06/09/2025 10:00 AM EDT
LABOR REPORT CARD: Even as federal labor legislation remains stalled, several states have raced to pass their own laws cracking down on child labor and supporting gig workers.
As most legislatures wrap up business for the year, here’s what state lawmakers have accomplished.
Portable benefits: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill that established portable benefits accounts for independent contractors, allowing workers to easily transfer their benefits between employers. Tennessee jumped on the bandwagon a day later when Gov. Bill Lee signed the Voluntary Portable Benefit Plan Act.
Republicans have long touted the upside of portable benefits plans as a way to support independent contractors. Democrats, on the other hand, have maligned such plans, arguing that they don’t offer the same security as traditional employee plans.
Apprenticeships and youth labor laws: Multiple blue states have passed legislation aimed at protecting and developing pathways for young people.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed HB 1644, a bill that increases fines for employers that violate child labor laws and requires the state’s labor board to conduct inspections before issuing new permits.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore expanded his state’s registered apprenticeship program. The legislation aims to grow the state’s economy as the region struggles with the fallout of the Trump administration’s overhaul of the...
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