As employers continue to grapple with the ever-changing legal landscape of COVID-era regulations, 2021 will bring changes to the traditional realm of employment law in dozens of jurisdictions.  Compared to prior years, there are significantly fewer new laws and regulations taking effect the first of the year. This is likely because state legislatures focused on emergency pandemic-related laws while in session. Nonetheless, employers will still face many new obligations in the months ahead.

Some states and localities are enacting legislation to better distinguish independent contractors from employees, while others are implementing laws to restrict or prohibit the conditions under which a criminal record can be considered in employment decisions.  Unique 2021 laws include Portland, Oregon’s restriction on the use of facial recognition technology and Montgomery County, Maryland’s guarantee of 30-hour minimum workweeks for employees engaged in janitorial services.

See the chart and links below for access to summaries of several employment-related laws taking effect in 2021. Please note that the below list includes generally applicable laws taking effect in states and some large municipalities. It is not an exhaustive list, and may not necessarily include laws applicable to your particular industry. In addition, this list does not include laws regarding minimum wage and overtime requirements. Those new laws will be addressed in a separate, future Insight.

The Golden State once again enacted the lion’s share of new laws. Governor Newsom signed over 20 new labor and employment bills into law in 2020. Those taking effect in early 2021 are listed below.

California
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
AB 323	Contingent Workforce – Independent Contractors	Extends for one year (until January 1, 2022) the exception from the ABC test for newspaper carriers.	1/1/2021
AB 685	COVID-19 Notification	Allows the state to track COVID-19 cases in the workplace more closely.  Expands Cal/OSHA’s authority to issue Stop Work Orders for workplaces that pose a risk of an “imminent hazard” relating to COVID-19.  Requires notice in the event of a COVID-19 exposure in the workplace, including providing written notice to “all employees” who were at the worksite within the infectious period who may have been exposed to the virus.	1/1/2021
AB 979	Corporate Boards – Diversity	Requires that a publicly traded corporation with a principal executive office in California appoint members of underrepresented communities to the Board of Directors.	1/1/2021
AB 1281	Privacy	Grants another one-year extension (until January 1, 2022) of the exclusion of certain Human Resources data from coverage under the California Consumer Privacy Act.	1/1/2021
AB 1512	Security Guards – Rest Breaks	Allows employers to require that security guards covered by collective bargaining agreements, and paid at least one dollar more than minimum wage, remain on premises and on call during rest breaks.	1/1/2021
AB 1731	Unemployment – Work Sharing	Automates parts of California’s work sharing program.	1/1/2021
AB 1864	Whistleblowing	Prohibits adverse action against employees who have filed any proceeding under the Consumer Financial Protection law.	1/1/2021
AB 1947	Statute of Limitations for Wage/Hour Discharge – Discrimination Complaints	Lengthens from six months to one year the statute of limitations for bringing a claim of discriminatory discharge in violation of any law under the jurisdiction of the Labor Commissioner; authorizes attorney’s fees for successful plaintiffs.	1/1/2021
AB 1963	Human Resources – Mandated Child Abuse Reporting	Designates Human Resources professionals who work for businesses that employ minors, and employ five or more employees, as mandated child abuse reporters.  Such persons must be given mandated reporting training, and a written statement describing their obligations.	1/1/2021
AB 2017	Protected Time Off – Kin Care	Provides that the designation of sick leave taken for kin care shall be made at the sole discretion of the employee.	1/1/2021
AB 2143	Discrimination and Harassment	Clarifies when a no-rehire provision in a settlement agreement regarding harassment, sexual assault, or criminal conduct is permitted; requires certain employer documentation.	1/1/2021
AB 2231	Public Works	Lowers threshold for qualifying as a public works project for purposes of the minimum wage.	1/1/2021
AB 2399	Family Temporary Disability Insurance	Expands Family Temporary Disability Insurance (FTDI) program to include absences due to military service of family member.	1/1/2021
AB 2479	Petroleum Facility Safety-Sensitive Employees– Rest Breaks	Allows employer to require that employees in safety-sensitive positions at petroleum facilities covered by collective bargaining agreements, and paid at least 30% more than the state minimum wage, remain on premises and on call during rest breaks.	1/1/2021 – 1/1/2026
AB 2537	Acute Care Hospital –PPE Supplies	Requires acute care hospitals to supply PPE to employees who provide direct patient care, and ensure that employees use PPE.  Beginning April 1, 2021, acute care hospitals must maintain a three-month supply of PPE, and provide an inventory of PPE to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health upon request.	1/1/2021 and 4/1/2021
AB 2588	Health Care Worker Training	Requires acute care hospitals to reimburse certain training expenses of employees and job applicants.	1/1/2021
AB 2992	Protected Time Off – Crime Victims	Expands leave for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking to include leave for the victim of any crime that caused physical injury or mental injury with a threat of physical injury.	1/1/2021
AB 3075	Report of Wage and Hour Violations	Requires that corporations register with the state information regarding violations of the wage orders or Labor Code.	1/1/2022
AB 3372	Employment Taxes	Permits any notice or document required to terminate, modify, or release an earnings withholding order for taxes to be served by electronic transmission.	1/1/2021
SB 973	Pay Data Reporting	Requires businesses to report to DFEH pay data for various categories of employees.	1/1/2021
SB 1383	CFRA Expansion	Expands California Family Rights Act (CFRA) coverage to employers of five or more employees.  Expands categories of family members covered by CFRA leaves.	1/1/2021
SB 1384	Representation of Financially Disabled Persons in Arbitration	Labor Commissioner will represent financially disabled persons when wage claims are referred to arbitration.	1/1/2021

