If you run payroll anywhere in Latin America, mark July 15 on your calendar. The Colombia workweek reduction takes its final step that day, dropping the legal maximum to 42 hours. Meanwhile, three more changes land this month. Maine starts forcing pay ranges into job posts. Nebraska gives laid-off workers a longer heads-up. And India rewrote its provident fund rulebook for the first time in seven decades. Here is what changed, which countries are affected, and what your team needs to finish before each deadline.

Colombia Workweek Reduction Reaches 42 Hours July 15

What the Colombia workweek reduction changes

On July 15, 2026, Colombia’s legal maximum workweek falls from 44 hours to 42. This is the last stage of Law 2101 of 2021, which cut hours in steps. First 47 hours in 2023, then 46 in 2024, then 44 in 2025. (Source: L&E Global.) Salaries and social benefits stay the same, so this is a pay-protected cut. The rule covers every employer under the Substantive Labor Code, both public and private. (Source: Colombia One.)

Why the Colombia workweek reduction raises payroll cost

Fewer legal hours means overtime starts sooner. Take a team in Bogotá on a 44-hour schedule today. Two of those hours become overtime on July 15. Daytime overtime carries a 25% surcharge, and nighttime overtime carries 75%. Law 2466 of 2025 then stacks more cost on top. As a result, the Sunday and holiday surcharge rose to 90% on July 1, 2026. That is up from 80% a year earlier. (Source: Littler.) Night work now starts at 7 p.m. instead of 9 p.m., a shift in effect since December 2025. So more evening hours now trigger the 35% night premium.

What to do this week

First, recut your Colombia work schedules to 42 hours before July 15. Second, ask your payroll provider to confirm the new overtime, night, and Sunday surcharge rates are coded. Third, budget for the higher surcharge stack, because the Sunday premium climbs again to 100% in July 2027. If you hire through a partner, review the current Colombia employment law rules. Then confirm the change is already built into their compliance logic.

United States: Two State Rules Land This Month

Maine forces pay ranges into every job post July 29

Maine’s new pay transparency law, LD 54, takes effect July 29, 2026. Any employer with 10 or more employees must list a prospective pay range in every job posting. That covers printed, online, and recruiter-placed ads. (Source: Littler.) Workers can also ask for the pay range of their own role. In addition, employers must keep pay-history records for three years after someone leaves. Maine funded a dedicated Department of Labor inspector to enforce it, so treat this as a hard rule, not guidance. (Source: Fisher Phillips.) If you post remote roles open to Maine residents, the posting counts. Audit your job templates now. Then check your US salary structure so published ranges match what you actually pay.

Nebraska adds a 90-day layoff notice July 18

Nebraska’s new mini-WARN law, LB 921, becomes operative July 18, 2026. Covered employers with 100 or more full-time workers must give 90 days of written notice. That applies before a mass layoff or plant closing at a single site. (Source: Ogletree.) That is 30 days longer than the federal WARN Act’s 60-day floor. Notice goes to affected workers and to the Nebraska Department of Labor, and violations cost up to $100 per day. (Source: Seyfarth Shaw.) So if you plan any Nebraska headcount cut this year, build the longer runway into your timeline now. Because the clock starts before the layoff, a late notice cannot be fixed after the fact.

India rolls out EPF Scheme 2026 July 1

India’s Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation formally launched EPF Scheme 2026 on July 1, replacing the 1952 framework with a digital-first system. (Source: Open Magazine.) This is the biggest overhaul of India’s provident fund in more than seven decades. The wage ceiling stays frozen at Rs 15,000 a month. So the minimum monthly deduction holds at Rs 1,800, matched by the employer. However, the new labour codes still push basic pay toward 50% of gross. That raises PF and gratuity costs for employers who kept basic low. For example, a hire on Rs 40,000 gross with Rs 12,000 basic should move to at least Rs 20,000 basic. As a result, the gratuity base climbs, even though the PF ceiling deduction stays capped. Review your India salary splits and run current India payroll compliance against the new scheme. For a deeper primer, our provident fund guide breaks down the mechanics.

Quick Hits

• European Union: Core Pay Transparency Directive obligations applied across all 27 member states from June 7, 2026, including salary disclosure at hiring and a ban on salary-history questions. Only Italy, Slovakia, Lithuania, and Malta had full national laws in force on time. (Source: Morgan Lewis.)

Action Items This Week

If you hire in Colombia: Move all schedules to 42 hours by July 15. The Colombia workweek reduction is the hardest deadline on this list, and overtime triggers earlier the moment it lands.

If you post jobs open to Maine: Add pay ranges to every posting before July 29. Also start keeping pay-history records for three years.

If you employ 100+ people in Nebraska: Add a 90-day notice window to any layoff plan from July 18 onward.

If you run India payroll: Confirm your provider has moved to EPF Scheme 2026. Also check that basic pay meets the 50% threshold under the labour codes.

The Bottom Line

Four countries, four deadlines, all inside one month. If your team is small and spread across borders, tracking each rate and notice window by hand gets risky fast. Asanify’s Global HRMS and EOR handle multi-country payroll, overtime, and compliance in one place. So changes like the Colombia workweek reduction update automatically, instead of catching you at month-end.

FAQ

Does the Colombia workweek reduction cut worker pay? No. Law 2101 lowers the legal maximum to 42 hours while keeping salaries and social benefits unchanged. In practice, employers pay the same wage for fewer standard hours, which means overtime now begins earlier in the week.

Which employers must post pay ranges in Maine? Any employer with 10 or more employees, effective July 29, 2026. The rule covers printed, online, and recruiter-placed postings, and it applies to remote roles that are open to Maine residents.

How much notice does Nebraska’s new WARN law require? At least 90 days before a mass layoff or plant closing at a single site. This applies to employers with 100 or more full-time workers. That is longer than the federal WARN Act’s 60-day requirement, and notice must also go to the state labor department.

Do we need an EOR to stay compliant across these countries? Not always, but it helps when you have a handful of hires in each country. An EOR becomes the legal employer, so it tracks surcharge rates, notice windows, and provident fund rules for you. Direct entities usually make sense once you pass 10 or more employees in one country.

Not to be considered as tax, legal, financial or HR advice. Regulations change over time so please consult a lawyer, accountant  or Labour Law  expert for specific guidance.