Global Compliance – United States

United States: Upcoming Amendments to Labour Law Provisions  

Effective January 2026, several states across the United States are bringing about significant changes in their respective labour law provisions.   

Read on as we cover these changes in detail – 

Minnesota: New Paid Family and Medical Leave Program  

Currently, Minnesota has no state-mandated paid family and medical leave program. Employers may provide such benefits voluntarily, but there is no legal requirement for wage replacement during qualifying leave events. 

Effective January 1, 2026, the eligible employees will be entitled to receive Paid Family and Medical Leave. 

Duration of the leave: Eligible employees will be entitled to receive: 

• up to 12 weeks of paid medical leave for an employee’s serious health condition 
• up to 12 weeks of paid family leave for caregiving, bonding, military events, or safe leave 
• a combined maximum of 20 weeks in a benefit year if both medical and family leave is used.  

Leaves may be taken continuously, intermittently, or on a reduced schedule, subject to certification and notice requirements. 

The benefit year commences on the first day the employee begins the leave under the PFML program. 

Eligibility Criteria: An individual is eligible for benefits if they: 

• have earned wages in Minnesota during the base period (approximately 5.3% of the state average annual wage threshold), 
• have worked at least 50% of their time in Minnesota, and
• the Act also allows self-employed individuals and independent contractors to opt in coverage through voluntary participation. 

Usage of the leave: Employees are entitled to use leave under following circumstances: 

• Medical Leave: The employee’s own serious health condition, including incapacity due to pregnancy, childbirth, or recovery therefrom.
• Family Leave  
  • bonding with a child following birth, adoption, or foster care placement; 
  • caring for a family member with a serious health condition; 
  • a qualifying exigency arising from a family member’s military service; 
  • safety leave for matters relating to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. 

The term “family member” is broadly defined to include spouses, partners, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, and certain individuals with equivalent caregiving relationships. 

Pay: An employee will be entitled to receive pay benefits from Social Security unless the employer has opted for a private plan. 

Notice Requirement: An employee must provide the employer with at least 30 days’ written notice of the anticipated start date of the leave whenever the need for leave is foreseeable. If the need for leave is not foreseeable, the employee must give notice as soon as practicable to their employer. 

Minnesota:  New Meal and Rest Break  

Currently, Minnesota employers must allow employees “adequate time from work” within each 4 consecutive hours of work to use the nearest convenient restroom. For meal breaks, if an employee works 8 or more consecutive hours, the employer must permit the employee “sufficient time to eat a meal.”  

Effective January 1, 2026, eligible employees will be entitled to receive a paid rest break of at least 15 minutes or enough time to use the nearest convenient restroom, whichever is longer within every 4 consecutive hours of work. For meal breaks, employers must provide each employee working 6 or more consecutive hours with a meal break of at least 30 minutes. 

Colorado: FAMLI NICU Care Expansion 

Currently, Colorado’s Paid Family & Medical Leave Insurance program (FAMLI) currently allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of leave for qualifying reasons (serious health condition, bonding, etc. 

Before this amendment, parents whose newborns required care in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) could only use their standard 12 weeks of paid leave under FAMLI, typically categorized as “bonding” or “family care” leave. Once those 12 weeks were exhausted, no additional entitlement existed under state law for NICU-related care. 

Effective January 1, 2026, The FAMLI NICU Care Amendment expands FAMLI benefits to include a separate, additional 12 weeks of paid leave specifically for parents whose newborns require care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or other specialized infant care unit. 

Key Provisions: 

Additional 12 weeks: Parents of newborns in NICU care will be entitled to an extra 12 weeks of paid FAMLI leave, in addition to the standard 12 weeks of bonding leave.

This means eligible parents may now receive up to 24 weeks total of paid FAMLI leave for that benefit year (12 bonding + 12 NICU). 

Eligibility Criteria: The leave shall apply to both parents, regardless of gender or marital status, provided they meet standard FAMLI eligibility criteria (i.e., have earned at least $2,500 in wages subject to FAMLI premiums in the previous year). 

Notice Requirement: The employee shall give notice as soon as possible. 

