July 2026 Employer Compliance Calendar: Key HR, Payroll, Benefits and Workforce Management Deadlines
Staying ahead of rapidly changing compliance requirements isn't just good practice, it's essential to protect your organization and your people. From evolving payroll requirements to shifting workforce management rules, the stakes are high for employers navigating today's regulatory landscape.
Key takeaways:
This calendar complements our Eye on State and Local update by highlighting key HR, payroll, benefits, and workforce management compliance requirements including who they affect, when they occur and what you should do to prepare.
Included in this update are effective dates for Alaska, California, Connecticut District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington.
State and Local Developments
Minimum Wage Increases – Effective July 1, 2026
State and district level increases apply in Alaska, District of Columbia and Oregon. Local increases apply in California, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington. Review the rate details here.
Action Items:
Determine whether your state, county and/or city are increasing their minimum wages on July 1, 2026.
If you have employees entitled to be paid minimum wage (e.g. non-exempt employees) who are covered by one of these changes and they are paid below the new rate, increase their pay to at least the new level by July 1, 2026.
When more than one minimum wage applies, such as when the employee works where there is both a state and local minimum wage, generally pay the higher rate.
For employees who work remotely, the minimum wage that applies is typically based on where they perform the work.
Update workplace posters and employee notices if required.
Other State and Local Developments
Connecticut
Law regulating employers' use of production quotas at warehouse distribution centers takes effect
Impacted Employers: The law applies to employers that, at any time in the prior 12 months:
Employ at least 250 employees at a single Connecticut warehouse distribution center; or
Employ at least 1,000 employees across one or more Connecticut warehouse distribution centers.
Effective Date: July 1, 2026
Summary: The law creates new rules for large in‑state warehouse employers that use productivity quotas. It requires clear communication, limits how quotas are designed, and mandates recordkeeping. Employees must be able to access work-speed data, especially if quotas could interfere with required breaks or other workplace protections.
Action Items:
Warehouse distribution center employers that use production quotas must:
By August 1, 2026, provide each non-exempt employee with a written description of each quota, including any potential adverse actions that may result from a failure to satisfy the quota.
Notify employees of any change in quota as soon as practicable and provide a written description of the new quota within two business days.
Not set quotas that:
interfere with employees' use of bathroom facilities;
measures an employee's total output over an increment of time that is shorter than their work day; and
are based solely on ranking employees' performance in relation to other employees.
Maintain contemporaneous records of each individual employee's work speed data and aggregated work speed data for similar employees at the same distribution center.
Not retaliate against any employee for requesting records or filing a civil action.
Hawaii
Expanded family leave law takes effect
Impacted Employers: Employers with 100 or more employees working in Hawaii.
Effective Date: July 1, 2026
Summary: Hawaii has enacted legislation amending the Hawaii Family Leave Law (HFLL) to allow leave for a “qualifying military exigency.” The amendment defines a “qualifying military exigency” as a qualifying exigency related to active-duty service by an employee's child, spouse, reciprocal beneficiary, sibling, grandchild, or parent in the United States armed forces.
Action items:
Update your state family leave policy to include qualifying military exigency as a permitted reason for family leave.
Train supervisors and leave administrators that eligible employees may take up to four weeks of family leave per calendar year for a qualifying military exigency or other covered reasons.
Amend leave request forms to reflect the change.
Decide whether to require certification for family leave claims (the statute permits employers to do so), consulting legal counsel if necessary.
If certification is required, collect documentation for family leave, including official military orders for qualifying military exigency leave.
Maine
New drug testing rules
Impacted Employers: All employers with testing programs for substance use in Maine
Effective Date: July 29, 2026
Summary: Maine is updating its workplace drug testing rules starting July 29, 2026.
Key changes include:Follow your own policy: If an employer starts a drug test, they must follow their testing policy exactly.
Chance to explain results: Employees/applicants can challenge a “non-negative” result (an initial positive that isn’t yet confirmed) by giving a valid medical explanation.
Only doctors confirm positives: Only a Medical Review Officer (MRO) can report a confirmed positive result to the employer.
State approval required: All testing programs must be approved by the Maine Department of Labor even if there’s a union agreement.
More rules apply earlier in the testing process: Some requirements that used to apply only to confirmed positives now also apply to non-negative results.
Clear definitions added: Terms like random testing, criteria-based testing, and observable behavior are better defined.
Blood testing rights: If employees request a blood test, employers must use facilities that can perform it.
Shorter rehabilitation window:
Time to enter rehabilitation program after a confirmed positive is reduced from 6 months to 12 weeks
Employees must cover costs if not insured
Employer-run testing allowed: Employers can conduct testing themselves if their facilities meet lab standards.
