policies, please reach out to your designated HR Business Partner for direct coordination.