Welcome to Issue #8 of The Compliance Brief. Every Tuesday I break down the HR and labor law updates that actually matter to small businesses — in plain English, no legal jargon.

A New Retirement Plan Rule Could Affect Your Payroll Setup Right Now

If you offer a 401(k) and have employees aged 50 or older, a SECURE 2.0 provision changes how their catch-up contributions are handled this year.

Employees 50+ who earned more than $150,000 in prior-year wages must now have their catch-up contributions made as Roth (after-tax) rather than traditional pre-tax. This isn't optional, and your payroll provider won't necessarily catch it automatically if settings haven't been updated.

The risk here is administrative, not about plan design. If your system is still routing catch-up contributions as pre-tax for high earners over 50, correction headaches may follow.

Action step: Ask your payroll provider or plan administrator directly whether the Roth catch-up rule is being applied correctly for eligible employees. Don't assume it's automatic.

1. Colorado's AI Hiring Rule Takes Effect June 30

If you use AI tools to screen or rank candidates and have Colorado employees, a new law requires bias audits and public disclosure if the tool discriminates. Even outside Colorado, this previews where more states are heading — worth reviewing your hiring tools now.

2. Non-Compete Salary Thresholds Just Rose in Several States

Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and D.C. have all raised the minimum salary required for a non-compete to be enforceable. If you use non-competes in any of these states, older templates may no longer hold up — check current thresholds.

3. Don't Forget the Paper Benefit Statement Requirement

Employers must provide at least one paper benefit statement per year to retirement plan participants, unless the employee has opted out electronically. If your plan has gone fully digital, confirm employees actually opted out — not just that you defaulted to digital.

✅ Confirm your payroll system correctly applies Roth catch-up rules for employees 50+ earning above $150,000

✅ If you use AI hiring tools with Colorado employees, review compliance before the June 30 deadline

✅ Check non-compete salary thresholds in any state where you use restrictive covenants

✅ Verify retirement plan participants have properly opted out of paper statements, if you've gone digital

The IRS has published updated 2026 retirement plan contribution limits — useful for confirming your plan documents and payroll settings are current: irs.gov/retirement-plans

That's it for this week. Short, actionable, no fluff.

If this was useful, forward it to another small business owner who could use it.

See you next Tuesday.

The Compliance Brief thecompliancebriefhq.com

This is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.