In case of a foreseeable situation, if parents know in advance that their newborn will require specialized post-delivery care (e.g., anticipated premature birth or medical condition), they shall give up to 30 days of advance notice to their employer.  

Maine: Paid Family & Medical Leave 

Currently, Maine has unpaid job-protected leave (the Maine Family & Medical Leave Requirements Act) for certain employers and employees. 

Effective January 1, 2026, an eligible employee in Maine will be entitled to receive Paid Family and Medical Leave. 

Duration of Leave: Employees will be entitled to take up to 12 weeks of paid family leave and 12 weeks of paid medical leave in a benefit year. 

However, total combined leave (family + medical) cannot exceed 12 weeks per year. 

The law allows an employee to take medical leave immediately followed by family leave (for example, pregnancy recovery followed by parental bonding) when certified by a healthcare provider. 

Leaves can be taken intermittently in at least one-day increments, unless the employer agrees to smaller periods (but not less than one hour). 

Eligibility Criteria: To qualify for Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) benefits, an individual must: 

• be employed by a covered employer in Maine, or be a self-employed person who has voluntarily opted into the program. 
• during the base period (the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the benefit year), have earned wages paid in Maine equal to at least six times the State Average Weekly Wage (SAWW). 

Usage of Leave: An employee shall be entitled to receive leave under following conditions: 

• bonding with a newborn, adopted, or foster child within 12 months of placement or birth. 
• caring for a family member with a serious health condition. 
• attending a qualifying exigency related to a family member’s military service. 
• caring for a covered service member who is a family member. 
• safe leave, such as for reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 
• any other reason recognized under Maine’s labour statute. 

Pay: Employees will be entitled to receive a weekly payment based on a percentage of their average weekly wage, up to a maximum limit set by the state. 

Notice Requirements: Employees are required to give reasonable advance notice before taking leave, except in emergencies or sudden illness. 

Employment Protection and Benefits– Employees on PFML continue to accrue employment benefits such as vacation, sick leave, bonuses, seniority, and advancement opportunities as if they were still working.

Note: PFML leave runs concurrently with federal FMLA and Maine’s state family leave laws, where applicable. Employees who do not qualify under FMLA may still use PFML benefits. Employers cannot require employees to use their accrued vacation, sick, or personal time before or during PFML leave. 

Delaware: Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program 

Currently, Delaware has no Paid Family & Medical Leave provisions. 

Delaware’s Healthy Delaware Families Act was passed in 2022 to establish a statewide Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) insurance program. 

The program officially started its funding phase on January 1, 2025, when employers and employees began contributing through payroll deductions. 

Effective January 1, 2026, eligible employees will be entitled to receive paid benefits under family and medical leave in Delaware. 

Duration of Leave: 

• Parental Leave: Up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year for bonding with new child 
• Medical Leave: Up to 6 of paid leave weeks in 24-month period for own serious health condition 
• Family Caregiving Leave: Up to 6 of paid leave weeks in 24-month period for family member’s serious health condition 
• Military Exigency Leave: Up to 6 weeks of paid leave in 24-month period 

Employer Size Requirements: 

• Employers with 10-24 employees: must provide parental leave only 
• Employers with 25+ employees: must provide all leave types 
• Employers with fewer than 10 employees: Exempt (may opt in) 

Eligibility Criteria: An employee is eligible if the employee has worked : 

• at least 12 months for employer 
• at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months. 

Usage of Leave – Eligible employees will be able to take job-protected paid leave for the following reasons: 

• their own serious health condition 
• bonding with a new child after birth, adoption, or foster placement 
• caring for a family member with a serious health condition 
• military-related exigencies (for example, deployment or related activities). 

Pay: An employee will be entitled to receive pay benefits from their employer. 

The program is funded by employer contributions. The Act allows the employer to require the employees to contribute up to 50% of the cost via payroll deduction. 

Notice Requirement: An employee must provide their employer with written notice of leave at least 30 days in advance. If providing 30 days’ notice is not practicable, the employee must give notice as soon as possible.  

The notice should include the reason for the leave (such as the employee’s own serious health condition, caring for a family member, bonding with a new child, or a military-related exigency), the expected start and end dates, and, if applicable, any intermittent or reduced leave schedule. 

