Intro to Louisiana Labor Laws

Effective January 1, 2025, Louisiana’s Senate Bill 165 limits non-compete agreements for specialty and primary care physicians. The law sets a maximum duration of three years for primary care physicians and five years for specialists. Rural hospitals and those in medically underserved areas are exempt from these requirements. Employers should review and revise existing non-compete agreements to ensure they align with the new law and consider consulting legal counsel to navigate these changes effectively.

Louisiana employers are now required to provide reasonable accommodations for employees who request them due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Employers must provide a notice of these new requirements to current employees by December 1, 2021, and notify all new employees upon hire.

Louisiana employers with 20 or more employees are now required to grant a day of leave to employees for medically necessary genetic testing and cancer screening. Employees should provide at least 15 days’ notice before taking leave. Employers may request documentation to support the request but cannot inquire about the results. Employers are not required to provide pay for this time off, although employees can use their accrued paid time off, if available.

New Orleans has amended its anti-discrimination ordinance to further define discrimination based on race or national origin by explicitly prohibiting employment discrimination based on protected cultural hairstyles commonly associated with such protected characteristics. The city joined a growing list of localities that have enacted similar laws.