State Labor Law Research

Below are resources for researching state labor laws, as well as court cases, legal opinions and other related matters. Also included are resources to research labor laws for local jurisdictions (municipalities, towns, cities and counties), and U.S. territories and possessions. See State Labor Laws for a direct link to the text of each state's labor laws.

About State Labor Laws

States may establish their own labor laws, that include or expand the minimum protections afforded by Federal labor laws. States may allow local jurisdictions to do the same.

Although state labor laws typically deal with employer-union relationships and state employment laws typically deal with employer-employee relationships, the terms are interchangeable in common usage.

Labor laws is the term most often used to represent either. Both employment and labor laws are included in the links below.

Local and state labor laws are also called statutes. They are enforced by regulations.

State Labor Law Research Resources

Attorney Referral and Labor Law Facts
LegalMatch is a free online attorney referral service, with which EmployeeIssues.com is affiliated. It offers a Legal Center with a free Law Library that has facts about a variety of legal topics, including employment and labor laws. Topics include wrongful termination, discrimination, slander and libel (defamation) in the workplace, workplace drug testing, sexual harassment, employment contracts, unions, wages and benefits. If you would like prescreened, qualified attorneys to review your "case" and respond, you may post it confidentially, for free, and with no obligation on your part.

Background Check Laws
Summaries of state background-check laws, mostly pertaining to criminal record provisions. From Background Check Gateway, a do-it-yourself background-investigation site by Washington Research Associates Inc.

City and County Codes
The Seattle Public Library provides links to U.S. city and county codes that are accessible via the Web.

Department of Labor Web Sites
EmployeeIssues.com provides direct links to state and Federal department of labor Web sites, for researching labor laws and locating contact information to ask questions about same.

Doctrine of Employment at Will
Not a written, state labor law per se, but a doctrine upheld by many states and enforced by common law. It presumes that employment is voluntary and indefinite for both employers and employees. Consequently, employers may terminate employees for any reason, no reason or even an unfair reason, just as employees may quit for same. Click the link above to read our article.

Municipal Law Research
Municipal Code Corporation provides free links for researching municipal codes by state. Enhanced services cost a fee.

National Center for State Courts
Research laws, court cases and judicial decisions at local, municipal, state, Federal and international court Web sites.

Small Business Administration
The SBA is a Federal agency that provides free help and research resources to entrepreneurs for starting up and running a business, while complying with local, Federal and state labor laws, and others as well.

Small Business - State Employment and Labor Law
Link to state employment and labor law compliance assistance, rules and regulations for starting up or running a business. A free service managed by the Small Business Administration, with the collaboration of government agencies.

State and Local Government Legal Resources
The U.S. Library of Congress maintains links to state, city, county and local government resources for researching legal matters such as legislative bills, labor laws and judicial decisions.

State and Local Government on the Net
A directory of state and local government Web sites, for researching employment, labor, and other laws and ordinances.

State Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Provides links to the Web sites of state equal employment opportunity commission equivalents, for researching state employment and labor laws that prohibit discrimination, and instructions for filing discrimination charges under the laws.

State Government Home Pages
Link to the main Web site of your state's government as a starting place for researching state employment and labor laws, and employee rights. Includes U.S. possessions and territories. Courtesy of FirstGov.gov.

State Labor Law Links
Link to each state's employment and labor laws, and related rules, regulations and bills, as provided by each state's legislative branch of government. The links are right here at EmployeeIssues.com.

State Labor Law Research
The Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School provides links to agency Web sites appropriate for researching state employment and labor laws. Also provides research resources for constitutions, statutes, regulations and judicial opinions for all states, Washington DC and U.S. territories.

State Labor Law Summaries
Summaries of state labor laws related to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Family and Medical Leave Act, maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment Standards Administration. Includes minimum wage, overtime pay, payday requirements, rest breaks and meal periods, child labor, sick leave and right to work.

State Law Research
State law research Web links from Nolo.com, a privately-owned site that provides "plain-English" legal information to the general public for free. Other free resources include articles about legal matters, such as labor and employment, small business, and immigration.

State Minimum Wage Law Summaries
A quicker path to the state minimum wage law summaries linked above, under State Labor Law Summaries.

State Occupational Safety and Health Laws
Link to occupational safety and health agencies that enforce state laws equivalent to the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act or OSHA), to research the laws.

State Overtime Pay Law Summaries
Business Owner's Toolkit summarizes state labor laws that include or expand the overtime pay provisions of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

State Right to Work Laws
Right to work laws prohibit employers and unions from forcing workers to join unions as a condition of employment. Right to work laws might also entitle nonunion employees working in a bargaining unit, to the same union representation as union employees working in the same bargaining unit. The National Right to Work Committee displays a "clickable" U.S. map for researching these laws. If your state isn't displayed on the map, it means that it doesn't have a specific right to work law. But, a related Federal or state labor law might afford similar protection, such as the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Contact your state's labor office for more information.

State Unemployment Law Summaries
The U.S. Department of Labor summarizes a variety of provisions in state unemployment laws. It's primarily for comparing one state to another, but also a good resource for quickly researching a single state's unemployment laws in brief. Read Unemployment Benefits to better understand the terminology used in the summaries. See also State Unemployment Office Web Sites below.

State Unemployment Office Web Sites
EmployeeIssues.com maintains a list of state unemployment office Web sites. They are good places to research state-specific unemployment laws, as well as information about unemployment insurance benefits and eligibility requirements, appealing denials of benefits, and employer unemployment taxes.

State Workers' Compensation Laws
Summaries of state workers' compensation laws maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs. See also Workers' Compensation Benefits, Workers' Compensation Laws, and Workers' Compensation Agencies here at EmployeeIssues.com.

State Workplace Drug Testing Laws
Summaries of state laws regulating drug testing in the workplace and drug abuse, by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Uniform State Laws
States are not required to adopt these Acts introduced by The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, but are strongly encouraged to do so for uniformity. Many states have adopted those related to labor laws, which include the Arbitration, Mediation, Model Employment Termination and Trade Secrets Acts.

U.S. Supreme Court
The official Web site of our nation's highest court. When local, state or Federal court decisions are unsatisfactory to plaintiffs or defendants, they might be entitled to ultimately appeal their cases to the U.S. Supreme Court. Supreme Court opinions clarify laws or regulations, override previous interpretations of same, or create new common laws or public policies. Here, you may search or browse the text of present and past opinions. Includes many employment and labor cases.

Workplace Bullying Institute
A nonprofit, political-action organization that encourages citizens to lobby for state laws that stop workplace bullying. Tracks related bills that you may research. Such bills are generally referred to as "Anti-Bullying Healthy Workplace Bills". See also the related articles Hostile Work Environment and Harassment.