Man signing documentation to follow employment law in 2025

Employment Law in 2025: Keeping Your Current Employment Policies Up to Date

While companies often focus on employment law changes at the federal level, there are many local and state requirements employers need to pay attention to if they want to remain compliant and ensure policies meet the needs of their employees. These key employment laws deal with issues such as wage minimums, workplace safety, and anti-discrimination requirements.

*Note: This is not a comprehensive list of employment laws. Employers should review state and local compliance requirements for a complete understanding of applicable laws. Employment regulations can change frequently, so staying informed about updates is essential to maintaining compliance.

Table of Contents

Minimum Wage Increases

23 states will see minimum wage increases in 2025, including 21 state-level increases and 48 city and county increases. Some of these increases will meet or exceed $15 per hour, while others remain under $15.

States with Increases under $15 per hour:

State

2025 Minimum Wage

Alaska

$11.91/hr.

Arizona

$14.70/hr.

Colorado

$14.81/hr.

Maine

$14.65/hr.

Michigan

$10.56/hr.

Minnesota

$11.13/hr.

Missouri

$13.75/hr.

Montana

$10.55/hr.

Nebraska

$13.50/hr.

Ohio

$10.70/hr.

South Dakota

$11.50/hr.

Vermont

$14.01/hr.

Virginia

12.41/hr.

State with increases meeting $15 per hour:

State

2025 Minimum Wage

Delaware

$15/hr.

Illinois

$15/hr.

Rhode Island

$15/hr.

States exceeding $15 per hour:

State

2025 Minimum Wage

California

$16.50/hr.

California (health care workers)

$18-$23/hr.

Connecticut

$16.35/hr.

New Jersey

$15.49/hr.

New Jersey (long-term care workers)

$18.49/hr.

Washington

$16.66/hr.

Some jurisdictions set rates higher than the state minimums. For example, Minneapolis has a $15 per hour minimum wage that exceeds Minnesota’s $11.13 per hour state minimum wage. Some of the minimum wage requirements at the city, county, and state levels also have provisions that adjust the minimum wage based on inflation or cost-of-living adjustments. It’s important to monitor these changes to ensure you remain compliant.

Another important consideration is that minimum wage requirements are based on the state where an employee works. If you have remote workers in other states, review the wage requirements in that state to ensure you pay your remote workers accordingly.

How to Remain Compliant:

  1. Review Wage Rates: Check the wage laws for all employee locations, including remote workers.
  2. Monitor Local Laws: Cities and counties may have unique rates exceeding state requirements.
  3. Account for Inflation Adjustments: Verify if annual increases apply based on cost-of-living changes.
  4. Industry-Specific Wages: Review any industry-specific minimum wages.

Pay Transparency Laws

Pay transparency and equity are important trends to keep an eye on. More states are enacting pay transparency laws requiring employers to include salary ranges in their job postings. There are currently 9 states with pay transparency laws in place with 5 more states prepared to enact laws in 2025.

State with current pay transparency laws:

  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Hawaii
  • Maryland
  • Nevada
  • New York
  • Rhode Island
  • Washington

Each state has specific provisions for how and when salary range disclosures are required. For example, while Illinois will require employers with 15 or more employees to include pay scales on their job postings, Vermont will require employers with 5 or more employees to comply.

States with pay transparency laws for 2025:

  • Illinois
  • Massachusetts
  • New Jersey
  • Minnesota
  • Vermont

Employers must disclose salary ranges and benefits information in some states in job postings. For remote roles, compliance is required based on where the employee resides.

How to Remain Compliant:

  1. Update Job Postings: Include salary ranges and benefits where required.
  2. Review Promotional Policies: Some states, such as Illinois, require notifying internal employees of job promotions.
  3. Audit Remote Roles: Ensure compliance with laws in states where remote workers are based.
  4. Consult State-Specific Laws: Confirm specific requirements, such as company size thresholds.

Salary History Bans

In an effort to improve pay equity, several states have bans on salary history inquiries during the hiring process.

States with salary history bans:

  • Alabama
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Hawaii
  • Illinois
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Nevada
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington

Several cities have also enacted salary history bans:

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Louisville, KY
  • New Orleans, LA
  • Jackson, MS
  • Kansas City, MO
  • Louis, MO
  • Cincinnati, OH
  • Toledo, OH
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Columbia, SC
  • Salt Lake City, UT

Some of these cities and states have very specific requirements on how the ban is enforced.

Employers based in any of these states or cities and who meet the specific provisions are not allowed to ask candidates about salary history during the recruitment and hiring process.

How to Remain Compliant:

  1. Update Hiring Policies: Remove salary history questions from applications and interviews.
  2. Train Hiring Teams: Educate hiring teams and managers on how to maintain compliance.
  3. Check Local Requirements: Some laws apply only to specific roles, like government employees.

FLSA Updates

While the salary threshold update was struck down in a Texas court, the DOL has filed an appeal, so it’s important to track updates and stay aware of any changes that occur.

