State Alerts

Washington has enacted legislation that extends Workers’ Compensation protections under state law.

Covered employers must pay tipped workers $17.88 per hour for paid sick leave from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The city recalculates this rate annually.

It is almost time for the Massachusetts HIRD filing. Massachusetts law requires employers to file a HIRD form on an annual basis containing information about employer sponsored insurance.

HIRD filing requirements apply to all employers with 6 or more Massachusetts employees in any month during the past 12 months.  The filing is done through MassTaxConnect which will be available for MA HIRD filing beginning on Nov. 15, 2026, through Dec. 15, 2026.

Massachusetts does not conform to the federal 2026 dependent care assistance exclusion limit of $7,500 and will continue to allow only a $5,000 exclusion from Massachusetts state income tax (SIT) subject wages.

Louisiana has enacted legislation requiring private employers to provide leave to employees who serve as organ donors or bone marrow donors. The leave may be unpaid.

Delaware has enacted legislation that prohibits employers from taking adverse action because an employee declined to attend employer-sponsored meetings or receive communications concerning the employer's views on religious or political matters.

California has enacted legislation requiring employers with five or more employees to include an anti-hate speech component in their existing harassment prevention training program beginning January 1, 2028.

California has enacted a law that requires covered employers to attend a separate online video training on the use of naloxone to increase the rate of opioid overdose reversals.

California has enacted legislation that generally prohibits employers from using workplace surveillance tools to monitor or surveil employees in workplace bathrooms, subject to limited exceptions.

California has enacted legislation that authorizes an employer to seek a workplace violence restraining order on behalf of all employees at a workplace if harassment, unlawful violence, or a credible threat of violence is directed at the workplace, rather than at a specific employee. The employer isn’t required to identify a specific employee in the petition.