Workplace and Employment Law Trends for 2025

As we head into 2025, employment law trends are continuing to evolve in response to technological advancements, societal shifts, and changing employee expectations. These changes can have a significant impact on your rights and protections in the workplace. Understanding these trends is crucial for all employees to ensure their rights are protected and to navigate the complexities of the modern employment landscape.

Increased Regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Workplace

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation in the workplace is rapidly growing, and employment law is evolving to regulate its impact. By 2025, the legal landscape surrounding AI will include:

• Worker displacement: With automation replacing certain jobs, employers may face legal challenges related to worker displacement and the ethical use of AI in hiring and firing decisions.
• Data privacy concerns: AI systems that handle employee data will need to comply with stricter data privacy regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other local laws.
• Fairness in decision-making: Businesses must ensure that AI tools used for performance reviews, hiring, and firing are free from bias and discrimination.
• Bias in hiring algorithms: AI systems used for recruitment may inadvertently replicate human biases, leading to discrimination against certain groups of candidates.
• Legal compliance: Employers must ensure that AI tools comply with anti-discrimination laws, such as the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), to avoid legal challenges.

To navigate this trend, employers should audit AI tools for fairness and transparency, implement safeguards, and maintain human oversight to ensure compliance with evolving employment law standards.

Increasing Focus on Pay Transparency

In response to ongoing concerns about pay equity, many states implemented pay transparency laws that went into effect at the start of 2023. These laws are reshaping how employers advertise job openings and determine salaries.

For example, California, Washington, and Rhode Island enacted laws requiring employers to include salary ranges in job postings. This change ensures potential employees have a clearer understanding of the role, its value in the job market, and whether it aligns with their expectations.

The primary goal of these laws is to promote fair compensation practices. By disclosing salary ranges upfront, employers can help ensure that hired candidates are paid fairly and avoid offering undervalued wages based on factors such as negotiation or bias.

• Regulatory landscape: This employment law trend is expected to gain momentum, with additional states likely to follow suit in the coming years. Businesses operating in multiple jurisdictions should stay updated on changing regulations to ensure compliance.
• Compliance challenges: Employers should stay informed about pay transparency regulations as these laws gain traction across various jurisdictions. Employers must review internal pay structures and ensure salary disclosures align with their compensation policies to avoid penalties.

The Challenge Of Employee Classifications In The Gig Economy

Employers must be diligent in reviewing their workforce structures and ensure they are properly classifying workers according to employment law. Misclassification can lead to serious legal and financial consequences, particularly as the gig economy grows.

The rise of freelance and gig work continues to reshape the employment landscape. As the gig economy grows, worker classification will remain a hot topic in employment law trends for 2025.

• Legal scrutiny: Misclassification of workers as independent contractors instead of employees can result in lawsuits, back taxes, and penalties.
• Employee rights: Governments are increasingly revising laws to extend employee benefits, such as minimum wage, health insurance, and paid leave, to gig workers.

To comply with these changes, businesses should carefully review their worker agreements and classifications, ensuring alignment with the latest regulations to avoid costly disputes.

Evolving Data Privacy Regulations

As concerns over data privacy intensify, the legal landscape for data management is becoming stricter. By 2025, businesses will face heightened scrutiny over how they collect, store, and use employee data.

• State regulations: States like Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah have enacted robust data privacy laws, and more are expected to follow. Employers must comply with requirements regarding transparency, consent, and secure data handling.
• Individual data ownership: A growing belief in individual ownership of personal data is driving regulatory change, placing more responsibility on businesses to protect employee information.

Strengthening Disability Accommodations Under ADA

Disability rights are at the forefront of employment law trends for 2025, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) increasingly focusing on ADA compliance.

• Rising ADA claims: In 2023, the EEOC filed 48 disability ADA lawsuits on behalf of employees, almost doubling the cases from the previous year (27). Experts believe this trend will continue to grow in the coming years.
• Employer obligations: Providing reasonable accommodations, such as adjusted work hours, accessible facilities, and supportive technology, will remain a legal priority. Failure to comply with ADA requirements can result in disability discrimination lawsuits and significant fines.

Employers must ensure their policies and practices support employees with disabilities, reducing the risk of non-compliance while creating a more inclusive workplace.

Expanded Family and Medical Leave Laws

Paid family and medical leave regulations are evolving rapidly, with states leading the charge in providing employees with greater work-life balance.

• Growing state mandates: By 2025, more states are expected to pass paid family leave laws that go beyond federal requirements, covering situations like caregiving for aging relatives or bonding with newborns.
• Employer compliance: Businesses operating in multiple states must navigate a complex patchwork of federal, state, and local leave laws.

To adapt to these changes, employers should develop comprehensive leave policies and invest in tools to track and manage leave requests across jurisdictions.

