Each month, Optimum HR gathers the latest updates and changes to federal and state employment law. Read on to learn how these changes may affect you, and how Optimum can help you ensure compliance.
Federal Updates
Beware of FLSA Violations With Unpaid Interns
With summer approaching, many employers are looking to hire interns to increase staffing during a busy season or to build a pipeline for future full-time hiring. But employers need to be careful about making decisions to allow any work to go unpaid. Read more
Dashcams: There’s More Risk To Manage Than You’d Expect
In recent years, many organizations have installed dashcams in their vehicles to improve safety and compliance, reduce costs, and better understand what’s happening in the field. Dashcams can be extremely useful for these purposes, giving organizations visibility into risky driver behaviors and misuse of company property. They can also lower insurance costs and provide valuable evidence in litigation. To provide these benefits, though, dashcams collect a lot of data—including data organizations didn’t intend to collect and/or that triggers legal obligations they didn’t intend to assume. Read more
DOJ Orders Immediate Reclassification of Medical Marijuana Products
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has reclassified certain marijuana and marijuana-containing products to Schedule III controlled substances, which recognizes a drug’s potential legitimate medical use, a significant change in federal drug policy that could have implications for employers and workplace drug policies. Read more
State Updates
Connecticut
Connecticut Enacts New Workplace Standards Applicable to Warehouse Workers
On March 3, 2026, Governor Ned Lamont signed Senate Bill (SB) 298 into law, ushering in significant new standards applicable to warehouse workers and logistics operations in Connecticut. Connecticut has established new workplace standards for large warehouse and distribution center employers, including requirements to provide written notice of performance quotas, maintain work speed data records for three years, and protect covered nonexempt employees from adverse action for exercising their rights under the law. Read more
Maine
Maine Becomes Latest State to Mandate Pay Range Disclosures
Maine recently enacted a pay transparency law that will require certain employers to disclose pay ranges in job postings and maintain records of employees’ compensation history. On April 24, 2026, Gov. Janet Mills signed into law H.P. 18/L.D. 54, “An Act to Require Employers to Disclose Pay Ranges and Maintain Records of Employees’ Pay Histories.” Read more
Maine Revises Workplace Drug Testing Law
On April 13, 2026, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed a law that updates the state’s substance use testing rules and further limits employers’ entitlement to conduct testing on employees and job applicants. Read more
Maryland
Maryland FAMLI’s New and Improved Website Provides Guidance for Employers
In conjunction with the issuance of final regulations to implement the forthcoming paid family and medical leave insurance (FAMLI) program, the Maryland Department of Labor (MDOL) has also completely revamped its FAMLI website to provide new and useful resources for employers (and others). Read more
New York
New York State Restricts Use of Credit Checks in Employment Decisions
New York has amended the New York State Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit most employers from using credit history information in employment decisions. This development expands existing restrictions and reflects a broader regulatory trend limiting the use of screening tools that are not closely tied to job performance. The amended law reflects increasing scrutiny of employment selection criteria. Employers should reassess hiring frameworks to ensure compliance and defensibility under evolving standards. Read more
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Gives Employers Broader Drug Testing Authority
Effective November 1, 2026, Oklahoma House Bill (HB) 3127 makes important changes to the state’s medical marijuana employment protections under 63 O.S. § 427.8 that affect all Oklahoma employers. Oklahoma’s HB 3127 imposes a mandatory zero-tolerance drug and alcohol standard for safety-sensitive positions and replaces the previous broad employer-judgment standard with a specific list of qualifying duties. Among other changes, employers now have expanded authority to act on positive marijuana tests under any compliant written drug and alcohol testing policy—not just for safety-sensitive roles. Read more
Virginia
Virginia Amends Workplace Violence Reporting Requirements for Hospitals
Virginia is among a growing number of states that have adopted healthcare-specific workplace violence prevention and reporting obligations. On April 6, 2026, Governor Abigail Spanberger signed House Bill (HB) 1489, which expands and clarifies workplace violence reporting requirements for hospitals with emergency departments. Read more
Virginia’s Enacts a Flurry of New Wage and Hour Laws During the General Assembly’s 2026 Session
In the 2025 statewide elections, Virginia Democrats gained control of both chambers of the state legislature and the governorship, securing a governmental “trifecta.” The last time Democrats achieved such a trifecta was in the 2019 statewide elections, and Democrats quickly went to work advancing and enacting a wave of new wage and hour legislation, revamping the Virginia Wage Payment Act and enacting the Virginia Overtime Wage Act, among other things. Just like the last time, Virginia Democrats wasted no time advancing new labor and employment legislation in this year’s legislative session, including a flurry of new wage and hour laws. Read more
