Labor and Compliance Updates for Q1 2024

Discover the latest in Labor Compliance laws as of April 2024, encompassing everything from COVID-19 compliance and regional initiatives. While our “Roundup” does not offer legal counsel, it strives to keep our customers informed about current industry challenges. For inquiries or further information, reach out to us at [email protected].

State and Local Laws

California’s new workplace violence prevention law, effective July 2024

As of July 1, 2024, a new law in California mandates employers to develop and implement written plans, maintain a log of incidents, and provide annual training to prevent and respond to on-the-job threats of violence. Under Senate Bill 553, employers are required to adopt an effective written workplace violence prevention plan, which can be a standalone document or part of a general injury and illness prevention program.

Recently, Cal / OSHA launched its Workplace Violence Prevention Guidance and Resources webpage which offers information including guidance materials, education on the new law and prevention of workplace violence, and other valuable resources for both employers and employees. Additional information can be found here.

Cal / OSHA adopts indoor heat illness rule

The Cal / OSHA Standards Board has recently adopted a new indoor heat illness rule aimed at protecting employees from excessive indoor heat.

The proposed rule includes the following requirements for employers with indoor work areas when the temperature reaches 82 degrees:

Establishing and maintaining a written Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Program, including procedures for water access, emergency response measures, cool-down areas, and close observation
Providing effective training to employees and supervisors on heat illness topics
Offering access to cool-down areas maintained below 82 degrees, shielded from direct sunlight and other heat sources
Allowing and encouraging employees to take preventive cooldown rest periods and monitoring them for heat-related symptoms
Closely observing new employees during a 14-day acclimation period and employees working during heat waves without effective engineering controls

Additional information can be found here.

Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave, effective July 2024

The City of Chicago enacted a new Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave ordinance. Beginning July 1, 2024, the new ordinance requires that eligible employees earn two types of paid time off: Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave. Eligible employees are those who work at least 80 hours for an employer within any 120-day period while physically present in the city. Once an employee reaches this threshold, the employee will remain a “covered employee” for the rest of their tenure with the employer.

The Ordinance specifies that the employees covered will accrue one hour of general paid leave and one hour of paid sick leave for every 35 hours worked. Both general paid leave and paid sick leave are accrued in hourly increments and the total accrual for both forms of leave is capped at 40 hours in a 12-month period. Some or all the accrued Paid Leave may be required to be paid out upon employee separation. Private causes of action can be pursued for violations of the ordinance’s paid sick leave provisions from July 1, 2024, and violations of the paid leave provisions from July 1, 2025. Additional information can be found here.

District of Columbia pay transparency law, effective June 2024

Starting June 30, 2024, employers are obligated to include the minimum and maximum anticipated salary or hourly pay in all job listings and position descriptions they advertise. When specifying the salary range, employers must indicate the range from the lowest to the highest salary or hourly pay that they believe, at the time of posting, they would offer for the advertised job, promotion, or transfer opportunity. Before the initial interview, employers must also reveal to potential employees the availability of healthcare benefits.

Additionally, the regulation prohibits employers from:

Screening potential employees based on their salary history, which includes setting criteria based on a prospective employee’s wage history or requiring the disclosure of wage history as a condition for an interview or employment consideration
Requesting salary history information from a previous employer of a prospective employee

Employers are required to display a notice in the workplace informing employees of their rights under the District’s Wage Transparency law as modified by the regulation. This notice must be visible in at least one location where employees gather. Additional information can be found here.

Nevada minimum wage and overtime, effective July 2024

Starting July 1, 2024, Nevada will no longer have a two-tier minimum wage system based on health benefits for employees. Instead, the minimum wage will increase to $12.00 and apply to all employees. Employees will be eligible for overtime at 1.5 times their regular wage rate for working over 40 hours in a work week. In addition, employees earning less than 1 ½ times the minimum wage will be generally eligible for overtime at 1.5 times their regular wage rate for working more than 8 hours in a workday. Certain categories of employees, including employees covered by collective bargaining agreements which provide otherwise for overtime, are exempted from these overtime requirements. Additional information can be found here.

New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act Amendment, effective March 2024

The New York City Council has approved a bill that establishes a private right of action for those who claim violations of the NYC Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (“ESSTA”). This new law took effect on March 20, 2024.

Individuals can still file complaints with the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (“DCWP”). However, the law now allows any person to bring a civil action for alleged ESSTA violations in any court that has jurisdiction. Individuals can file a civil action in court alongside a DCWP complaint for the same alleged violation, without the requirement of filing a complaint with or notifying the DCWP before initiating legal action. Individuals have a two-year timeframe from the date they became aware or should have become aware of the alleged violation to bring their legal action. Additional information can be found here.