Illinois: Blood and Organ Donation Leave Act 

Currently, the Blood and Organ Donation Leave Act allows eligible employees to take paid leave for blood donation or organs donation. 

Full-time employees who have worked for at least 6 months with an employer (with 51 or more employees) are qualified for paid blood and organ donation leave. 

Employees may take up to 1 hour every 56 days for blood donation, up to 2 hours (24 times a year) for platelet donation, and up to 10 days per 12 months for organ donation (30 days for State employees). 

Effective January 1, 2026, expands eligibility to include any participating employee or part-time employee shall be entitled to up to 10 days of paid organ donation leave in any 12-month period. 

Pay for Part-time employees- Part-time employees shall be paid at a rate equal to their average daily pay over the previous 60 days of employment during the leave period. 

Notice requirement– Both full-time and part-time employees must obtain employer approval before taking organ donation leave. 

Note: Paid blood donor leave remains available only to full-time employees. 

Illinois:  Nursing/Breastfeeding Leave 

Currently, Nursing mothers are entitled to receive unpaid break to express breast milk for up to one year after birth and a private space (not a bathroom) for that purpose. 

Effective January 1, 2026, an employer shall provide reasonable paid break time to an employee who needs to express breast milk for their nursing infant child each time the employee has the need to express milk for one year after the child’s birth.  

An employer shall compensate the employee during the break time at the employee’s regular rate of pay for nursing/breastfeeding time. 

The break time may run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee.  An employer shall not require the employee to use paid leave during the break time or reduce the employee’s compensation during the break time in any other manner. 

Connecticut: Sick Leave Eligibility Expansion 

Currently, employers with 50 or more employees are required to provide paid sick leave. Employers with fewer employees may provide leave voluntarily or under separate contracts.  

Effective January 1, 2026, the eligibility threshold is lowered; employers with 11 or more employees must provide paid sick leave. 

Paid sick leave may be used for an employee’s own illness, preventive care, or to care for a family member, consistent with existing law. 

Oregon: Paid Sick Leave Expansion for Blood Donation 

Currently, an eligible employee is entitled to use their paid sick for the following reasons: 

• own or family member’s illness, injury, or health condition 
• medical appointments and preventive care 
• public health emergencies affecting school or childcare 
• care of a newly born, adopted or newly placed foster child (under 18 years old), or a child over 18 with a mental or physical disability who is incapable of self-care within 12 months after birth or placement 
• certain safe leave situations (domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, or stalking, as well as related activities such as seeking medical treatment, counseling, legal assistance, or relocating for safety.) 
• bereavement Leave (including attending a funeral or memorial service, making arrangements, or grieving the death of a family member.) 
• employees may donate accrued sick time to a coworker if the employer’s policy allows it. 

Employees accrue 1 hour of sick leave per 30 hours worked (up to 40 hours annually). 

Effective January 1, 2026, eligible employees will be entitled to use their paid sick for blood donation.  

The law is amended to add blood donation as a qualifying reason under the state’s paid sick leave law.  

Note: This is NOT an additional leave of entitlement. Employees use their existing accrued sick time for blood donation purposes. 

California: Training & Education Records  

Currently, employers allow current and former employees to inspect and receive copies of personnel records relating to the employee’s performance or grievances. This currently includes performance evaluations, written warnings, performance improvement plans, attendance records, and investigation summaries. Employers must respond to written requests within 30 calendar days. 

Effective January 1,2026, the definition of “personnel records” will expand to explicitly include education and training records: 

Employers shall include the following documents under education or training records: 

• employee’s name 
• name of the trainer 
• duration and date of the training 
• core competencies of the training (including equipment or software skills) 
• resulting certification or qualification 

 Proposed Amendment: Illinois Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act 

Effective June 1, 2026, employers with 16 or more employees must provide job-protected unpaid leave for employees whose child is a patient in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Employers with 16–50 employees must allow up to 10 days of unpaid leave, while employers with 51 or more employees must allow up to 20 days. 

Takeaway: Employers in the respective states should begin reviewing policies in relation to the above-mentioned provisions and take action to ensure compliance with the new changes in the law.