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Register Now for Breakfast Briefing Series: Wage & Hour Check-Up: Is Your Payroll Practice Keeping Up?

Join Amundsen Davis for a complimentary webcast series, Breakfast Briefing. This series offers employers the tips, tricks, and guidance needed to thrive in an ever-changing landscape. Our attorneys will cover the hottest topics in labor and employment law, such as FMLA, immigration, benefits, and more. The series takes place every third Wednesday of the month starting at 8:30 AM CT.
Wage & Hour

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Continue Reading Register Now for Breakfast Briefing Series: Wage & Hour Check-Up: Is Your
Payroll Practice Keeping Up?

map of the united states of americaSeveral changes impacting employers in jurisdictions across the nation on the federal and state level are summarized below in our latest blog post.Federal Law Updates
New Updates on the H-1B Visa

  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued new guidance on the new $100,000 H-1B Visa application fee. The $ 100,000 application fee applies to new H-1B petitions filed at or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on Sept. 21, 2025.

On Sept. 19, 2025, President Trump issued…
Continue Reading Federal and State Employment Law Update

On November 13, 2025 the Internal Revenue Service announced the cost-of-living adjustments for the various qualified retirement plan limits.  Almost all of the limits shown below have increased from last year.
 

Qualified Plan Limit
Cost-of-Living Adjustments

401(k) and 403(b) elective deferral limit

2025 – $23,500

2026 – $24,500

$200,000 compensation limit

2025 – $350,000

2026 – $360,000

$160,000 defined benefit limit

2025 – $280,000

2026 – $290,000

$40,000 defined contribution limit

2025 – $70,000

2026 – $72,000

$80,000 definition…
Continue Reading 2026 Qualified Plan Cost of Living Increases, 2026 Social Security Taxable Wage Base

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency charged with the administration of federal workplace laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, recently regained a voting quorum. As a result, the agency can now enact sweeping policy changes in line with President Trump’s second term agenda. Employers can expect increased scrutiny of DEI practices and an increase in charges surrounding religious accommodations.
Background: The EEOC Regains a Voting Quorum
Shortly after he took office in January,…
Continue Reading EEOC Regains Quorum: What Employers Can Expect

Illinois Amends the Prevailing Wage Act (Again) to Delay Implementation of Full Fringe Benefit Mandate for Apprentices Until July 1, 2026

The Illinois legislature recently passed House Bill 1437 (H.B. 1437), which delays implementation of the fringe benefit payment mandates for apprentices on projects subject to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act (“IPWA”).

As some may recall, Governor Pritzker signed House Bill 2488 (H.B. 2488) into law effective June 30, 2025. H.B. 2488 requires the payment of “full journeyman annualized

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Continue Reading Illinois Amends the Prevailing Wage Act (Again) to Delay Implementation of Full Fringe Benefit Mandate for Apprentices Until July 1, 2026

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Understanding Long-Term Disability and COVID-19
Long-term disability (LTD) insurance is supposed to help when you can’t work because of an illness or injury. But for many people who are still suffering from the lasting effects of COVID-19, getting those benefits has been an uphill battle. Too many insurers are denying legitimate claims, leaving people struggling not only with their health but also their finances.
When Returning to Work Isn’t Safe
We represent people whose careers have been derailed by…
Continue Reading Long-Term Disability and Long COVID: Science Is Finally Catching Up

The clock is ticking on 2025 payroll reporting, but the IRS just threw employers a lifeline.

If your organization has been struggling to understand how to implement the new tips and overtime reporting requirements from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), you can breathe a temporary sigh of relief. The IRS has issued Notice 2025-62, providing penalty relief for the 2025 tax year while employers adapt to the tax reporting changes.
What Changed With the OBBB
When

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Continue Reading IRS Provides Critical Transition Relief for New Tips and Overtime Reporting Requirements: What HR Needs to Know Now

On October 30, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) ended automatic extensions of employment authorization documents (“EAD”) for certain foreign nationals. Previously, filing a timely renewal application would grant an automatic extension for certain categories of EADs. DHS will now prioritize proper screening and vetting of foreign nationals before granting EAD extensions.