New York City Worker Bill of Rights, effective July 2024

Starting July 1, 2024, New York City employers must distribute and post a Worker Bill of Rights notice to inform employees of their employment rights. This law aims to protect the rights of employees and independent contractors citywide, emphasizing that these rights apply to all individuals regardless of immigration status. The notice outlines federal, state, and local labor laws, including the right to organize.

Employers must distribute the notice to existing employees and new hires on their first day of work by July 1, 2024. They must prominently display the information at the workplace and, in some cases, on their websites and through electronic means. The notice must be provided in English and any primary language spoken by at least 5% of the workforce if published by the city.

Failure to comply with the posting requirements may result in a $500 penalty, but employers have a 30-day period to rectify the violation after the first complaint. Additional information can be found here.

New York adopts increased salary threshold, effective March 2024

Effective March 13, 2024, New York has raised the salary thresholds for employees in bona fide executive, administrative, or professional positions, as per Article 6 of the New York Labor Law. The new thresholds have increased from $900 to $1,300 per week. The primary objective of these thresholds is to establish exemptions for executives, administrative, and professional employees from certain Article 6 requirements pertaining to pay frequency, consent for direct deposit, and the timing of other benefits and wage supplements. Additional information can be found here.

State of New York extends time to file claims of unlawful discrimination, effective February 2024

Effective February 15, 2024, there has been an amendment to the statute of limitations for administrative complaints under the New York State Human Rights Law.

Previously, the statute of limitations for administrative claims of discrimination under the New York State Human Rights Law was one year, except for sexual harassment claims which had a three-year limit. However, with the new amendment, the time for filing a complaint of unlawful discrimination with the New York State Division of Human Rights has been extended to three years for all administrative claims that arise on or after February 15, 2024.

This extension applies to discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, age, sexual orientation, disability, military status, and other protected classes, as well as claims of unlawful retaliation under the New York State Human Rights Law. Additional information can be found here.

Michigan’s right to work repeal, effective February 2024

Michigan has repealed its right-to-work statute, becoming the first state in 58 years to do so. This repeal came into effect on February 13, 2024. Consequently, collective bargaining agreements in the private sector can now include union security clauses, which require all bargaining unit employees to pay dues as a condition of employment, among other provisions. Additional information can be found here.

International Laws

BC Pay Transparency Act

The Pay Transparency Act of British Columbia, Canada, also known as Bill 13, introduces various requirements including pay history and pay secrecy prohibitions, job posting requirements, and notably pay transparency reports that must include a breakdown of employee pay based on gender.

Under the Pay Transparency Act, reporting employers in British Columbia are now required to prepare a pay transparency report by November 1 of each year. This report must be published on a publicly accessible website or displayed in a noticeable location at each workplace. Employers must also provide a copy of the report to any member of the public who requests it. The specific date when an employer becomes a reporting employer depends on the number of employees they have on January 1 of the subsequent year. Here are the key upcoming dates:

November 1, 2024: Employers with 1,000 or more employees on January 1, 2024
November 1, 2025: Employers with 300 or more employees on January 1, 2025
November 1, 2026: Employers with 50 or more employees on January 1, 2026
November 1 of any year after 2026: Employers with more than the lesser of 49 or any prescribed number of employees on January 1 of that year

To prepare a pay transparency report, a reporting employer must:

Make reasonable efforts to collect the prescribed information from each employee during the first year of reporting

Make reasonable efforts to collect the prescribed information from new employees when they join the company

Provide each employee with the opportunity to provide the prescribed information and update or add to any information provided at least once a year

Cast & Crew is working to update its processes and digital products to facilitate your collection of this data.

For more information on the law, please visit Pay transparency laws in B.C.

New Canada Revenue Agency policy for remote workers, effective January 2024

The Canada Revenue Agency has implemented a new administrative policy to provide direction on how to determine the province of employment for remote workers in relation to tax matters. This policy specifically applies to the determination of the POE for income tax, Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or Quebec Pension Plan (QPP), Employment Insurance (EI), and Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) deductions.

Under this policy, full-time remote workers will be subject to the payroll deduction rates of the province where their employer has an establishment that the remote employee can be associated with. Additional information can be found here.

COVID-19 Updates

CA Relaxes COVID-19 isolation and testing guidelines

The California Department of Public Health has recently updated its COVID-19 isolation guidelines. As per the new guidelines, individuals who test positive for COVID-19 and have mild symptoms that are improving are now advised to isolate until they have been without a fever for 24 hours, without the need for fever-reducing medications. Furthermore, individuals who test positive but do not experience any symptoms are no longer required to be isolated. However, it is still strongly recommended by the CDPH that individuals who test positive for COVID-19 wear masks and avoid close contact with individuals at a higher risk of severe illness for 10 days.

Cal / OSHA has issued new testing guidance for COVID-19 prevention regulations. Employers are now required to test only individuals with new COVID-19 symptoms and close contacts at higher risk of severe disease, rather than testing all close contacts in isolated cases of COVID-19. Additional information can be found here and here.