Workforce Bulletin

The State of Rhode Island – the smallest state in the nation – is not often thought of as a trendsetter for legal issues. But in July 2025, the Ocean State set off the latest trend in employment protections by becoming the first state to enact employment-related legislation meant to support women who experience menopause.

“BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color),” “Minorities,” “Native,” “Tribal,” “Indigenous,” “Immigrant,” “LGBTQ,” “Homosexual,” and “Gay.” 

These were the search terms utilized by the federal government to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in federal funding, all while using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to target those funds. In a stunning rebuke of such discriminatory practices, the District Court for the Southern District of New York found in American Council of Learned Societies v. McDonald (ACLS), that the record established “beyond any dispute, that the Government used protected characteristics as criteria for identifying grants for termination. DOGE swept in race and ethnicity—including grants concerning Black, Asian, Latino, and Indigenous communities—as well as national origin and immigration status; religion and religious identity (including Jewish, Christian, and Muslim subjects); sex; and sexual orientation, as criteria for grant termination.” The federal government terminated grants involving African, Asian, and South American countries—as well as grants relating to Indigenous Americans and Jewish women—while retaining grants involving Western European subjects.

The Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) Office of Labor Standards (OLS) adopted new rules for administering Chicago’s Fair Workweek and Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinances. The new rules were published on May 18, 2026, and went into effect on June 1, 2026. A separate blog post addressing the new rules to the Fair Workweek Ordinance can be found here. Without re-hashing all the details about compliance obligations under the Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance, here’s a summary of what’s important to know as these rules go into force.

Employers in Chicago: new rules may require your attention, especially if you employ workers in cooperation with another employer or operate within any of the industries covered by the city’s Fair Workweek Ordinance.

Recent amendments to the Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (WTA) (HB 3638) require changes to Illinois employment agreements and separation agreements, beginning as of January 1, 2026.

The WTA, first enacted in response to the #MeToo movement, imposes certain procedural requirements on employment-related contracts for Illinois employees. These amendments impose additional restrictions, the most significant of which involves confidentiality clauses in separation agreements.