Quarterly HR Update – June 2026
As summer kicks off and the World Cup enters its most exciting stages, we’ve been keeping a close eye on another fast-moving field: employment law developments and other HR-related topics.
While we hope your summer is filled with match parties, relaxation, adventure, or a little of all three, there are a few workplace matters worth adding to your summer “to do” list, such as keeping employees safe from summer heat, ensuring your I-9s are proactively reviewed and corrected, and reviewing employee pay for salary thresholds and minimum wage changes. More on all that below and as always, talk to your HRT team to plan and strategize on these items.
If this Update were a World Cup match, consider this your match recap and scouting report all in one. We’ve rounded up the biggest developments, from seasonal reminders and employment law updates to a potentially growing area of anti-discrimination laws. We hope this will help you stay ahead of the competition.
And, as always, consider us part of your HR and management dream team: reach out!
Please note this is a summary of upcoming changes and not an all-inclusive overview.
HRT News
We are thrilled to announce a new member of the HRT team, KarenRae Kuhar! KarenRae brings more than 25 years of experience to our team, across technology, mechanical construction, nonprofit and retail organizations. Her full bio can be found here.
Seasonal Reminders
The temperature is rising and we’re moving into the summer months! Below we’re providing reminders and resources to help ensure employee safety.
Heat Exposure: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has published criteria for a recommended standard for occupational heat stress which includes information about how to prevent heat-related illnesses, such as monitoring temperatures/conditions and ensuring that adequate water, breaks, and shade are provided when needed. As a reminder, Washington, Oregon, and California have adopted official rules and regulations that go beyond recommendations: Washington Outdoor Heat Exposure Rule, Oregon Heat Illness Prevention and California heat standard.
Wildfire Smoke: Wildfires have become way too common in the Pacific Northwest in recent years. While we are hopeful that our summer will be free of wildfires, if wildfire smoke impacts your area, remember that Washington, Oregon, and California all have specific rules pertaining to wildfire smoke. Please reach out to us for guidance and assistance if you need help understanding or complying with these rules.
Legal Updates & Info
Under Federal Law…
EEO-1 Reporting: Has anyone else been anxiously awaiting the announcement of the 2026 deadline for 2025 EEO-1 reporting? Although the deadline has bounced around over the last few years, this year is particularly delayed. And, despite the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) having prepared a proposed rule that may eliminate EEO-1 reporting altogether, we still expect employers will be required to file the 2025 reports…at some point! We are tracking this and will send an update once a decision has been made.
I-9 Form Violations: For nearly 30 years, I-9 violations have been dictated by the “Virtue Memo” that was published back in 1997 by the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service). In simple terms, it separated I-9 errors technical errors (minor and correctable) and substantive errors (serious and non-correctable). In mid-March 2026, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued new rules, moving many technical errors into the substantive category. For example, the following errors, previously of a technical nature, are now substantive:
- Missing DOB, USCIS number, or employee signature date in Section 1;
- Missing employer representative name or title;
- Incomplete information for documents in List A, B, or C;
- Missing employee’s first day of employment in the certification; and
- Missing preparer/translator information, including name, address, signature, or date, in Supplement A.
There are new technical errors specified as well, such as failing to ensure the employee provides their other last names, if any, and failing to ensure an employee provides an address in Section 1. According to the Federal Register, fines for substantive violations range from $288 to $2,861, per Form I-9. Given heightened enforcement of I-9s and these increased substantive errors and fines, conducting an internal audit of your Form I-9s, and making appropriate corrections, is highly recommended. Failing to make the corrections after finding errors may result in higher penalties for an employer, if audited by a government agency. So, if you commit to an internal audit, it’s important to be committed to fixing any errors. Reach out to HRT for help.
Exempt Salary Threshold: To be considered an exempt employee, the position needs to meet a “duties test” as well as the “salary basis test” and threshold. Back in 2024, the federal exempt salary threshold for employees who meet the duties test for the executive, administrative and professional category, was increased to $43,888 annually, or $844 per week.
On May 14, 2026 a technical amendment was announced by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage & Hour Division returning the threshold to the 2019 level: $35,568 annually, or $684 per week. Per the News Release from the Wage & Hour Division from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), “This technical amendment is effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register.” (Note, the amendment also changes the highly compensated employee threshold from $132,964 annually to $107,432 annually.)