Some states have also enacted their own salary threshold requirements, some of which exceed the intended federal requirements.

States with salary threshold requirements:

  • Alaska
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Maine
  • New York
  • Washington

Many employers had already made changes to their salaries based on the now void increase that went into effect in July 2024. These businesses now need to decide whether to maintain the salary increases or revert back to their original salaries.

How to Remain Compliant:

  1. Track Court Appeals: Stay updated on appeals.
  2. Consider Employee Morale: Evaluate the impact of rolling back salary increases.
  3. Check State Requirements: Comply with state-specific salary thresholds where applicable.

Workplace Violence Prevention

California and New York are the most recent states to pass updated Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP) laws in an effort to ensure businesses prepare for and mitigate the risk of workplace violence incidents.

States with current WVPP laws:

  • California
  • Connecticut
  • Illinois
  • Maryland
  • Minnesota
  • New Jersey
  • Oregon
  • Washington

New York will enact a WVPP requirement in March 2025.

Affected employers must create WVPPs and train employees to prevent workplace violence.

How to Remain Compliant:

  1. Develop a WVPP: Include risk assessments, prevention measures, and reporting protocols.
  2. Provide Training: Conduct required employee training sessions.
  3. Review State-Specific Rules: Ensure compliance with industry or state-specific requirements.

Paid Sick Leave Laws

Several states have paid sick leave laws that require employers to provide paid sick leave based on certain factors that vary based on state.

State with current laws:

  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Illinois
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Minnesota
  • Nevada
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • Oregon
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington

States with laws coming in 2025:

  • Connecticut
  • Michigan

Applicable employers must provide paid sick leave based on hours worked and state requirements.

How to Remain Compliant:

  1. Review Sick Leave Policies: Update policies to align with state laws.
  2. Track Accrual Requirements: Ensure employees earn leave based on applicable regulations.
  3. Comply with Local Laws: Cities may have additional paid leave requirements.

Freelance Worker Protections

Some states have started passing regulations meant to provide protections for freelance workers. These protections include requirements on contracts and payment for work completed, as well as defining what a freelance worker is.

States with current freelance worker protections:

  • New York
  • Illinois

Columbus, OH also has protections for freelance workers in place, and California’s law will go into effect in January 2025.

These laws require employers to provide a written contract that includes a pay schedule. These protections also require employers to adhere to the payment agreed upon in the contract.

How to Remain Compliant:

  1. Draft Written Contracts: Ensure contracts clearly outline payment terms and deliverables.
  2. Review Payment Policies: Adhere to agree payment timelines and amounts.

Captive Audience Meeting Bans

Captive audience bans prohibit employers from requiring, coercing, or retaliating against employees who do not attend an employer-sponsored meeting regarding employer opinions on political or religious matters.

States with current captive audience bans:

  • Connecticut
  • Hawaii
  • Illinois

State with bans going into effect in 2025:

  • Alaska
  • California
  • Maine
  • Minnesota
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Oregon
  • Washington
  • Vermont

Employers in these states cannot require attendance at meetings discussing joining political parties or political, civil, community, fraternal, or labor organizations.

How to Remain Compliant:

  1. Update Policies: Remove mandatory attendance for opinion-based meetings.
  2. Train Leadership: Educate managers on compliance.

CROWN Act

27 states have passed some version of the CROWN Act. This act is meant to protect against discrimination based on natural hair textures and styles commonly associated with a specific race.

States with CROWN Act legislation:

  • California
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Illinois
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • Oregon
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington

Many other states are considering similar legislation and there have been a couple of attempts to pass federal CROWN Act legislation to help protect against racial discrimination in the workplace.

How to Remain Compliant:

  1. Update Policies: Add protections for natural hairstyles in anti-discrimination policies.
  2. Train Staff: Educate managers and employees on cultural and legal requirements.

Data Privacy Laws

20 states have passed some form of data privacy laws meant to protect consumer privacy when it comes to how companies collect and use consumer personal data.

States with comprehensive data privacy laws:

  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kentucky
  • Maryland
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • New Hampshire
  • Nebraska
  • New Jersey
  • Oregon
  • Rhode Island
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Virginia

States with narrow data privacy laws:

  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Nevada
  • New York
  • Vermont
  • Washington

These laws vary in the types of data and the industries affected, so it’s important to review state laws to determine what protections are included.

How to Remain Compliant:

  1. Review Data Practices: Audit how your company collects and processes personal data.
  2. Update Privacy Policies: Ensure compliance with state-specific laws.

Keep Up with Compliance Requirements

Staying ahead of employment law changes requires careful and consistent monitoring of new and changing regulations. You should proactively update company policies to ensure your business avoids penalties, maintains compliance, and develops a positive workplace culture.

HR Service, Inc. provides regular compliance updates as part of our ERISA eSolutions platform. These updates provide monthly reviews of upcoming due dates, changing regulations, and new laws. For more information about how our eSolutions platform can help keep up with HR, compliance, and employment law needs, check out our Compliance Solutions.

 

Written By: Penny Clark

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