Louisiana Employer HR Compliance Guide

Priority Compliance Actions

• 1Establish a written new-hire notice procedure that documents each employee's wage rate, payment method, and pay frequency at the time of hire and upon any changes.
• 2Identify employees earning $35,000 or less annually and implement a process to provide EITC notification annually if you have 20 or more employees.
• 3Review any non-compete agreements to ensure they comply with La. R.S. 23:921, including valid geographic scope, a time limit of no more than two years, and a clearly defined business interest.
• 4Confirm new hire reporting is submitted to the Louisiana Workforce Commission within 20 days of each employee's start date.
• 5Audit tipped employee pay practices to ensure total compensation (base plus tips) meets the federal $7.25/hour minimum wage threshold for every pay period.

Leave Laws

Federal FMLA applies to Louisiana employers with 50 or more employees, providing up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. Louisiana has no state-mandated paid sick leave law applicable to private employers. There is no state family leave supplement beyond federal FMLA. Louisiana does have limited leave protections for crime victims and for bone marrow or organ donors under state statute.

Wage & Hour

Louisiana follows federal FLSA overtime rules requiring 1.5x pay for hours over 40 per week; there is no state-specific overtime expansion. Louisiana permits a federal tip credit, allowing tipped employees to be paid as little as $2.13/hour provided tips bring total compensation to at least $7.25/hour. Final paychecks for separated employees are due on or before the next regular payday, or within 15 days of separation, whichever is earlier. Louisiana does not have a general expense reimbursement statute, but federal FLSA rules apply where unreimbursed expenses drop pay below minimum wage.

Worker Classification

Louisiana is an at-will employment state, allowing termination for any lawful reason without cause or notice. Worker classification generally follows the federal economic reality test for FLSA purposes and the common-law control test for other contexts; Louisiana has not adopted an ABC test. Non-compete agreements are enforceable in Louisiana but are strictly construed and must comply with La. R.S. 23:921, which requires specific geographic and time limitations (generally no more than two years) and must be tied to a legitimate business interest.

Hiring & Onboarding

Louisiana has a statewide ban-the-box law (La. R.S. 37:2950) that restricts automatic disqualification of applicants based on criminal history for state-licensed occupations, but there is no broad private-sector ban-the-box mandate statewide. There is no state salary history ban for private employers. New hire reporting is required within 20 days of hire to the Louisiana Workforce Commission. Drug testing is permissible under the Louisiana Drug Testing Law (La. R.S. 49:1001 et seq.) if employers follow prescribed procedures for pre-employment and random testing.

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