What does this mean? For employees in California and Washington, this change will have no impact, since the exempt salary thresholds in both of those states are higher than the federal threshold. For employees in states that do not have a state-specific salary threshold, you may have already increased salaries or reclassified employees as non-exempt. If so, there is no need to reverse those changes. If you’d like to talk through how this might impact your business moving forward, reach out to HRT.
New DEI Executive Order for Federal Contractors: We wanted to alert federal contractors to new requirements under a new Executive Order, “Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors.” This Littler article provides a great overview.
Under West Coast State Laws…
Anti-Discrimination Protections in California, Oregon, and Washington: This topic spans a few states! We came across this Littler article about cities in California, Oregon and Washington that have recently passed anti-discrimination protections for “polyamorous and non-normative family or relationship structures,” recognizing that many people today form relationships and family structures that may differ from “traditional” family models. These cities include Oakland, CA, Portland, OR and Olympia WA. Check out the article and if you have employees in those cities, we recommend reviewing and updating policies to reflect this new protected class.
Under Washington Law…
Non-Compete Agreements: Going…going….gone (soon!). Restrictions on noncompetition agreements aren’t new in Washington. Back in 2020, House Bill 1450 imposed some limitations, specifically prohibiting their use with any employee who makes less than $100,000. Next year, effective June 30, 2027, Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1155 (signed into law by Governor Bob Ferguson in March 2026) will effectively ban most all noncompetition agreements in Washington – regardless of when they were entered into – for both employees and independent contractors. If there are any agreements in place, employers must notify workers (current and former) by October 1, 2027 that the agreement is no longer enforceable. For more details on this law, including the very narrow exceptions and the impact on non-solicitation agreements, check out this Davis Wright Tremaine article.
Immigrant Worker Protections: Effective October 2026, employers will be required under the Immigrant Worker Protection Act to provide employees with notice of any I-9 audit inspections by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Upon receiving a “Notice of Inspection” from HSI an employer must notify employees, within five days, by 1) posting information about the inspection and 2) sending the “Notice” to employees using an approved method (hand delivery is fine, or sending via mail, email or text with proof of delivery/transmission).
Additional notification requirements apply after the results of the audit are received. Within five days of receiving the results, the employer must notify affected employees individually, with specific information about the findings and a deadline to fix; the communication must also offer a meeting to the employee and provide information about workers’ rights and other resources that might be available.
Under Oregon Law…
Protections for Immigrant Workers: Effective June 5, 2026, Oregon House Bill 4111 specifically allows employees to update (or make efforts to update) their personal information after a lawful change in work authorization, free from any adverse action by their employer. This article from Littler provides more information about this new law, including these illustrative examples of how this might occur: “An example of a person/employee receiving a lawful change in work authorization status is when an undocumented employee receives an Employment Authorization Document (EAD or work permit) through a U visa. That person was previously undocumented but may have provided their employer with a fraudulent green card to secure employment. As another example, an undocumented employee may receive a green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen or through an adult child petition for their parent’s green card. In both examples, the employee has changed their status and has received their own Social Security card and/or has their true name on their EAD or green card.”
“Healthcare Without Fear” Act: Effective June 5, 2026, Senate Bill (SB) 1570 will effectively require health care facilities and providers to treat a patient’s citizenship status, immigration status, or country of birth as protected health information. From the employer perspective, this Act also prevents a health care facility employer from taking adverse actions or retaliating against an employee for sharing information or guides related to immigrant rights and legal service that come from a state agency.
Minimum Wage Increase: Oregon’s minimum wage rates (which includes a standard rate, a Portland metro rate, and a nonurban counties rate) are set to increase as of July 1, 2026. The statewide (standard) minimum wage rate is increasing to $15.55 per hour; the Portland minimum wage will be $16.80 and Nonurban Counties will be $14.55 per hour.
Under California Law…
Minimum Wage Increase: Several cities in California are also increasing minimum wage at the mid-year mark this year. This Davis Wright Tremaine article outlines all the details, effective July 1, 2026, including specific rates for hotel and hospitality workers.
HRT Northwest: Your Northwest HR Team
(253) 642-7372 | info@hrtnorthwest.com
This Update is not a full overview of all recent or upcoming legal changes. HRT Northwest is staffed by professionals in the field of Human Resources and business management. We are glad to help with your HR needs; however, we do not offer legal advice and our services are not a substitute for the help of a qualified attorney.