5 bills pending
Members
🥇 Alan Seabaugh (R)
🥈 Thomas Pressly (R)
Pending Bills
SB205: Provides for employment practices related to wage history, wage disclosure, and retaliation. (8/1/25)
Last Action: Introduced in the Senate; read by title. Rules suspended. Read second time and referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
Date: 2025-04-14
Author: Gary Carter (D)
SB206: Provides relative to the state minimum wage. (gov sig) (OR INCREASE GF EX See Note)
Last Action: Introduced in the Senate; read by title. Rules suspended. Read second time and referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
Date: 2025-04-14
Author: Gary Carter (D)
MINIMUM WAGE BILL
Imposes a state minimum wage of $10/hour in 2025, increasing to $12 in 2027 and $14 in 2029. It creates a private right of action for wage disputes and imposes reporting mandates on the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
OPPOSITION:
1. Job Losses and Economic Harm to Small Business
Artificially raising the minimum wage by nearly 40% over four years imposes unsustainable labor costs on small businesses, which make up the backbone of Louisiana’s economy.
Many small employers, particularly in rural areas or low-margin industries (retail, restaurants, hospitality), cannot absorb these mandated increases without cutting hours, jobs, or benefits—or they would be put out of business.
2. One-Size-Fits-All Mandate Ignores Local Conditions
This sweeping mandate ignores the lower cost of living in many parishes and effectively forces wage inflation where the market does not support it.
3. Civil Lawsuit Provision Encourages Legal Abuse
Creates a new private right of action against employers for minimum wage violations, with mandatory attorney fees. This opens the door to even more costly, frivolous lawsuits that are destroying Louisiana.
SB213: Provides for preliminary determination hearings in workers' compensation. (1/1/27)
Last Action: Introduced in the Senate; read by title. Rules suspended. Read second time and referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
Date: 2025-04-14
Author: 🥇 Alan Seabaugh (R)
- Overhauls the reimbursement process for workers' compensation medical billing, effective January 1, 2027.
- Requires the reimbursement schedule to be updated every two years, based on standardized metrics (RVUs, GPCI, etc.) and set conversion factors.
- Establishes new rules for evaluating payment disputes, including mandatory third-party review and a new reimbursement hearing officer.
- Sets confidentiality protections for data used to calculate reimbursement.
- Limits recoverable fees unless agreed to in writing in advance.
- Allows appeals of billing decisions up to the First Circuit Court of Appeal.
SB223: Establishes the Retail Service Worker Health and Safety Act. (8/1/25) (OR INCREASE GF EX See Note)
Last Action: Introduced in the Senate; read by title. Rules suspended. Read second time and referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
Date: 2025-04-14
Author: Joseph Bouie (D)
Creates the "Retail Service Worker Health and Safety Act," requiring employers with 10 or more retail workers (excluding government entities) to develop a workplace violence prevention plan. Employers must assess risk factors, provide annual de-escalation and safety training, document workplace violence incidents, and install panic buttons if employing 50 or more workers. Requires security guards if a threshold number of incidents is met, as determined by the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
Effective August 1, 2025.
HB117: Provides for adoption of a medical fee reimbursement schedule for workers' compensation (EG +$100,000 SD EX See Note)
Last Action: Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
Date: 2025-05-07
Author: Michael Echols (R)
HOUSE committee amendments technical
Proposes updates to Louisiana’s workers' compensation medical fee reimbursement schedule. The bill mandates the adoption of a reimbursement schedule that aligns with those of similar regional states. It grants the assistant secretary of the Office of Workers' Compensation Administration the authority to establish, update, and oversee this schedule, ensuring annual adjustments based on collected data.
The legislation expands the responsibilities of the assistant secretary, requiring an evaluation of administrative efficiencies, paperwork reductions, and market expansion to improve patient access. The bill also stipulates that data collection for reimbursement calculations must follow specific guidelines to ensure accuracy and transparency.
Additionally, the Office of Workers' Compensation Administration must provide quarterly reports on rate studies and related processes to legislative committees, which will oversee the implementation. The initial reimbursement schedule is set to take effect on January 1, 2026.
SB 205 (2025) – Summary
Prohibits employers from using a job applicant’s wage history when making hiring or salary decisions. Employers may not:
- Ask about, rely on, or use prior wage information.
- Discriminate or retaliate against applicants who refuse to disclose wage history.
Also protects employees who discuss or disclose wages, unless the employee has access to wage data as part of their job and improperly shares it.
Effective August 1, 2025.