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California's Assembly Bill 1697 delays the implementation of stay-or-pay prohibitions until January 1, 2027, while expanding exemptions for discretionary bonuses, financial services recruiting payments, and paid time off advances. Employers now have a one-year reprieve to review existing arrangements and develop compliant alternatives before the law takes effect.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has published four groundbreaking documents to its New Chemicals Division Reference Library that introduce New Approach Methods for assessing human health hazards of surfactants. These documents outline a refined approach using the MucilAir three-dimensional human airway epithelial model to derive human-relevant points of departure for respiratory irritation, marking a significant advancement in chemical safety assessment under TSCA Section 5.

Currently, New York employees do not have a statutory right to inspect their personnel files. That will change on Nov. 8, 2026, when Senate Bill S3460 takes effect. The new law, signed by the governor on Sept. 9, 2026, permits current and former employees to access their personnel files and creates additional rights relating to those records.