Expanding Protections Against Workplace Discrimination

• The Bostock Decision, a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2020, continues to influence workplace discrimination laws. The Court determined that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
• Since then, this decision has been applied to cases involving gender stereotyping and misgendering, reinforcing the need for employers to foster inclusive environments.
• As workplace equality advocacy gains traction, businesses should expect heightened scrutiny regarding compliance with anti-discrimination laws in 2025.

Rising Labor Relations and NLRB Activity

Recent labor movements, such as the Amazon unionization efforts and the Starbucks labor protests, have intensified attention on workers’ rights, spurring a significant uptick in unfair labor practice complaints filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In 2024, the NLRB ruled in favor of Starbucks workers, requiring the company to reinstate employees who were wrongfully terminated for union activities, signaling a strong stance on protecting unionized workers and addressing retaliation. Similarly, the NLRB has expanded its focus on social media activity, with recent rulings indicating that employers cannot retaliate against employees for engaging in union-related discussions online.

As 2025 approaches, labor experts predict an increase in NLRB cases as workers across industries are more empowered to challenge unfair labor practices. The NLRB’s continued efforts to inform workers about their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) are likely to lead to even more widespread unionization efforts and legal actions. Businesses will need to be vigilant about ensuring compliance with labor laws, particularly in light of this expanding scope of protections.

Trends Relating to Non-Compete Agreements

In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took a major step in labor law by issuing a ban on non-compete agreements, prohibiting employers from using these clauses with most employees, regardless of position or salary, with very few exceptions. This landmark rule is expected to have a significant impact on the workplace, especially for employees in high-level or technical roles who traditionally signed non-compete clauses. However, the future of the ban is uncertain due to ongoing legal challenges questioning the FTC’s authority to implement such a rule. As we approach 2025, businesses should be prepared for potential shifts in their hiring and employment contract practices, and employees should consult an employment lawyer if asked to sign non-compete agreements. This is a key trend to watch, as it may reshape how employers protect trade secrets and sensitive information.

What Are The Evolving Legal Standards For Employee Accommodations?

• Courts are increasingly emphasizing the need for employers to treat pregnant employees with the same level of accommodation required for disabilities. This shift signals stronger protections for employees experiencing difficult pregnancies or medical complications. Employers should review their policies to ensure compliance with this evolving standard.
• Religious accommodations are another area gaining attention. For instance, the 7th Circuit Court ruled that accommodating a Walmart manager’s request for Friday nights and Saturdays off due to religious beliefs would place an undue burden on the business, highlighting the need for a balanced approach to such requests.
• Moving into 2025, businesses should expect more nuanced rulings in accommodation cases and should work proactively to create policies that balance legal compliance with operational needs.
• ADA Impact: Highlight the need for businesses to align accommodation practices with ADA and Title VII regulations.

What Are Key Employment Law Changes In New Jersey For 2025?

In 2024, New Jersey implemented several notable employment law changes. On January 1, the state’s minimum wage increased to $15.13 per hour for most employees, as part of a gradual plan to reach $15 per hour by 2024. Additionally, the state expanded family and medical leave benefits, providing eligible employees with greater support during significant life events. Employers were also required to update workplace postings to reflect these changes, ensuring employees stay informed of their rights under the new laws.

In 2025, New Jersey will implement new employment laws, including expanded family leave for extended relatives, mandatory pay transparency in job postings, stricter penalties for worker misclassification, and increased rights for temporary workers under the Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights. Enhanced workplace safety standards and broader anti-discrimination protections, including hairstyle-related bias, will also take effect. Employers must update policies and ensure compliance with these regulations.

What Are Key Employment Law Changes In Pennsylvania For 2025?

In 2024, the Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act was introduced, limiting the use of non-compete agreements for healthcare workers. Governor Josh Shapiro also implemented policies to expand the workforce, including eliminating the four-year college degree requirement for most state government jobs and establishing the Commonwealth Workers Transformation Program for workforce training.

Moving into 2025, Pennsylvania will introduce pay transparency requirements, mandating salary ranges in job postings to ensure equity. Expanded anti-discrimination protections will strengthen workplace safeguards, and stricter enforcement of worker misclassification rules will target the improper classification of independent contractors. Employers should update their policies and practices to stay compliant with these evolving regulations.

Employment Law Trends to Watch

In 2025, the employment law landscape is expected to undergo significant changes. From the ethical use of AI in hiring to the increasing regulation of data privacy, businesses must stay informed and proactive in adapting to these new trends. By understanding and implementing the necessary changes in response to these developments, employers can mitigate risks and ensure compliance with evolving employment law regulations.

Without a doubt, we should keep an eye on the trends already mentioned, as they are sure to develop further, and others will emerge. Zeff Law Firm makes it a point to stay well informed of all employment law trends, from Civil Rights to discrimination, to wrongful termination of any kind. If you have any questions contact the employment law attorneys at the Zeff Law Firm to discuss your case.