Topic hub
Employment law and rights
Employment law sets the rules for hiring, pay, working conditions and dismissal, and those rules are changing fast. This hub gathers our coverage of new workplace laws and regulation, discrimination and the emerging rules on AI in hiring, pay, overtime and wage theft, workplace disputes and settlements, unions and industrial action, immigration and work visas, and employment in the public sector.
Our articles explain what has changed and who it affects. They are general information, not legal advice: rules differ between countries and states, and anyone facing a workplace problem should get advice on their own situation from an official advice service or a qualified lawyer.
Information, not advice. These articles explain the law in general terms. Rules differ between countries and states. For your own situation, contact Acas or Citizens Advice in the UK, the U.S. Department of Labor or your state labor agency in the US, or a qualified lawyer. Read our disclaimer.
Start here
Four pieces that give the clearest overview of this topic.
The July 1 Avalanche: Dozens of New Workplace Laws Just Hit American Employers at Once
The way employment law develops in this nation is subtly unrelenting. The majority of employers anticipate January to be the reset month, when new…
Workday Lawsuit – How to Join, Who Qualifies, and Why This Case Could Rewrite Hiring Law
Over a number of years, Derek Mobley applied to over 100 jobs. He is over forty, Black, and disabled. He used Workday's platform to…
Instantly Reclassifying Millions of Managers: The Department of Labor’s Sudden Overtime Threshold Shift
The potential for significant changes in workplace policy in this nation is almost subtle. The U.S. Department of Labor released a "technical amendment" in…
Inside the Fight to Unionize America’s Warehouses, One State Law at a Time
The federal process of unionizing a warehouse has never been lenient. When nearly 1,800 workers in Bessemer, Alabama, voted against creating Amazon's first union…
New laws, regulation and compliance
New workplace laws, regulations and compliance duties for employers, in the US and around the world.
Vetting the Vetoes: The Workforce Bills Governors Killed in 2026 and What They Reveal
Every spring, when governors complete their review of legislation passed by their state assemblies, a certain type of political theater takes place. Press conferences are given to the signings. The…
Show all 21 articles in New laws, regulation and compliance
- From Silence to Statute: How Whistleblower Protections Became 2026’s Sleeper Legislative Fight
- Why the “Know Your Rights” Poster on Your Breakroom Wall Just Became a Legal Landmine
- Drug Testing in the Age of Legal Weed: The 2026 Compliance Puzzle Employers Keep Failing
- The July 1 Avalanche: Dozens of New Workplace Laws Just Hit American Employers at Once
- Britain’s Zero-Hours Crackdown Arrives – The Hospitality Industry Is Rewriting Every Contract
- Queensland’s Labour Hire Crackdown Is Ensnaring Companies That Never Saw It Coming
- Governor Spanberger’s First Hundred Days Rewrote Virginia’s Workplace Rulebook
- Ireland’s Remote Work Rights Are Becoming a Recruitment Weapon Against London
- Britain’s Four-Day Week Movement Just Got Its First Legislative Foothold
- Stripping Power From Arbitrators: What California Employers Must Know About the New PAGA Regulations
- Contentious Summer Labor Fights: Why Revising Ethylene Oxide Rules Strained the OSHA-Industry Relationship
- Facing Intense Regulatory Scrutiny – Why the App-Based Gig Delivery Model May No Longer Be Viable
- Clocking In Becomes an Expensive Liability – Why Biometric Privacy Laws Are Costing Retailers Millions
- Why Egypt’s Long-Delayed Labor Law Overhaul Finally Passed After a Decade
- Why Australia’s Right to Disconnect Law Is Already Facing Its First Major Test
- How the Netherlands Is Rewriting the Rules on Freelancer Classification
- How Singapore’s New Gig Worker Protections Are Forcing Uber and Grab to Rethink Pay
- The New Child Labor Loophole Quietly Reopening Across the American South
Discrimination, bias and AI hiring law
Discrimination and equality law, pregnancy and disability rights, and the new rules on AI in hiring.