Return-to-work testing: After a confirmed positive, an employee may be required to take one unannounced follow-up test between 90 days and 1 year later.
Ending a program: Employers must notify the state in writing if they stop their testing program.
Other technical changes
Action Items:
Employers with substance-use testing programs should read the law in full and review their policies and practices and ensure compliance with the amended rules.
Pay transparency law takes effect
Impacted employers: See below.
Effective Date: July 29, 2026
Summary: Maine employers with 10 or more employees must include the pay range in job postings, unless the job is based solely on commission.
All employees must disclose the pay range of an employee's current position upon request.
Action items:
Update recruiting policies and procedures and review all job postings to ensure proper pay range disclosures are included.
Nebraska
Workplace safety committee repeal takes effect
Impacted Employers: Employers with employees working in Nebraska
Effective Date: July 17, 2026
Summary: Private employers and certain public employers in Nebraska are no longer required to have workplace safety committees.
Action Items:
Review safety policies and procedures. The law does not prohibit employers from having workplace safety committees so private employers can still voluntarily decide to establish a safety committee.
Language support requirements take effect
Impacted Employers: Employers with an employee population of more than five percent (previously 10 percent) non-English-speaking employees who speak the same non-English language.
Effective Date: July 18, 2026
Summary: Nebraska has enacted legislation that strengthens the language support services an employer must provide. Under the law, covered employers must provide a language interpreter and employ an individual to serve as a referral agent to community services for the non-English-speaking employees.
Action Items:
Update required language support services consistent with the requirements of the law.
WARN Act requirements take effect
Impacted Employers: Nebraska employers with 100 or more employees (excluding part-time employees)
Effective Date: July 18, 2026
Summary: Covered employers must provide a 90-day written advance notice to the Nebraska Department of Labor (the Department) and employees it expects to be impacted by a business closing or a mass layoff. See the text of the law for additional details.
Action Items:
Update termination and notice policies and procedures and consult counsel as needed.
New Jersey
New jersey family Leave act amendments take effect
Impacted Employers: Employers 15 or more employees with lower thresholds in future years.
Effective Date: July 17, 2026
Summary:
The amendment increases which employers are covered under the New Jersey Family leave Act as follows, based on the number of employees they have in the current or the immediately preceding calendar year:
· July 17, 2026 - 15 or more employees
· July 17, 2027 - 10 or more employees
· July 17, 2028 – 5 or more employees
In addition, effective July 17, 2026, to be covered under the law, an employee must be employed by a covered employer for at least three months and have worked at least 250 hours during the preceding 12 months.
Finally, the amendment also expands job protections for employees who use temporary disability benefits (TDI) or family temporary disability leave benefits (FLI).
Employers must:
Restore an employee to their position or a position with equivalent seniority, pay, and benefits upon return; and
Let an employee who is eligible for earned sick leave and either TDI or FLI decide the order in which they wish to use their leave.
Action Items:
Employers should review and update their family and disability leave policies to help ensure compliance with the law.
New York
Mandatory retirement program registration required
Impacted Employers: See below.
Effective Date: The deadline for covered employers to register (or certify an exemption) for the program depends on the size of the employer: March 18, 2026, for employers with 30 or more employees; May 15, 2026, for employers with 15 to 29 employees; and July 15, 2026, for employers with 10 to 14 employees.
Summary: Employers with 10 to 14 employees that do not offer a qualified retirement plan must register with the Secure Choice Savings Program.
Action Items:
Review the New York State Secure Choice Savings Program requirements and be on the lookout for information from the state.
Virginia
Salary history prohibition land wage transparency law takes effect
Impacted Employers: Most Virgina employers with limited exceptions.
Effective Date: July 1, 2026
Summary: Virginia has enacted legislation that prohibits an employer from asking about a prospective employee’s salary history and requires an employer to provide a good-faith wage or salary range in its internal and external job postings.
Action items:
Employers may not:
Seek a prospective employee's salary history.
Rely on a prospective employee's salary history in consideration for employment.
Rely on a prospective employee's salary history in determining their salary upon hire, unless the employee voluntarily provides it.
Refuse to interview, hire, employ, promote, or otherwise retaliate against a prospective or current employee for not providing their salary history.
Employers must:
Disclose the wage or salary range for a position in each public and internal posting for a job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity.
Set a wage or salary range in good faith.
Human Rights Act amendments take effect
Impacted Employers: An individual (and their agent) that employs five or more employees (previously 15 employees) for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, or one or more domestic workers.
Effective Date: July 1, 2026
Summary: Virginia has enacted legislation that increases the number of employers covered under the Virginia Human Rights Act (VHRA) and expands worker nondiscrimination protections.
Action items:
Review whether the changes to the VHRA will apply to your business and train supervisors on the changes under the law
Volunteer emergency responder protection law takes effect
Impacted Employers: All Virgina employers.