 

Colorado
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
SB 20-170	Unemployment Compensation & Eligibility	Provides that employees forced to leave work for domestic violence-related safety reasons, may still be eligible for unemployment benefits; expands definitions of family members; permits severance pay to be deducted from unemployment compensation.	1/1/2021
SB 19-085	Pay Equity & Discrimination	Prohibits wage discrimination based on sex and gender identity; prohibits employers from seeking an applicant’s salary history and from barring employees from disclosing or discussing their wages.  Mandates transparency in wages and advancement and provides damages for non-compliance.	1/1/2021
SB 20-205	Paid Leave	This law allows employees to accrue at least one hour of paid sick and safe time leave for every 30 hours they work, up to a maximum of 48 hours per year.  *The law will apply to employers with 16 or more employees starting January 1, 2021, and then apply to all employers on January 1, 2022.	*1/1/2021

 

Connecticut
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
P.A. 19-25	Paid Leave	This law establishing a Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program was enacted in 2019. Leaves covered by the program do not begin until January 2022. Employers must, however, begin payroll deductions to fund the program starting January 2021.	1/1/2021

 

Georgia
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
SB 288	Criminal Background Checks	Allows rehabilitated individuals to petition the court to restrict and seal certain criminal records, and prohibits the use of an employee’s criminal history information in an action against an employer for the employee’s actions.	1/1/2021
SB 443	Wage & Hour – Garnishments	Limits the amount of wages that can be garnished for student loan repayment to 15% of garnishee’s weekly disposable earnings.	1/1/2021

 

Hawaii
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
SB 2638	Protected Time Off – Domestic Violence	Makes changes to documents that an employer may request to verify that an employee is a victim of domestic or sexual violence.	1/1/2021

 

Iowa
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
SB 2296	Contingent Workforce – Independent Contractors	Establishes the circumstances under which certain independent contractors are not considered employees for purposes of various laws.	7/1/2021

 

Louisiana
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
SB 68	Employee Definitions	Provides the definitions of “employee” and excludes independent contractors from definition of “employment” for the purpose of unemployment benefits.	1/1/2021

 

Maine
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
LD 369 (SP 110)	Protected Time Off – PTO General	Entitles employees to accrue one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours per year, where the employer has more than 10 employees.	1/1/2021
12-170 Ch. X	Protected Time Off – PTO Rules	Creates procedures for accruing paid leave, providing notice of the need to use leave, scheduling use of leave, and penalizing denial of paid leave.	1/1/2021

 

Maryland
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
Montgomery County Bill 12-19	Wage & Hour – Scheduling	Requires certain employers to provide a minimum work week of at least 30 hours for each employee working as a janitor, building cleaner, security officer, concierge, doorperson, handyperson, or building superintendent and performing janitorial services.	1/1/2021

 

Massachusetts
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
HB 4640	Paid Leave	Beginning on January 1, 2021, all private Massachusetts employers must provide covered individuals with paid family and medical leave, funded through a payroll tax.	1/1/2021

 

Minnesota
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
Minneapolis Ord. No. 2019-00699	Contingent Workforce – Independent Contractors	Creates the Freelance Worker Protection Ordinance; requires contracts for service to be set forth in writing and provides an enforcement mechanism for failure to pay a worker as agreed upon in the contract.	1/1/2021

 

Missouri
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
St. Louis Ord. No. 71074	Criminal Background Checks	Prohibits employers from basing hiring or promotion decisions on an applicant’s criminal history, unless the employer can demonstrate its relevance to the employment-related decision.	1/1/2021

 

Nevada
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
SB 481 (BDR 788)	Benefits – Health Insurance	Establishes requirements for obtaining a certificate of authority for self-funded multiple employer welfare arrangements.	1/1/2021
SB 119	Safety Training	Expands mandatory safety training to include employees performing work at sites primarily used for trade shows, conventions and related activities.	1/1/2021

 

New Jersey
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
SB 3170 (AB 5145)	Business Restructuring	Expands employers’ advance notice and severance pay obligations under the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act (New Jersey mini-WARN). *Note that the effective date of this law has been extended several times due to the pandemic. It is possible that the current effective date will once again be extended.	2/21/2021*

 

New York
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
SB 2328	Wage Payment – Pay Stubs	Enables employees who have chosen direct deposit to receive electronic confirmation of direct deposit in lieu of paper pay stubs.	4/5/2021

 

Oregon
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
Portland Ord. No. 190114	Privacy – Surveillance	Prohibits private entities from using facial recognition technology in places of public accommodation.	1/1/2021

 

Virginia
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
HB 1407 (SB 744)	Contingent Workforce: Independent Contractors	Creates a presumption that a worker is an employee, unless either party proves independent contractor status under federal IRS guidelines.  Prohibits worker misclassification, providing civil penalties and prohibiting contract awards from public bodies and covered individuals for violations.	1/1/2021
HB 874 (SB 160)	Cell Phones/ Texting	Prohibits holding a handheld personal communications device while driving a motor vehicle, subject to several exceptions, including for emergency situations and personnel employed by certain emergency services.	1/1/2021

 

Washington
Law	Main Topic	Summary	Effective Date
HB 1645	Criminal Background Checks	Prohibits denying employment to a care provider or licensing to an early childhood educator where a background check reveals that the individual has a finding of child abuse or neglect in their record, but has since obtained a certificate of parental improvement, as defined in the new chapter.	1/1/2021
Seattle Council Bill No. 119810	Employment Taxes	Imposes a local payroll tax on employers doing business within the City of Seattle.	1/1/2021