Connecticut Just Passed the Nation’s Toughest AI Firing Law, Silicon Valley Is Watching Nervously
For many years, the discourse surrounding artificial intelligence in the workplace advanced more quickly than any legislation could. Algorithmic screening tools were discreetly adopted by employers. Many companies have replaced…
Show all 8 articles in Discrimination, bias and AI hiring law
- New Jersey’s Disparate Impact Rules Just Raised the Stakes on Every Hiring Algorithm
- Workday Lawsuit – How to Join, Who Qualifies, and Why This Case Could Rewrite Hiring Law
- Leaving Tech Recruiters Scrambling: Chicago’s Strict New Anti-Bias Disclosure Rules Take Effect
- Inside the Battle Over Pregnancy Accommodation Laws in America’s Warehouses
- The New AI Hiring Law That Has Silicon Valley Recruiters Scrambling
Pay, overtime and wage theft
Minimum wage, overtime thresholds, worker classification, wage theft and pay-related claims.
Alberta Rewrote Its Overtime Rules and Barely Anyone Noticed. Workers Will.
Changes to important policies usually don't happen with a press conference or a public outcry. Instead, they happen quietly, tucked away in a law with a name that sounds reasonable…
Show all 9 articles in Pay, overtime and wage theft
- Adjusting Pay Algorithms Based on Battery Life – How Delivery Apps Maximize Courier Efficiency
- Threatening Corporate Directors With Jail Time: Inside the UK’s Aggressive Wage-Theft Penalties
- Instantly Reclassifying Millions of Managers: The Department of Labor’s Sudden Overtime Threshold Shift
- The Hy-Vee Department Manager Lawsuit That Could Change How Big Grocery Chains Classify Workers
- How Vietnam’s New Overtime Rules Are Testing Its Manufacturing Boom
- The New Rule That Could Finally End Subminimum Wage for Disabled Workers
Dismissal, contracts and workplace disputes
Contracts, non-competes, clawbacks, workplace lawsuits and settlements between workers and employers.
Christopher Barrett Bungie Settlement: What the $200M Lawsuit Resolution Means for Gaming’s Workplace Culture
Adding a man's name back to the credits of a game he helped make is a statement that holds some quiet meaning. Christopher Barrett said on social media on July…
Show all 8 articles in Dismissal, contracts and workplace disputes
- Class Action Lawsuit Explained: Why One Legal Tool Still Terrifies Big Business
- The Kylie Jenner Chef Lawsuit Raises an Uncomfortable Question About Celebrity Households
- Offering Cash Payouts to Affected Employees: The Latest Legal Settlement Over Corporate Tech Breaches
- Suing Elite Ad Agencies for Copyright Violations – Graphic Designers Fight Back Against Scraping
- The New Texas Law That Could Upend Noncompete Agreements Nationwide
Unions and industrial action
Union organising, collective bargaining, arbitration and industrial action.
A Union Arbitrator Just Told the White House Its Executive Orders Violate the “Hierarchy of Law”
One idea is so important to American law that it is taught in the first few weeks of every first-year law school course. Laws made by Congress are more important…
Show all 5 articles in Unions and industrial action
Immigration and work visas
Work visas, migrant labour, settlement rules and immigration status at work.
New Zealand’s Brain Drain Is Worse Than the Government Admits, New Migration Data Shows
When people leave a small town, there is a certain kind of silence that sticks around. Shops close in the middle of their leases. Schools join together. The nearby hospital…
Public sector and civil service employment
The rules governing civil servants and the federal workforce, including job security and reductions in force.
The Federal Workforce Shrank by the Size of a Mid-Sized City, Here’s Where Everyone Went
Imagine that everything that people did for a living was taken away one morning in a middle-sized American city about the size of Spokane or Baton Rouge. This is about…
Latest updates
Alberta Rewrote Its Overtime Rules and Barely Anyone Noticed. Workers Will.
Changes to important policies usually don't happen with a press conference or a public outcry. Instead, they happen…
Christopher Barrett Bungie Settlement: What the $200M Lawsuit Resolution Means for Gaming’s Workplace Culture
Adding a man's name back to the credits of a game he helped make is a statement that…
Vetting the Vetoes: The Workforce Bills Governors Killed in 2026 and What They Reveal
Every spring, when governors complete their review of legislation passed by their state assemblies, a certain type of…
Connecticut Just Passed the Nation’s Toughest AI Firing Law, Silicon Valley Is Watching Nervously
For many years, the discourse surrounding artificial intelligence in the workplace advanced more quickly than any legislation could.…
Louisiana’s Early Workforce Exposure Law Wants Teenagers on Job Sites. Critics Want Answers.
