Whenever a specific law is passed by a city or state, whether it’s an employment law or another kind of legislation, other areas are sure to follow by making similar laws. This has been true with paid sick leave, ban the box, and social media privacy laws. 2018 is poised to have trending employment laws and best practices, and here are just a few of those laws:

1. Sexual harassment prevention: Recently, sexual harassment has become a prominent topic in the news, and many employers want to prevent occurrences of harassment in their offices. Occasionally the law requires training, but even if it’s not required it’s still important. Training is only the beginning of preventative steps. Other elements of preventing sexual harassment are accountability and a culture of trust. Trust is important because victims of harassment will feel comfortable coming forward and will know that their problems will be taken care of.
2. Bans on salary history inquiries: Some states such as Oregon, Delaware, and California already have salary history bans. New York City does also. In July 2018, Massachusetts will also have a ban in place. The purpose of these laws is to decrease pay disparity and prohibit employers from asking interviewees about their current or previous salary.
3. Predictive schedules: There are predictive scheduling requirements that apply to certain employers in retail, food service, and hospitality in the cities of San Francisco, Emeryville, Seattle, and New York and in Oregon. It’s likely that other states and cities will implement these requirements as well. The law’s purpose is to require employers to give advance notice on schedules and limit the ways in which employers can make changes to the schedule at the last minute.
4. Pregnancy accommodation expansions: Several states have passed mandatory pregnancy accommodation laws including Washington and Massachusetts, and the city of San Francisco. Employers are required to provide specific workplace accommodations by law. This is true even if the employee doesn’t have a pregnancy-related disability.

These laws are going to be trending in 2018 and we want to alert you when your state will be implementing them. Keep up with our social media and our blog to find out when these laws will be impacting you.