Compliance Stuff

  As 2026 approaches, employers may want to assess the following wage-and-hour compliance issues: rising salary thresholds for overtime exemptions, widening gaps between federal and state minimum wage amounts, and increasingly complex state-specific duties tests and exemption standards. Each can present operational risk if job classifications and pay practices are not carefully aligned with both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and stricter state laws. Employers can benefit from ensuring they have updated pay rates and job descriptions to align with the new and changing standards explained below. Quick Hits Employers may want to prepare for 2026 by mapping exempt roles in Alaska, California, Maine, New York, and Washington to new salary thresholds and implementing adjustments aligned with effective dates. To avoid salary compression, employers may want to reconcile pay bands in the thirty-one states with higher minimum wages than federal law and ensure that any threshold multipl...

The Alaska Department of Labor & Workforce Development’s  final rules  implementing the paid sick leave provisions of Ballot Measure 1 (2024) became effective September 25, 2025 .  Previously , we highlighted what the  proposed  rules included. Here, we discuss notable changes in the  final  rules. The Department did not publish a summary of the public comments it received or explain whether and/or why it did or did not factor in those comments when finalizing the rules. Rate of Pay . Although the Department sticks with requiring employers to use the formula for calculating the “regular” rate of pay for overtime purposes when determining how much to pay employees when they use paid sick leave, for employees who work at two or more rates the Department now allows both the previously proposed “weighted average” method (for the workweek)  and  the “rate in effect” method (for the shift). Business Size . Different standards apply depending o...

Within the past ten years or so, there has been an uptick in states adopting laws concerning paid sick leave. As a result, multi-state employers have become accustomed to having to closely monitor the adoption of laws in the states in which their employees work to ensure their policies and practices are in compliance with all applicable paid leave laws . That task became more cumbersome with the rise in remote work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the rise in local jurisdictions following suit and adopting their own paid leave laws. While the trend of states and local jurisdictions adopting paid leave laws has slowed, it has not stopped. For example, Alaska has adopted a sick leave law, with leave accrual under the new law beginning on July 1, 2025. Additionally, Nebraska recently adopted a law requiring paid sick leave as of October 1, 2025. Based on a review of recent legal changes concerning paid leave laws, however, there is another emerging trend: state and local j...

States and cities are as busy as ever passing new workplace regulations throughout the calendar year. Here is our mid-year report summarizing the notable labor and employment laws that take effect from roughly July through October.  Alaska Bill / Ordinance / Regulation Main Topic Summary Effective Date Alaska Measure 1  Paid Sick Leave Requires up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year for employers with 15 or fewer employees and up to 56 hours of paid sick leave for larger employers. Sick leave carries over to the next year.  7/1/2025 Alaska Measure 1  Captive Audience; Prohibition Prohibits employers from requiring employees to attend meetings regarding political or religious matters unrelated to their work. 7/1/2025 This article provides a general snapshot of generally applicable labor and employment laws taking effect soon. Please note that while some of the laws listed below are industry-specific, this article is not meant to be all-inclusive. In addition, many...

Workplace violence continues to be a primary concern for employers and a challenge to maintaining workplace safety. Still, it is unclear whether there will be further movement on regulation at the federal level under the Trump administration. States are expected to pick up the slack on this issue, and lawmakers in s everal states in 2025 are already mulling bills to address workplace safety or expand existing regulations, particularly in the healthcare industry. Quick Hits Numerous states are introducing or expanding workplace violence prevention laws, particularly in healthcare settings, to enhance employee safety amid rising concerns. Specific legislative proposals, such as Alaska’s SB 49 and Massachusetts’s HD.1856, require employers to implement risk assessments, create violence prevention plans, and provide training to protect employees from workplace violence. In recent years, workplace violence has garnered significant attention from lawmakers across the United States, particula...