Employers may have more flexibility to enforce neutral dress code and uniform policies, even when those policies affect employees’ display of union insignia. On September 2, 2026, in a decision involving Starbucks’ New York Reserve Roastery, the Second Circuit rejected the NLRB’s stringent standard to workplace rules that restricts employees’ ability to display union insignia under its Tesla decision. The court concluded that the Board’s Tesla standard did not adequately balance employees’ rights with an employer’s legitimate business interests.
For employers, this is a significant development, but not a nationwide green light to restrict union apparel. While the decision does…
Continue Reading Can Employers Restrict Union Pins and Shirts? Lessons From the Starbucks
Decision

Employers acquiring a business with a unionized workforce may soon have more flexibility to challenge the incumbent union’s status than they have had for decades. On July 21, the D.C. Circuit held in Hospital Menonita de Guayama, Inc. v. NLRB that the National Relations Labor Board (NLRB ) never had the authority to impose its “successor bar” doctrine, a rule that generally requires a successor employer to continue bargaining with an existing union for up to a year after an acquisition. As one of the first appellate decisions to reject an NLRB doctrine since the U.S. Supreme Court ended automatic…
Continue Reading NLRB Successor Bar Under Fire: What Employers Buying Unionized Businesses
Need to Know

Effective January 1, 2027, Illinois employers with 26 or more employees must pay employees at their regular hourly rate for their existing job-protected jury duty leave. The change, enacted through House Bill 4844 and signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker on July 31, 2026, amends the Illinois Jury Act and Illinois Jury Commission Act. Crucially, there are no caps or limitations on the new paid leave.
While Illinois employers have long been required to provide employees with protected time away from work to fulfill jury duty obligations, the new law fundamentally changes who bears the financial burden of that leave. Illinois…
Continue Reading Illinois Employers Must Provide Paid Jury Duty Leave Beginning January 1,
2027

Many nonunion employers do not expect that they may be one ordinary employee group chat away from a potential National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) issue. The common misconception is that labor law only matters when a union is involved. It doesn’t. As a result, disciplinary decisions that seem routine can quickly become unfair labor practice charges if managers fail to recognize when employees are engaging in protected concerted activity.
Continue Reading Inside the NLRB: That Employee Group Text Could Create NLRA Liability for
Nonunion Employers

A recent decision made by the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Fifth Circuit found that OSHA lacked congressional authorization to regulate mental health in the workplace. While the decision does not change workers’ compensation laws or standards for mental injury claims, it raises important questions for employers about how workplace mental health conditions may be evaluated under existing legal frameworks.
Continue Reading What Employers Should Know About Workers' Compensation Mental Health Claims
After the Fifth Circuit's Exxon Decision

The Fifth Circuit recently issued a decision that could affect how courts evaluate Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and enforcement actions moving forward.
On July 21, 2026, in Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, the court addressed OSHA’s rule requiring employers to record certain work-related mental illnesses. It concluded that OSHA exceeded its Congress authority under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and vacated the rule, Exxon’s citation, and the accompanying penalty.
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Vacates OSHA Mental Health Recordkeeping Rule and Signals
Closer Scrutiny of OSHA Authority

Compliance with pay transparency laws is no longer as simple as adding a salary range to a job posting and moving on. As state pay transparency requirements and compliance obligations continue to expand nationwide, regulators are increasingly focused on whether employers’ disclosures are meaningful, accurate, and supported by actual compensation practices. As lawmakers and regulators continue to refine pay transparency requirements, employers should view compliance as part of a broader compensation strategy rather than a standalone posting obligation.
Continue Reading Pay Transparency 2.0: Key Employer Takeaways on the Shift in Pay
Transparency Compliance

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued much-needed guidance on compensable travel time, one of the more complex areas of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  Laid out in two opinion letters, the guidance is particularly relevant for employers with hybrid workforces and field-based employees. Employers should review their pay practices to ensure they are properly distinguishing between ordinary commuting and compensable work activities.
Continue Reading DOL Clarifies When Travel Time Is Compensable Under the FLSA for Hybrid and
Field-Based Employees

Colorado employers face new compliance obligations under HB 26-1283, a law that sharply limits when they may demand, keep, or control an employee’s or applicant’s government-issued ID. With the new law carrying criminal and civil exposure for violations, employers should review onboarding practices now.
Continue Reading New Colorado Law Restricts Employers From Retaining Employee ID Documents
Under HB 26-1283

On July 31, 2026, Governor Pritzker signed new legislation greatly expanding the already-broad investigatory powers of the Workplace Rights Bureau in the Attorney General’s Office (“OAG”). Effective January 1, 2027, the law authorizes the OAG to investigate supposed violations of Illinois employment law and creates penalties for employers that do not comply. In essence this signals yet another move by Illinois to dispense with the fundamental due process rights of employers.
Continue Reading New Illinois Law Expands Attorney General Powers to Investigate Employers

Missouri employers will soon face expanded military leave and reemployment obligations following Governor Mike Kehoe’s signing of House Bill 2593 on July 9, 2026. The new law goes into effect beginning August 28, 2026, potentially opening up new litigation exposure for noncompliance.
Continue Reading Missouri Employers Face New Military Leave and Reemployment Obligations
Under House Bill 2593

On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court overruled a 91-year-old precedent and held that the president may remove the heads of independent federal agencies at will. While the decision does not change any labor or employment laws, it could change who controls the agencies that enforce them. For employers, that means greater uncertainty and potentially more dramatic shifts in enforcement.
Continue Reading What the Supreme Court’s Trump v. Slaughter Decision Means for the NLRB,
the EEOC, and Employers