Labor & Employment Law Update

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would place strict deadlines for employers and newly certified unions to reach a first collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The bill, which garnered some bi-partisan support to pass the GOP-led House, would potentially place the terms of such initial collective bargaining agreements in the hands of federal arbitrators, instead of being negotiated to conclusion by the parties.

Employers with operations in Chicago and Cook County should prepare for local minimum wage increases effective July 1, 2026, along with related notice, posting, and compliance obligations. While the Illinois statewide minimum wage remains unchanged, Chicago and Cook County will implement higher local rates that apply based on employer size and location.

A new legal opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is reshaping how employment discrimination claims based on unequal outcomes may be handled. On June 9, 2026, the U.S. DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel issued a formal legal opinion concluding that the EEOC's approach to disparate-impact liability is unconstitutional. While this theory of discrimination still exists, the opinion narrows it and raises the bar for employees who bring these claims. As a result, employers may have increased flexibility in using common hiring tools such as criminal background checks and aptitude tests without fear that they could face discrimination claims—but it does not make intentional discrimination any less illegal.

On June 4, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a new National Enforcement Plan (NEP), effective immediately, replacing the Biden-era Strategic Enforcement Plan. The NEP realigns federal enforcement around the current administration’s priorities and signals a significant shift in how workplace discrimination claims will be investigated and litigated. For employers, the change reshapes where federal risk will change and diverge from state law obligations.

Significant changes to federal contracting rules are reshaping how businesses interact with the U.S. government, particularly when it comes to compliance, workforce policies, and pricing strategies. These changes stem largely from Executive Order 14173 (EO 14173), signed in January 2025, which revokes long‑standing affirmative action requirements and introduces new certification obligations for contractors.

For companies that rely on federal funding or work on federally supported projects, understanding the new expectations is critical to staying compliant and minimizing risk.

Employers operating in Columbus, Ohio, have approximately six months left to prepare for a significant change in hiring practices. Effective January 1, 2027, the City of Columbus will begin enforcing its pay transparency requirements under Ordinance 2898-2025, which will require covered employers to include a "reasonable salary range or scale" in employment postings.

While some employers may view this as a simple change to job advertisements, the reality is that pay transparency laws often expose broader compensation, equity, and compliance issues that organizations should address before salary ranges become public.

Employers that rely on transportation workers, delivery drivers, and gig drivers may face significantly increased litigation risk following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. In Flowers Foods v. Brock, the Court ruled that “last mile” local delivery drivers qualify for the Federal Arbitration Act’s exemption for “transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce,” even if the drivers do not cross state lines. As a result, some transportation workers and gig drivers now have the green light to pursue their disputes in a court of law, even if they signed a private arbitration agreement with their employer/company.

Although they may not realize it, even non-union employers face risk under the National Labor Relations Act. Everyday workplace decisions can trigger scrutiny and while the enforcement climate is shifting, the underlying risk remains. For employers, this is no longer a niche legal issue. It’s a legitimate business risk.

For a growing number of employers, the concerns keeping them awake include whether their employee handbook violates federal labor law, whether a supervisor’s offhand comment during a tense performance review could trigger an unfair labor practice charge, or whether an employee group text complaining about the schedule somehow became protected concerted activity under the NLRA.

Many employers underestimate that liability under the FMLA extends well beyond denying leave for an unlawful reason. It can arise from everyday decisions about communication, workload, and expectations during that leave. Over the past few months, courts have weighed in on where that line can be drawn, and as this area of law continues to evolve, employers should become intimately familiar with this ever-changing legal landscape.

If your business has 16 or more employees in Illinois, a new law—the Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act—requires you to provide additional job-protected leave for parents with a newborn or newly adopted child in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The Illinois Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act (NICLA) takes effect June 1, 2026. Here’s what you need to know.