The year 2021 was marked by an innumerable number of rules tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
As Americans navigated government and private sector mandates about masking and vaccinations, elected leaders also worked to change other aspects of everyday life, enacting laws that affect everything from public school curriculum to legal recreational pot.
With 2022 upon us, here are some of the new laws that went into effect Jan. 1.
Many states have moved in recent years to increase their minimum wage requirements. Starting Saturday, 20 states saw a rise in their minimum wages take effect, while New York's increase began Friday.
The Empire State's hike -- along with those in California, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island -- is part of scheduled raises to reach $15-per-hour minimums, according to a report from Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., which provides finance, compliance and regulatory information.
States also increased rates because of previously approved legislation or ballot initiatives, and other state-mandated wage increases -- in places like Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont and Washington -- are due to automatic cost-of-living adjustments that are based on inflation.
Here's why US inflation is so high, and when it may ease
Missouri voters passed a proposition in 2018 that gradually increases the statewide minimum wage to $12 over five years. Michigan,...
; ; ; agreed to pay $17.07 million to settle federal allegations of illegal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices on Friday, marking the Justice Department's first resolution unde...