Louisiana has never shied away from attempting to maintain close ties with its youth. The Pelican State has…
A Union Arbitrator Just Told the White House Its Executive Orders Violate the “Hierarchy of Law”
One idea is so important to American law that it is taught in the first few weeks of…
Common questions
Answered in our own articles. Open a question for a summary and a link to the full piece.
How the Netherlands Is Rewriting the Rules on Freelancer Classification
In Dutch freelance circles, a cold email is circulating. One of those employer-of-record firms, a vendor, warned a UK client that hiring Dutch ZZP'ers was now "extremely high risk." There was a link to the calendar. The language was thick with urgency. The Dutch government's…
How Singapore’s New Gig Worker Protections Are Forcing Uber and Grab to Rethink Pay
Hayyan, a 25-year-old who primarily works for Grab, would rather not use his true name. Even in a city-state renowned for law and order, gig workers still feel uncomfortable talking openly about the platforms they rely on, as evidenced by the final detail. He said,…
How Vietnam’s New Overtime Rules Are Testing Its Manufacturing Boom
When you stroll through Binh Duong or Bac Giang's industrial zones on a weekday evening, you'll notice that there's a certain silence around the shift change. Workers are lining up in groups, finished goods are stacked behind chain-link fences, and trucks are waiting at loading…
Class Action Lawsuit Explained: Why One Legal Tool Still Terrifies Big Business
Most people have felt this strange kind of anger at least once: knowing that a business has done you wrong but that the amount at stake is too small to hire a lawyer. Maybe the $30 bank fee is against the law. A subscription service…
By region
Articles in this hub grouped by the country or region they cover.
United States 19
- Connecticut Just Passed the Nation’s Toughest AI Firing Law, Silicon Valley Is Watching Nervously
- Louisiana’s Early Workforce Exposure Law Wants Teenagers on Job Sites. Critics Want Answers.
- The Dashboard States: How Pennsylvania and Nebraska Are Quietly Rewriting Workforce Policy
- The Federal Workforce Shrank by the Size of a Mid-Sized City, Here’s Where Everyone Went
- The EEO-1 Rebellion: States Are Building Their Own Workforce Surveillance as Washington Retreats
- The July 1 Avalanche: Dozens of New Workplace Laws Just Hit American Employers at Once
- The Reproductive Rights Bill Aimed Squarely at the Federal Workforce
- Kathy Hochul New York Vaccine Lawsuit Finally Reaches Its End — And the Workers Who Fought It Lost Everything
- The Airport Workers Nobody Covered – New York’s Healthy Terminals Act Comes Due
- Governor Spanberger’s First Hundred Days Rewrote Virginia’s Workplace Rulebook
- New York California CDL Lawsuit Is Getting Uglier — And the Roads May Pay the Price
- Stripping Power From Arbitrators: What California Employers Must Know About the New PAGA Regulations
- Contentious Summer Labor Fights: Why Revising Ethylene Oxide Rules Strained the OSHA-Industry Relationship
- Rebelling Against Campus Labor Monopolies – Inside Boston’s Biotech Workforce Underground
- Leaving Tech Recruiters Scrambling: Chicago’s Strict New Anti-Bias Disclosure Rules Take Effect
- Inside the Battle Over Pregnancy Accommodation Laws in America’s Warehouses
- Inside the Fight to Unionize America’s Warehouses, One State Law at a Time
- The New Texas Law That Could Upend Noncompete Agreements Nationwide
- The New Child Labor Loophole Quietly Reopening Across the American South
UK 6
- Britain’s Zero-Hours Crackdown Arrives – The Hospitality Industry Is Rewriting Every Contract
- Ireland’s Remote Work Rights Are Becoming a Recruitment Weapon Against London
- The Kylie Jenner Chef Lawsuit Raises an Uncomfortable Question About Celebrity Households
- Britain’s Four-Day Week Movement Just Got Its First Legislative Foothold
- Threatening Corporate Directors With Jail Time: Inside the UK’s Aggressive Wage-Theft Penalties
- The House of Lords Report on Earned Settlement Is Sounding Alarm Bells — And Rightly So
Australia and New Zealand 4
- New Zealand’s Brain Drain Is Worse Than the Government Admits, New Migration Data Shows
- Queensland’s Labour Hire Crackdown Is Ensnaring Companies That Never Saw It Coming
- Blocking AI Surveillance in Public Transit: Sydney’s Unlikely Union Surge Wins Major Concessions
- Why Australia’s Right to Disconnect Law Is Already Facing Its First Major Test