Labor & Employment

Railroad safety; minimum train crew; movement of freight. Requires a crew of at least two qualified individuals on all trains, locomotives, or light engines used in connection with moving freight except in use for hostler or utility service. The bill requires the State Corporation Commission to include in an existing report the number of probable violations of federal regulations related to railroad safety investigated by the Commission's Division of Utility and Railroad Safety and reported to the Federal Railroad Administration for enforcement. This bill is identical to HB 25.

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Adult and Dislocated Worker funds; minimum allocation requirement waived. Authorizes the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement to waive the 40 percent allocation requirement of certain funding under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 for a local workforce development board that submits a request for a waiver and demonstrates that the board is unable to meet the requirement due to (i) a lack of available training providers in the local workforce development area, (ii) a lack of demand for training services among eligible participants, or (iii) other extraordinary circumstances. The bill requires the Department to develop and publish a process for the application and approval of such waivers.

Unemployment benefits; maximum duration. Provides that, beginning July 1, 2026, for claims effective on or after July 1, 2026, an eligible individual's weekly unemployment compensation benefit amount shall be paid for a maximum duration of 26 weeks.

Unemployment benefits; maximum duration. Provides that, beginning July 1, 2026, for claims effective on or after July 1, 2026, an eligible individual's weekly unemployment compensation benefit amount shall be paid for a maximum duration of 26 weeks.

Protection of employees; warehouse distribution center requirements; civil penalty; civil action. Provides that a warehouse employer, as defined in the bill, that violates the bill's provisions shall be liable to an impacted warehouse employee, as defined in the bill, for certain remedies, damages, and other relief as specified in the bill. The bill requires a warehouse employer to provide each warehouse employee a written description of each performance standard to which such employee is subject and of any potential adverse employment action that may result from such employee's failure to meet such performance standard. The bill prohibits a warehouse employer from taking an adverse action against a warehouse employee for such employee's use of a bathroom facility. The bill provides that a warehouse employer that violates the bill's provisions relating to warehouse employees is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each violation.