Federal and state governments are busy changing labor and employment laws and regulations, driven by changes in ideology and funding. In addition, the federal government is reorganizing how grants and funding are managed within the Department of Labor (DOL), which impacts state workforce programs and initiatives.
FEDERAL ACTIONS
The “Big Beautiful Bill’ signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025, contains budget and organizational elements administered through the DOL that will affect workforce development in the United States. A summary of the impact of the legislation can be found here: Department of Labor Budget In Brief.
Generally, these funds are sent to the state, which then partners with nongovernmental organizations that specialize in specific areas of workforce development. Currently, the demand for skilled labor exceeds the supply of skilled workers, and these programs are designed to provide unemployed and displaced workers with skills training that aligns with the needs of employers in their communities.
The new law reduces funding by 35% for workforce development and training. These cuts come from several areas. The ones that will most affect the printing industry are as follows:
A 47% cut in funding for Registered Apprenticeships. This reduction seems to be in conflict with an Executive Order issued by President Trump on April 23, 2025, announcing a goal of adding 1 million new apprentices within 120 days, which would be by August 21, 2025. The cost of apprenticeships will largely be borne by the employers who create and employ student apprentices.
A 56% cut in funding for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). WIOA assists states to provide supported employment services for individuals. The programs provide career and training services to millions of job seekers. WIOA funding goes toward programs such as:
- Career and Technical Education Perkins Act
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers
- Jobs for Veterans State Grants
- Senior Community Service Employment
- Reintegration of Ex-Offenders
- Community Services Block Grant
- Unemployment Insurance
- Native American
- JobCorps
- National Farmworker Jobs
The DOL will consolidate 11 workforce development programs into a single grant titled “Make America Skilled Again” (MASA). The MASA budget of $3 billion will be distributed with a requirement that a minimum of 10% of the funds received will be spent on Registered Apprenticeship activities.
STATE ACTIONS
When a federal administration adopts a deregulation approach on labor and employment issues, states will respond by taking regulatory action in the absence of federal action. As a result, the Trump administration’s deregulatory approach has resulted in states increasing their regulatory actions.
In addition to responding to federal actions, state governments will create initiatives and trends will appear in their legislative actions. For instance, currently there is a trend across the United States to criminalize employer wage theft. While the level of criminal liability varies from state to state, this trend signifies the importance of making sure that payroll is carefully administered and that overtime laws are strictly adhered to for all employees.
Here is a summary of some recent state actions that may involve printing industry companies in these areas:
Alabama currently has an exemption that allows employers to NOT withhold income tax from overtime pay. However, that exemption is expiring and starting July 1, 2025, employers will need to withhold income tax from employees’ overtime pay.
Alaska increased the hourly minimum wage to $13/hour and salaries to $1,040/week.
Colorado has a new law that adds additional protections for employees related to their gender expression. The new “Kelly Loving Act” amends existing state gender identity laws and specifically requires employers to recognize an employee’s chosen name and how the employee chooses to be addressed. These aspects of the new law took effect immediately upon passage on May 16, 2025.
Connecticut has rejected paying unemployment compensation benefits to striking workers. The bill, which passed the Connecticut legislature, was vetoed by the governor.
Florida has a new law that broadly expands an employer’s ability to bind certain employees to noncompete agreements, which is immediately effective for employment agreements signed after July 1, 2025. The law, called the “CHOICE Act”, applies to employees or independent contractors (ICs) who earn a base salary that is at least double the annual mean wage for the county where the employee or IC works. The base salary is calculated to include some benefits if the person is an employee rather than an independent contractor, but does not include bonuses or commissions. The law only applies to covered employees who maintain a primary place of work in Florida or if the employer’s principal place of business is in Florida, and the agreement is covered by Florida law. Among other provisions, the law may now impose a non-compete agreement of up to four years.
Minnesota has new meal and rest break requirements that take effect on January 1, 2026. These new rules state that an employer must provide a 15-minute break within every four hours of consecutive work (or enough time to use the nearest convenient restroom). In addition, employees working for six or more consecutive hours must be provided with a meal break of at least 30 minutes. This revises the existing meal break by lowering the requirement from 8 hours to 6 hours and specifying the amount of time that must be provided.
Montana has a new law that prohibits employers from terminating employees who volunteer as emergency responders, effective October 1, 2025. The employer cannot terminate an employee who is absent or late to work because the employee is providing volunteer services during an emergency. The employer can use their discretion to decide whether an employee who is already at work can leave to respond to an emergency. Employers can make their own policy decision about whether the employee volunteer emergency responders are to be paid for the time that they are not at work performing their emergency response services. Employees must provide written notice to their employer of their volunteer emergency responder status. Existing employees who volunteer must provide the notice by November 30, 2025. If an employee volunteers during their employment or are volunteers when they are hired, they have 30 days to notify their employer.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has revised the accrual rate for paid sick leave to one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, a faster accrual than the previous 35 hours worked for one hour that was previously required within the city limits and remains the requirement in Allegheny County, outside of the city limits. The City of Philadelphia continues to accrue paid sick leave at the rate of one hour for every 40 hours worked.
Texas has several new laws that may affect the workforce. Among them are:
A ban on confidentiality/non-disclosure provisions that prohibit an employee from disclosing an act of sexual abuse of another person. Employment agreements cannot include such a provision.
The requirement that Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) must apply for a license renewal within 18 months of its expiration, or it will lose the ability to be a joint employer.
A clarification to the unemployment compensation law so that the terms “last work” and “person for whom the claimant last worked” mean the last company or person that the claimant worked for at least 30 hours a week.
Virginia has expanded restrictions on non-compete agreements. The existing law, which has prohibited the use of non-competes for low wage workers, has now expanded the prohibition to employees that are classified as non-exempt under the federal “Fair Labor Standards Act.” This new expansion takes effect on July 1, 2025.
Wyoming has a new law that prohibits most non-compete and other restrictive covenants in employment agreements. This law prohibits non-compete clauses in employment agreements for both skilled and unskilled workers. The law does allow non-compete clauses in several circumstances, including employment agreements with executive and management personnel, and those that are part of the sale of a business. The law allows for protection of trade secrets in employment agreements, which means that employees may work for a competing business but will be barred from using any information related to product or processes from the former employer which are classified as trade secrets.
PRINTING United Alliance will continue to monitor changes to federal and state employment and labor laws that will impact the printing industry.
In this article, Adriane Harrison, Vice President of Human Relations Consulting, PRINTING United Alliance, addresses changes to employment laws that affect the printing industry. More information about labor and employment laws and regulations can be found at the Center for Human Resources Support or reach out to Adriane directly if you have additional questions specific to how these issues may affect your business at: aharrison@printing.org .
To become a member of the Alliance and learn more about how our subject matter experts can assist your company with services and resources such as those mentioned in this article, please contact the Alliance membership team: 888-385-3588 / membership@printing.org.