Articles About Montana Labor and Employment Law.

On June 7, 2023, Montana’s Governor signed Senate Bill (SB) 351 which revises the state’s privacy law pertaining to genetic information.

This legislation takes effect on October 1, 2023.

Covered Entity

Businesses covered by the legislation are any partnership, corporation, association, or public or private organization that:

Offers consumer

Montana Senate Bill 248 went into effect on June 1, 2023. This law allows student-athletes to earn compensation from Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) endorsement deals and is part of a trend of NIL legislation being passed by states that allow student-athletes to monetize endorsement deals.

On May 19, 2023, Montana’s Governor signed Senate Bill 384, the Consumer Data Privacy Act. Montana joins  California, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia in enacting a comprehensive consumer privacy law.  The law is scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2024.

When does the law apply?

The law applies to a person

On December 9, 2022, a federal judge in Montana permanently blocked enforcement in healthcare settings of a first-in-the-nation law that had prohibited discrimination in employment and the provision of services based on vaccination status—including vaccination against COVID-19—finding the law is unconstitutional and preempted by federal law.

On March 18, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana issued a preliminary injunction in Montana Medical Association v. Knudsen, enjoining enforcement of part of Montana’s vaccination law against “all Montana health care facilities and individual practitioners and clinics” subject to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid

The Montana Department of Labor & Industry has released several FAQs clarifying Montana House Bill 702. The law, which went into effect on May 7, 2021, prohibits employers from mandating the current COVID-19 vaccines1 and recognizes an individual’s vaccination status as a protected category under the Montana Human Rights Act.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed legislation on May 18, 2021 that will provide protections for off-duty use of marijuana starting on January 1, 2022.

Montana citizens voted to legalize recreational marijuana in November 2020. The ballot initiative did not provide employment-related protections and focused on employer restrictions of on-duty use

Discrimination based on vaccination status is prohibited under a new Montana law (House Bill 702). Enacted on May 7, 2021, the new law went into effect immediately.

The new law provides that employers, including governmental entities, are prohibited from refusing employment to a person or discriminating against a person in

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte recently signed two bills designed to establish the framework for recreational cannabis and to begin to implement Constitution Initiative 118 (CI-118) and Initiative 190 (I-190), which were adopted by vote in the November 2020 election.

On May 7, 2021, Montana governor Greg Gianforte signed into law Montana House Bill 702, under which Montana became the first jurisdiction to recognize an individual’s vaccination status as a protected category. The law also prohibits employers from requiring employees to disclose their immunization status and bars employers from requiring

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte recently signed three bills that make significant changes to Montana’s Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act, Human Rights Act, and Wage Protection Act.

Changes to the Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act (WDEA)

Montana’s Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act (WDEA) requires that employers have just cause for discharge of employees after completion of an initial probationary period. A recent Montana case highlights state-specific issues for employers to consider if they have employees who work in Montana, even if those employees live in,

Montana is well-known in the employment world for deviating from the employment at-will doctrine. In Montana, employees are protected under the Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act (WDEA), which provides that an employee’s discharge from employment is wrongful if the discharge is not for good cause.1 One exception to the WDEA is that during an employee’s probationary period of employment, the employee’s employment may be terminated for any reason or no reason.2 While an employer can establish its own specific probationary period, if it does not, there is a six-month probationary period under the WDEA.3

The Montana Supreme Court has upheld against a state constitutional challenge the State’s 2011 Montana Marijuana Act, a new statutory framework embodying the State’s effort to limit abuses resulting from the 2004 Medical Marijuana Act, which was established by voter initiation. Montana Cannabis Industry Ass’n v. The State of Montana, 2016 Mont. LEXIS 168 (Feb. 25, 2016). The decision could benefit employers by limiting the availability of marijuana among persons not authorized to use it for medical purposes.