No Joke: Recent Employment Laws and Legislative Proposals

Legal obligations for employers typically concern topics like paid sick leave, antidiscrimination protection, and pay equity, but each year legislation also addresses niche or emerging areas or peculiar state-specific issues. The following are bills introduced or enacted in the last year that you may have missed.

Wage Payment Obligations

Employers usually pay wages via check, cash, direct deposit, or even payroll card, so few have had to consider other methods for delivering their compensation. Those operating in Missouri, however, should be aware of HB 754, enacted last year. Under this law, employees may request to be paid in physical or electronic specie currency, including (but not limited to) coins, bars, and ingots. If a Missouri employee requests that compensation be provided through one of these nontraditional methods, the employer may opt to switch their payroll method for that employee (if they can find enough gold bars, that is).

Additionally, since the United States Mint stopped producing pennies in November 2025, states and employers must grapple with the dwindling supply of one-cent coins. Thus, legislators in Maryland are considering SB 893, which would allow employers that pay wages in cash to round those amounts to avoid penny-related challenges on payday.

Unique Leaves

States are introducing increasingly specific protected employee leaves that may fly under the radar compared to high-profile paid sick and paid family leaves. Some bills would require employers to provide niche leaves or potentially face steep penalties for noncompliance. For example, New Jersey has introduced AB 2238 to require employers to provide unpaid leave and other job protections for certified doulas who miss work due to attending a childbirth. The bill would not require employers to pay an employee who misses work for this purpose, but would allow the employee to use vacation or sick pay. With certain exceptions, these protections would apply only if employees provided advance notice at least one hour before the employee was due to report for work.

New York introduced several bills in the 2025-2026 session that would provide leaves of absence within certain time frames for certain colon cancer screenings. New York AB 10297 and New York SB 9246 would require employers to allow a paid leave of absence of four hours every 12 months for employees undergoing colon cancer screenings. Note that the bills do not provide a definition of what constitutes a “colon cancer screening.” Meanwhile, New York AB 479 would provide one day off every 10 years for employees 45 years or older to undergo a colonoscopy.

Missouri is considering a bill that would require employers to provide at least three days of bereavement leave when an employee’s pet dies. The bill would allow an employer to require reasonable documentation, such as a veterinarian’s certificate. Similarly, in Illinois, SB 1670 would allow up to five days of unpaid leave for the death of an employee’s companion animal. 

Employer Obligations

While some bills may seem far-fetched or obscure, if enacted they could impose real obligations on employers. For example, Massachusetts HB 821 would require employers who receive written authorization from an employee to make deductions from the employee’s pay and remit the funds to a political candidate or political committee of the employee’s choosing.

In New Jersey, legislators are considering AB 2874, which would require employers to suspend any employee charged with aggravated assault for spitting in a law enforcement officer’s food or drink. If the employee is convicted of such an act, the employer must fire them or face a $500 fine. 

Employee Surveillance

Although employee microchipping may seem futuristic, this has been a surprisingly popular issue in state legislatures since 2019. This year Washington enacted HB 2303 to prohibit employers from requesting, requiring, or coercing any employee to have a microchip implanted subcutaneously. Tennessee has introduced HB 1877, which would prohibit employers from requiring that an individual be implanted with a microchip or other permanent identification marker. The bill provides that violations of the law would result in a $3,000 civil penalty for an initial violation and a $10,000 civil penalty for subsequent violations.

New York AB 8917 would prohibit employers from using workplace surveillance tools in private, off-duty areas, such as lactation spaces, cafeterias and lounges, and would also ban surveillance in a worker’s residence, private vehicle, or in property owned, leased, or used by the worker. The bill would also prohibit employers from requiring a worker to physically implant a device that collects or transmits data, including subcutaneous devices.

Industry and Employee-Specific Bills

While most of the legislation discussed here would apply statewide, in practice some bills are more narrowly focused.

For example, Georgia has introduced HB 1335, which would require longshoremen and related maritime and warehouse workers to be classified as essential workers during a declared state of emergency. This would entitle them to receive temporary hazard pay, premium pay, or emergency compensation.

Wisconsin SB 883 would amend the state’s child labor law to allow minor employees who are at least 16 years old to operate, but not set up, repair, oil, or clean, a pizza dough roller in the course of their employment.

Meanwhile, legislation in Iowa would modify the state’s unemployment insurance law to clarify that service performed for an employer by certain Amish workers does not constitute “employment” for purposes of benefits eligibility.

In legislation responding to a state-specific issue, West Virginia is considering HB 5539, which would allow private employers to show hiring preference to unemployed coal miners who are legally eligible for employment, and were not separated from a coal mining job for cause.

Conclusion

While many bills introduced across the country fail to become law, some do make it across the finish line. Though some legislation would affect only specific employers or industries, they nevertheless illustrate the importance of comprehensive bill tracking. Employers that want to avoid noncompliance with legislation (no matter how niche) should work with knowledgeable employment counsel who can tailor legislative tracking to their worker populations.