Nearly 15,000 new employment lawsuits were filed in the third quarter of 2026, an increase of nearly 80% from the prior quarter, according to data from legal analytics provider Lex Machina.
The Democrats' decisive showing in this week's midterm elections have labor advocates hopeful that the next Congress will act on union priorities, including the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, with an eye toward enacting a pro-worker agenda once President Donald Trump is gone from the White House.
A constitutional amendment that Missouri voters passed could make it harder for state lawmakers to undo wage and hour ballot measures, which the state saw in 2025 in a fight that went to the state Supreme Court.