Employer Checklist for April 2026

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Update your workplace violence prevention plan. April is Workplace Violence Prevention Month, making it a good time to assess whether your current policies and procedures are up to date. Here’s everything you need to know and the steps you can take to keep your staff and customers safe.

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Track the latest news from the federal government. There were some recent significant federal developments that should cause you to review your policies and practices in April:  

• The DOL General Counsel announced that the agency will shift the focus of its investigation resources to non-union workplaces and promised maximum compliance assistance. Here are the important points of the memo that your business should know.
• The NLRB General Counsel issued new guidance on work rules, raising questions about whether employee handbook rules will change again. Here are five steps employers should consider taking now.
• The DOJ released a self-disclosure policy employers can use to avoid criminal prosecution. Read the four key takeaways from the March 10 announcement here.
• The White House unveiled a new cyber strategy on March 6 aimed at reducing regulations and protecting Americans from cybercriminals. Learn more about how these latest publications impact your business here.
  
  
  
  

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Review new EEOC telework accommodation guidance. The EEOC's new telework accommodation guidance for federal agencies offers a useful compliance roadmap for private employers. Here are five steps you can take to strengthen your disability accommodation practices related to remote work.

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Prepare for changes to DEI requirements for certain businesses. President Trump issued an executive order on March 26 requiring federal contractors to agree not to engage in racially discriminatory DEI activities and to take certain compliance steps. You can read more about it here. Additionally, if you receive federal grants or financial assistance, you should prepare for potential changes to DEI and immigration requirements affecting those relationships.

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Stay ahead of how AI is transforming the workplace:

• Learn more here on how to manage risk when using AI for employee performance management.
• Review our FAQs as AI glasses enter the workplace.
• Prepare for litigation risks tied to AI chat histories as courts begin to split on whether they are protected by the attorney-client privilege or work-product doctrine.
• Read our recap and five action steps you can take after a California federal court denied Elon Musk’s X.AI request to block enforcement of the state’s AI training data transparency law.
  
  

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Audit your employee benefits practices. In honor of National Employee Benefits Day, which fell on April 2 this year, we covered the latest benefits trends and hot topics here. You may also want to review these eight key HIPAA compliance items for businesses with self-insured health plans. Also of note in the employee benefits space: A federal appeals court in Chicago recently refused to honor a man’s attempt to remove his ex-wife as beneficiary of his retirement account and ruled that the ex was entitled to receive the entirety of the account. Here are three takeaways for employers and retirement plan fiduciaries.

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Review your privacy compliance plan as things evolve at a rapid pace. Here’s the latest:

• Businesses got a major win in a CIPA case, which signals higher hurdles for privacy plaintiffs. Here’s what you should do to protect your organization.
• The California Privacy Protection Agency announced a $1.1 million fine against PlayOn Sports for its consumer tracking practices. Review these three key lessons.
• The agency cracked down on another business for deficient opt-out practices less than a week later. Learn more about it here.
• Additionally, California courts are creating confusion in digital tracking cases. Here’s how businesses can navigate conflicting rulings.
  
  

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Monitor state and local developments like these:

• California employers can now get a first look at the state’s key workplace-related legislative proposals in 2026. Learn more here.
• Colorado is moving to replace its AI law's bias audit requirements with a transparency framework. Review these five action steps for employers.
• Illinois businesses received a significant biometric win when a federal appeals court ruled on April 1 that BIPA's damages limit applies retroactively to pending cases. What three action steps should you consider?
• New Jersey employers should note that a federal appeals court ruled that majority-group plaintiffs face no extra hurdle bringing discrimination claims under the state’s anti-discrimination law. Here are four proactive steps employers should consider taking to curb workplace discrimination.
• New York City introduced a sweeping minimum wage proposal that could raise the rate to $30 by 2030. Here are seven things you need to know now.
• Oklahoma enacted a new consumer privacy law. Here are the key takeaways, as well as recent data breach updates businesses should review.
• Pennsylvania employers in financial services should note that a state court recently found certain non-solicitation agreements unenforceable. Read the top three takeaways for the industry here.
• Virginia has taken another step to restrict non-competes. Here’s a five-step action plan for employers.
• Washington’s governor signed several employment-related bills in March. As a result, the state will now ban essentially all non-competes. Employers should also review a new "trigger" labor law that expands into NLRB territory, and a new law regulating companion chatbots.
  
  

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Catch up on international developments:

• The EU and UK each have AI hiring bias laws that US employers with operations there should understand. Here are four practical steps you can put into place right away.
• Japan has expanded its gender pay data reporting rules, with new requirements that took effect on April 1. Here’s your seven-step compliance plan.
• India’s new labor codes expanded gratuity payment rules. These are the top four things you need to know.
• Spain is overhauling its immigration process. Here’s what this means for multinational employers.
  
  

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Listen to our latest podcast episodes! The FP 5: Five Things for Your 9-to-5 helps employers make sense of the fast-moving world of workplace law and compliance. Each episode breaks down the legal landscape into five pieces, without the legal jargon. If you hire, manage, or advise people, every Thursday we’ll help you stay clear, current, and ahead of risk.

• The FP5: Go Beyond Your 9-to-5
• The H-1B Shake-Up Employers Can’t Ignore
• Is the Law on Handbooks Changing Again? Looking at NLRB’s New Guidance
• Breaking Down the DOL’s Independent Contractor Proposal
• Your New Roadmap for Remote Work Accommodations