ANALYSIS: Developments in State Labor and Employment Legislation

At least 17 state legislatures tackled fundamental labor and employment concerns last year, expanding workers’ access to earned paid leave and protecting employment opportunities for veterans and their families. With employers grappling with big changes at the federal level, states focused on issues with direct impacts on individual workers in 2025.

As 2026 unfolds, early indications point to more states weighing in on the thorny question of when and how an employment relationship can end. 2025 saw the passage of several noncompete laws, and in the last three months of the year, two states took action against stay-or-pay requirements in ...