Summary

  • When deciding whether to open an office in a particular state, many employers will first assess the state's employment-related compliance obligations. See State Developments and Trends.
  • State labor departments and civil rights agencies are increasingly taking measures to make sure employees are informed of their rights. Those requirements are frequently updated, and multistate employers should be aware of, and comply with, any updates. See Employee Notification.
  • Federal law requires employers to notify employees of certain rights. Multistate employers must manage those employee notification requirements and the requirements imposed by the various states. See Employee Notification.
  • Whether an employer's postemployment restrictions are enforceable is largely a state-driven issue. See Postemployment Restrictions.
  • State laws regarding background checks and drug testing vary to such a degree that having a single approach to those issues, and applying that approach to each state, may not be the best way to proceed. See Preemployment Selection - Applications, Background and Credit Checks and Testing.
  • Multistate employers may consider maintaining an employee handbook that includes all nonstate-specific policies and procedures and refers the employee to a corresponding, state-specific policy or procedure manual. See Employee Handbooks and Work Rules.
  • State and local antidiscrimination laws may extend protection to groups of employees who are not protected under federal law. See Equal Employment Opportunity and Prohibited Discrimination.
  • Multistate employers should not only pay attention to the requirements of the various state laws but also to judicial interpretations instructing how those laws should be applied in the workplace. See Wage and Hour Policies and Practices.
  • In certain states, vacation pay is a form of wages and, in others, it is a forfeitable benefit of employment. See Wage and Hour Policies and Practices.
  • A multistate employer must determine whether a centralized HR department, decentralized HR department or a combination centralized and decentralized HR department will be best suited to support the workforce and the employer's strategic business objectives. See Centralized or Decentralized HR.