New Louisiana Employment-Related Laws: Key Takeaways From the 2025 Legislative Session

Quick Hits

• Effective August 1, 2025, Louisiana’s Employment Discrimination Law now includes military status as a protected class, extending anti-discrimination protections to military personnel, veterans, and their dependents.
• A new exemption to Louisiana’s final pay law, effective August 1, 2025, excludes partnership distributions from the standard wage payment requirements upon the termination of employment.

Louisiana’s Employment Discrimination Law Expanded to Include Military Status

Effective August 1, 2025, Louisiana’s Employment Discrimination Law (LEDL) now includes “military status” as a protected class, extending to military personnel and veterans protections against discrimination in hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, benefits, and other terms of employment. The new law, Act No. 100, also prohibits discrimination based on military status in housing, education, and public accommodations.

Notably, the LEDL now also protects spouses/family members against employment discrimination if they are a dependent of a military service member. Under the new law, “military status” is defined to include individuals who are “member[s] of the uniformed services … of the United States” or its reserve components, or dependents of such service members who have been supported by them for at least 180 days.

Key Takeaways for Employers

• Employers may want to immediately review and update anti-discrimination and equal employment opportunity (EEO) policies, and also review and update handbooks to include military status.
• Human resources teams and managers may want to incorporate training for new protections and how to adequately respond to requests related to military service, including leave or adjustments to schedules.

New Exemption From Louisiana’s Wage Payment Act for Partnership Distributions

The legislature also added a new provision to the Louisiana Wage Payment Act (LWPA), which requires payment of wages to employees after termination of employment. Specifically, Act No. 113 provides that the existing provisions regarding the obligation to pay wages earned at the time of termination do not apply to “profits interest granted or issued by an entity that is taxed as a partnership for federal income tax purposes,” even though the recipient was an employee. Notably, Act No. 113 does not include a similar exemption for limited liability companies (LLCs).

This change clarifies the scope of final wage payment requirements. Under the new law, certain types of compensation related to partnership interests are excluded from the standard requirements that require timely payment of wages upon termination of employment. This law also became effective August 1, 2025.

Key Takeaways for Employers

• For businesses that operate as partnerships with compensation structures tied to profits interests, the exemption will effectively prevent disputes over whether those interests should be treated like standard wages payable upon termination of employment.
• The exemption ensures that entities operating as partnerships (taxed accordingly) are not required to treat “profits interest granted or issued” like cash wages, which might otherwise have administrative or financial implications upon an employee’s exit.

Ogletree Deakins’ New Orleans office will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Louisiana blog as additional information becomes available.

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