What legal changes are in store for your business in the coming year? In California alone, 2023 will usher in changes to laws about such topics as pay transparency, family leave, gig workers, non-compete clauses, employee privacy and Covid-related issues. This naturally impacts what restaurants must do to remain in compliance with their state’s new laws, as well as how they manage employment postings, staff compensation, and medical and family-related issues that arise with employees day to day. As the year comes to a close, businesses and employees in many states can anticipate coming changes to laws that dictate how business must be conducted and managed. (At the same time, the recent announcements of large waves of layoffs at Meta and Twitter have also cast a brighter spotlight on the laws that regulate businesses, as well as the rights employees can exercise.) The Littler Workplace Policy Institute publishes an annual state-by-state summary of the more significant compliance obligations employers will face in the coming year. In your state, you can determine the applicability of new laws to each restaurant location by reviewing your state and city Department of Labor websites. As you prepare your business for any changes coming to your state and anticipate regular audits to stay on track, also ensure you have a plan to communicate with staff in advance about how the changes will affect them – both personally and with regard to any new tasks they must complete on the job. Finally, remember there are tech tools that can help people at each level of your organization automate any unfamiliar tasks your business must now complete to stay in compliance. New regulations may provide a good excuse for retiring any existing manual processes that could be made more efficient.