HR Alerts

Rhode Island enacts first-in-nation menopause workplace protection law

by Whitney Brown, Lehr Middlebrooks Vreeland & Thompson, P.C.

Dec 04, 2025 · HR Alerts · California · New York · Texas · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

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Analysis

DOL introduces new leadership

Just before the federal government shutdown in October, the U.S. Senate confirmed the following leaders for Department of Labor (DOL). Now that the DOL is nearly fully staffed, employers should expect the agencies to...

Dec 01, 2025 · Federal Employment Law Insider

View from K Street: Closure opens eyes

The longest government shutdown—43 days, and the second under a Trump administration—has ended, with none of the underlying issues resolved. Many fear this is merely a temporary abeyance, as the funding agreed to lasts...

Dec 01, 2025 · Federal Employment Law Insider

Second Circuit blocks marital status discrimination action

New York employers need to know about a recent employment law decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the federal appellate court that has jurisdiction over the U.S. District Courts in New York...

Dec 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · New York

Colorado expands FAMLI to include 12 weeks of neonatal care leave

On January 1, 2026, parents of newborns receiving inpatient care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) will be eligible for up to 12 weeks of leave while their newborns are in the NICU. The leave is in addition to the...

Dec 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming

DOJ issues guidelines on unlawful employment practices for federal contractors

When President Donald Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14173—“Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”—what grabbed headlines was the repeal of EO 11246, which had mandated that federal...

Dec 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia

You can deduct the cost of employees’ uniforms but not uniformly

Q Can we have employees sign an agreement authorizing us to deduct the cost of uniforms from their paychecks? In Colorado, whether a deduction is permissible depends on the type of uniform. If you require clothing with a...

Dec 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming

BYOD to court? Mitigate risks of your ‘bring your own device’ practice

Cell phones are a quintessential tool in modern society, including within the realm of employment. Many employers use various data networks that allow employees to access and store the employer’s data on their own...

Dec 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin

DHS ends automatic extensions for EADs

On October 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented a significant policy shift that directly affects workforce planning and compliance for employers across the country. The agency published an...

Dec 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont

Beer, baseball, and viral videos: Disciplining employees’ off-duty conduct

Given the charged political climate and the ubiquity of cell phone videos, employers are increasingly grappling with how to respond to employees’ off-duty conduct. In a recent example of this trend, prominent Wisconsin...

Dec 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin

Context matters: Balancing business interests and political speech

Political speech in the workplace has continued to be a hot topic since the 2024 elections. Political speech can be defined as an expression of political views, affiliation, or activities within a professional setting...

Dec 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma

Update on what we know about no tax on tips and qualifying overtime

On July 4, 2025, as part of Public Law 119-21—aka, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act—Congress enacted above-the-line federal tax deductions that a qualifying employee can claim for their tipped income (up to $25,000 per...

Dec 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin

Navigating employment policy shifts in Trump 2.0

With each presidential change, employers are thrust into a ping-pong match of shifting directives. What was required under one administration may be discouraged or even prohibited under the next administration. As Trump...

Dec 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · California · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Is written consent required to make wage deductions for damages?

Q Our expenses have increased because of damaged company property that we’ve had to repair or replace, so we’d like to implement a policy of making deductions from employees’ paychecks for the damages. Do we need to...

Dec 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi

Two employers treated as one for overtime

For employment law purposes, two companies can be considered a single (or joint) employer under some circumstances. In an opinion letter dated September 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour...

Dec 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota

December 2025 Iowa Q&A roundup

Q With regard to wage and hour and leave considerations, what state laws would apply to employees who travel in crews and work on jobsites across the country and don’t consistently work in any one state? This will depend...

Dec 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota