Compliance Stuff

On March 23, 2026, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed into law a bill banning nearly all noncompete agreements for employees and independent contractors, e ffective June 30, 2027. The law, Substitute House Bill (SHB) 1155, declares that all “noncompetition agreements” are “void and unenforceable” after that date, and prohibits employers from enforcing such restrictions. 00:00 24:53 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 restrictive covenants, including narrowly-drafted nonsolicitation agreements. The law takes effect ...

Most employers already collect emergency contact information during onboarding. It is one of those routine HR forms that gets completed on day one and then quietly sits in a personnel file. Until now. A new California requirement means that emergency contact forms are no longer just administrative paperwork. They are now part of your legal compliance obligations. By March 30, 2026, you must give current employees the opportunity to designate an emergency contact and indicate whether that person should be notified if you have actual knowledge that the employee has been arrested or detained during work hours. Going forward, you must provide the same opportunity to employees at the time of hire. If you have not updated your forms yet, now is a good time to take a look. What the Law Requires The rule itself is fairly straightforward. You must give employees the opportunity to: designate an emergency contact update that contact information during employment indicate whether that contact sh...

Cybersecurity firm Expel recently published its 2026 Threat Report, which analyzed over 1,000,000 alerts in its Security Operations Center throughout 2025. The results showed that threat actors continue to use compromised credentials to gain access to company systems. The Report highlights the need for companies to educate their employees on an ongoing basis of how important it is to protect their usernames and passwords and to be highly vigilant when being asked to divulge them. According to the Report, more than 68% of reported incidents were identity-based: where a threat actor attempts to use an authorized user’s credentials to access a company’s network . Many used agents that the organization did not authorize, a clear indication that it was not the authorized user trying to logon. In addition, 12% of incidents involved a logon from a suspicious location, showing that companies may wish to monitor and block any logon attempts from unauthorized locations, including foreign countri...

Several recent California state court decisions have thrown companies into a state of confusion about whether they can face claims under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) for use of tracking technologies on websites and apps. In two cases, courts dismissed the claims without leave to amend, while a third case – sitting in the same courthouse as one of the first two – allowed the claim to proceed. The two helpful court decisions concluded that CIPA’s “trap and trace” provisions don’t extend to website analytics or similar internet tracking technologies. But the other troubling ruling went the opposite way and said that website cookies might qualify as pen registers or trap and trace devices . These rulings create uncertainty for businesses operating in California and raise many questions about best practices. This Insight will dive into the three cases and provide businesses with a game plan to manage this turbulent time. What Courts Have Decided? Schallert v. Palo Alto N...

On March 20, 2026, the White House released its long-awaited policy framework for governing the use and development of artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision-making technology. While not breaking new ground, the framework outlines the Trump administration’s legislative recommendations to remove burdens on AI development and establish federal preemption of AI governance, though implementation remains uncertain. This move contrasts with the approach many other countries have taken, which is to focus regulations on protecting individual rights and liberties. 0:00 6:19 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 ...