Under the Biden administration, certain foreign nationals who held EAD authorization received an automatic extension of their work authorization for up to 540 days if they…
Continue Reading DHS Ends Automatic Extensions of Employment Authorization Documents: What Employers Need to Know

Attorney Seep Paliwal moderates panel during State Bar’s Cultural Competency in Family Law Cases training
In January 2025, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin approved providing CLE credit for cultural competency training. Stafford Rosenbaum Attorney Seep Paliwal will moderate a presentation featuring a panel of experts during the State Bar of Wisconsin’s very first offering of cultural competency training in family law cases. Participants can view the Cultural Competency in Family Law Cases 2025 CLE in person at the State…
Continue Reading Attorney Seep Paliwal Moderates State Bar of Wisconsin Panel on Cultural Competency in Family Law

Although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has vacated its rule banning noncompete agreements nationwide, the FTC continues to scrutinize such agreements and is focusing on the health care setting.

Indeed, in September FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson sent letters to several large health care employers and staffing firms urging them to conduct a comprehensive review of their employment agreements—including any noncompetes or other restrictive agreements—to ensure they are appropriately tailored and comply with the law.

According to the FTC…
Continue Reading Health Care Noncompete Agreements: The FTC Is Watching

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In a concurrence to one of the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s blockbuster opinions from the 2024-25 term, SEIU Healthcare Wis. v. WERC, 2025 WI 29, 416 Wis. 2d 688, 22 N.W.2d 876 (Dallet, J., concurring), Justice Dallet called on the Court to reevaluate Wisconsin’s current—and oft-cited—approach to statutory interpretation as set forth in State ex rel. Kalal v. Cir. Ct. Dane Cnty., 2004 WI 58, 271 Wis. 2d 633, 681 N.W.2d 110.

Kalal created a textualist, two-step methodology for interpreting…
Continue Reading The End of the Textualist Era? Wisconsin Supreme Court Presented with Opportunity to Overturn Kalal

The legislature has sent three unemployment bills to the governor.

As I wrote previously in a letter to the legislature, AB168 and AB169 deserve an immediate veto. Indeed, Gov. Evers previously vetoed versions of these bills during the last legislative session.

AB146, on the other hand, addresses a real problem in Wisconsin: ongoing and worsening delays in mail delivery. As I already noted to the legislature, however, formally extending the deadline for responding to…
Continue Reading Legislative unemployment bills going to the governor

On August 15, 2025, Governor Pritzker signed House Bill 3638 (H.B. 3638) into law, which amends the Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (the “Act”) to provide current, former, and prospective employees with greater rights and protections when executing employment agreements with an employer. The amendments under H.B. 3638 take effect on January 1, 2026, and apply to employment contracts entered into, modified, or extended on or after January 1, 2026, except for collective bargaining agreements. Accordingly, employers need to carefully…
Continue Reading Illinois Employers, It’s Time to Review and Revise Your Employment Agreements

On October 22, 2025, the Third District Court of Appeals in Florida ruled that Florida’s Transportation Network Companies (“TNC”) statute bars agency and vicarious liability claims against Lyft (and presumably other rideshare companies). This decision is important because many states, including Ohio, have similar TNC statutes that can be relied upon to dispute claims for agency, vicarious liability, and negligent hiring.

In Abner v. Lyft, Inc., No. 3D2024-0479 (Fla. 3d DCA, Oct. 22, 2025), the appellate court upheld summary

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Continue Reading Appellate Court Rules Florida Law Shields Lyft From Driver Negligence and Negligent Hiring Claims

Read Part 1: AI in Employment-Related Decisions Part 1: Big Tech and Federal Power

Across the country, state lawmakers are recalibrating their approaches to regulating the use of AI in employment decisions. This is in direct response to pressure from the technology industry and the Trump administration.

California initially considered broad mandates on AI use in hiring that would have imposed strict notice and impact assessment requirements on employers. Following pushback from industry groups and concerns about federal overreach,

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Continue Reading AI in Employment-Related Decisions, Part 2: State Strategies to Address Pressure and What It Means for Employers

State lawmakers across the country have been busy this year trying to curb the most consequential uses of AI in employment-related decisions. As those attempts moved from idea to legislation, two powerful forces have pushed back.

The tech industry is concerned about a patchwork of state rules, and the Trump administration has prioritized removing barriers to AI use. States are reacting by shifting their strategies to narrow, revise, and/or delay legislation. Employers would be wise to stay abreast of…
Continue Reading AI in Employment-Related Decisions Part 1: Big Tech and Federal Power