Effective Date: July 1, 2026
Summary: Employers may not retaliate against employees for absences due to serving as voluntary emergency responders.
Action items:
Ensure policies and procedures are updated to reflect the requirements of the law.
Clean slate law takes effect
Impacted Employers: All Virgina employers with limited exceptions.
Effective Date: July 1, 2026
Summary: Employers not subject to federal hiring laws may not require applicants to disclose information concerning any arrest, charge or sealed conviction.
The prohibition does not apply if:
The applicant is applying with state or local law enforcement.
State or federal law requires the employer to make the inquiry.
The position is subject to national security requirements.
Action items:
Update recruiting and background check policies and procedures to reflect the requirements of the law.
Expanded wage and overtime requirements take effect
Impacted Employers: All Virgina employers as defined under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Effective Date: July 1, 2026
Summary: Virginia has enacted legislation which, among other things, clarifies the definition of wages, amends overtime and recordkeeping requirements and extends protections for violations of certain laws. Under the law, an employer must pay an individual who is employed by a home care agency or other third-party provider to provide direct support services at least one and one-half times the employee's regular rate for any hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. Direct support services are personal care services that assist participants with instrumental activities of daily living.
The law clarifies the definition of wages, including requirements for time and medium of payment, withholding of wages, and written statements of earnings.
The law also requires an employer to keep pay statements or an online accounting for at least three years following the date that the employee performed the work.
Action items:
Update pay and recordkeeping policies and procedures to help ensure compliance with the changes under the law
New child labor laws take effect
Impacted Employers: All Virgina employers.
Effective Date: July 1, 2026
Summary: Virginia has enacted legislation that extends and clarifies its child labor laws. The law maintains the existing prohibition on individuals under 18 working in occupations deemed hazardous by Virginia’s Commissioner of Labor and Industry, and additionally prohibits working in occupations deemed hazardous by the U.S. Secretary of Labor. Finally, the law imposes new requirements for employers hiring children 16 years or older in apprenticeship programs or other work-training programs relating to culinary arts or information technology.
Action items:
Update hiring policies and procedures.
Changes to Virginia’s IRA savings program take effect
Impacted Employers: Virgina employers with five or more employees who do not offer a qualified employer-sponsored retirement plan.
Summary: Virginia has enacted legislation which expands the definition of eligible employer to include employers with five or more employees. The law also:
Clarifies that employers who offer and sponsor a qualified retirement plan, including 401(k) plans, are not required to register for RetirePath;
Removes the requirement that eligible employees work at least 30 hours a week; and
Adds the requirement that participating individuals enrolling in the program be at least 18-years old.
Action Items
Determine whether the business meets the employee threshold criteria that require them to have an employer-sponsored retirement program or to register with RetirePath. Review payroll processes to ensure timely transmission of withholdings.
Washington
New child labor laws take effect
Impacted Employers: All Washington employers.
Effective Date: July 1, 2026
Summary: Washington has enacted legislation that will allow 16- or 17-years old and enrolled in a bona fide college program or in a qualifying career and technical education program to work more hours during the school year.
Action items:
Update hiring policies and procedures.
Fair Chance Act amendments take effect
Impacted employers: Employers with 15 or more employees
Effective Date: July 1, 2026 (January 1, 2027, for employers with fewer than 15 employees)
Summary: The Washington law expands protections for job applicants and employees under the state’s Fair Chance Act, aligning the statewide law more closely with Seattle’s Fair Chance Employment Ordinance.
Action Items:
Employers may not:
Inquire about an applicant's criminal record before extending a conditional job offer.
Take an adverse action against an applicant or employee based on their arrest record or juvenile conviction record.
Take an adverse action against an applicant or employee based on their adult conviction record absent a legitimate business reason.
Employers must:
Provide notice to an applicant or employee regarding the record being assessed before taking an adverse action.
Hold the position open for a minimum of two business days to provide the applicant or employee a reasonable opportunity to correct or explain the record.
After granting the reasonable opportunity to correct or explain, provide the applicant or employee with a written decision regarding its individualized assessment, considering specified factors.
About ADP
ADP carefully monitors federal and state legislative and regulatory developments in key areas including human resources, payroll, tax, benefits administration, and workforce management to help ensure that ADP systems are updated as relevant laws evolve.
We are committed to assisting businesses with increased compliance requirements resulting from rapidly evolving legislation and regulations. Our goal is to help minimize your administrative burden so that you can focus on running your business.
About this Update
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein should be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion. This summary is high level and may not address all details, requirements, or compliance obligations related to the developments described. Additionally, the compliance events referenced may have changed since publication. Before acting or refraining from action based on this information, consult a qualified attorney for advice tailored to your specific situation.
