State and local laws

This roundup focuses on recent federal and state actions to restrict noncompete provisions and provides links to federal and state resources from various sources.

On Jan. 21, 2022, The Office of Personnel Management issued guidance to officially implement a $15 minimum wage for federal employees — this follows President Biden’s January 2021 executive order asking the OPM director to provide...

The federal Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires that men and women in the same workplace receive equal pay for equal work.

This article summarizes state and city retirement initiatives for private-sector workers and lists relevant Mercer and third-party resources.

Revenue Ruling 2025-4 confirms the federal tax treatment of state paid family and medical leave contributions and benefits in 14 states and Washington, DC.

States have focused on family and medical leave, pharmacy benefits, artificial intelligence, network design, telehealth, and other healthcare areas.

The Massachusetts Health Connector announced 2026 dollar limits on deductibles and other cost sharing for minimum creditable coverage.

Since Jan. 1, 2024, Minnesota employers have had to provide eligible employees with up to 48 hours of earned sick and safe time per year — accrued at one hour for every 30 hours worked. This deck provides an overview of the law’s requirements, including changes made by the state legislature in 2024.

State health-related legislation and regulations in Q4 2024 tackled paid family and medical leave, prescription drugs, telehealth and more.

More than one-third of all states have some form of accrued paid leave requirement; 18 states (including three with laws that take effect in 2025) and Washington, DC, require paid sick leave, with three other states requiring accrued paid time off that can be used for any reason.

Mandates requiring paid leave for an employee’s own health condition exist in many states —along with Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. Several other states will start similar programs in the next few years.

Updated guidelines set the 2025 federal poverty level at $15,650 for employers using the mainland US FPL, $19,550 for employers using the Alaska FPL, and $17,990 for employers using the Hawaii FPL.

New York has posted its 2025 regional covered-lives assessment rates and percentage surcharges for graduate medical education under the state’s Health Care Reform Act.

Group health plan sponsors continue to face myriad state reporting requirements as summarized in this GRIST.