by Brightmine Editorial Team
Understanding how municipal preemption laws operate across the United States is essential for HR teams managing multi‑location compliance. Many states have enacted laws that prevent cities and counties from adopting their own employment‑related ordinances, creating a uniform statewide standard on issues such as:
- Leave;
- Compensation and benefits;
- Distracted driving;
- Smoke-free/indoor clean air;
- Discrimination; and
- “Ban the box” ordinances.
Our Fifty state chart for municipal preemption laws provides HR professionals with a clear, actionable resource to understand where local ordinances are restricted and which employment areas are fully controlled at the state level.
By helping HR teams identify which rules apply across jurisdictions, this guide supports consistent policy development, reduces compliance risk, and strengthens strategic decision‑making for multi‑state employers in a rapidly shifting regulatory landscape.

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About the author

Our in-house team of HR experts carefully monitors and updates the Brightmine HR & Compliance Center, the most comprehensive library of employment law and HR resources. This team has an unrivaled wealth of subject matter expertise, with an average of 15 years’ experience. They also bring invaluable, diverse career experiences to the table—the team includes seasoned employment law attorneys, former in-house counsel, SHRM certified professionals and career employment law editors.
In addition to managing the HR & Compliance Center, the Editorial Team supports the content across the Brightmine product portfolio. The Team also supports Marketing Resource Center with breaking HR news, Commentary and Insights, and expert review of key compliance resources, such as our free charts.
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