Compliance Stuff

Takeaways The New Jersey Appellate Division in Sanders held that the state’s cannabis statute allows an aggrieved individual to bring a private lawsuit in a court of law. Employers should ensure their current practices and policies are compliant with the law’s anti-discrimination provisions, which prohibit taking an adverse employment action against an employee or refusing to hire an individual because of their use or non-use of cannabis. Until the New Jersey Appellate Division’s decision in Sanders v. The Levari Group, d/b/a First Choice Freezer [MS1] , No.  A-2715-23 (May 26, 2026), it was unclear whether an individual could bring a private lawsuit alleging discrimination in violation of the state’s cannabis law, the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Market Modernization Act (CREAMMA). The Appellate Division recently held that individuals who allege to have suffered adverse employment actions because of their use of cannabis could bring a claim of violation of C...

Each new year, employers in the United States are accustomed to hearing about all the laws that go into effect on January 1. State legislatures across the country, however, are active all year long, and as we have said before, July is the new January. Following is our summary of the notable labor and employment laws taking effect from July 1 through October 1, 2026. Some of the laws are industry specific, but the list is not all-inclusive and does not contain minimum wage updates, which are addressed in a separate publication . Virginia enacted the most new laws taking effect this summer, including laws relating to pay transparency, child labor, non-competes, workplace violence, and employee background checks for certain employers. Several other states, including Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, and Kentucky have also enacted laws relating to employee background checks, particularly for employers in healthcare-related fields. Laws relating to non-compete agreements have been another po...