Legal questions are increasingly being answered online long before they reach a lawyer’s office. Across the country, Americans are turning to Google to better understand issues tied to work, family, housing and everyday rights.
To identify the most common legal concerns in 2023, attorneys Murphy & Prachthauser analyzed search data using Ahref’s Keyword Explorer to put together a list of the most googled legal questions in every state.
What specific law are Alabama residents concerned about? Here’s what to know.
In Alabama, the most searched legal question in 2025 was:
“What is overtime pay?”
In Alabama, overtime pay follows federal law, meaning eligible hourly workers must be paid 1.5 times their regular hourly wage for any hours worked over 40 in a week.
The state also enacted a temporary overtime tax exemption effective from Jan. 1, 2024, through June 20, 2025, which removes Alabama state income tax on qualifying overtime wages for eligible hourly employees. Federal taxes still apply.
The exemption applies only to full-time hourly workers and does not include salaried employees, bonuses, commissions or paid time off. It covers overtime earnings for hours actually worked beyond 40 in a week.
Among the most prominent themes nationwide, employment law stands out as a major source of confusion. One question stands out above the rest: “What is minimum wage?”
It ranks as the most-searched legal...
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