Free subscription to the Capitol Journal keeps you current on legislative and regulatory news.
Battle of Tech Titans Brewing over Age-Gating In response to efforts in multiple states, including Arkansas, California and Texas, to require social media platforms to verify the age of users and obtain...
Insurance Coverage for Speech Therapy Developing Legislative Trend? Pennsylvania became the second state to enact legislation ( HB 2268 ) requiring health insurers to cover speech therapy for children...
There may not be a more a divisive issue in the ongoing culture war than the fight over gender-affirming care, which encompasses a range of behavioral, psychological, social and medical interventions,...
Wave of AI Bills to Continue Next Year As of early September, more than 30 states had passed artificial intelligence-related bills or resolutions this year, according to the National Conference of State...
MI Addresses Multiple Healthcare Issues Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed over half a dozen bills dealing with healthcare and family support. The measures include SB 790 and SB 791 , allowing home help...
Uber and Lyft agreed to pay a combined $328 million to settle wage theft claims in New York. The state attorney general’s office said the ridesharing companies improperly deducted sales tax and contributions to a driver injury fund from their drivers’ pay and also failed to provide paid sick leave as required by state and local law. (PLURIBUS NEWS, SHRM)
In their 3rd special session of the year, Texas lawmakers passed a bill (SB 7 c) that, if signed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R), would bar private employers from requiring their workers to get vaccinated for COVID-19. The version of the bill sent to Abbott includes a $50,000 fine for employers that punish workers who refuse vaccination, up from the $10,000 fine in the original version of the measure. (KXAN, TEXAS TRIBUNE, STATE NET)
Ohio voters will weigh two ballot measures on Nov. 7 that could impact employer policies.
Issue 2 would legalize recreational use of marijuana.
“That does very much affect employers because employers are still struggling to find the right landing place on their policies as far as off-duty marijuana use by their employees and what efforts they want to make to govern marijuana use outside of the workplace,” said Leon Rodriguez, an attorney at Seyfarth Shaw LLP in Washington, D.C.
Another measure on the Ohio ballot, Issue 1, would give residents control over their own reproductive decisions, including abortion. Rodriquez said that based on the outcome of the measure, employers in the state will “need to determine if there are any changes they need to make to their employee coverage for abortion.”
A pair of ballot measures slated for California’s ballot next year could have a big impact on employers in that state. One would raise the state’s minimum wage to $18 per hour. The other would repeal the Private Attorneys General Act, which allows employees to sue their employers over alleged violations of state labor laws. (SHRM)
A new paid family and medical leave program scheduled to launch in Minnesota in 2026 will cost employers and workers about 18% more than previously estimated, according to an actuarial analysis commissioned by the state. The analysis projected much higher benefit and administrative costs than those estimated by the state. (CENTER SQUARE, MINNESOTA REFORMER)
—Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK