Labor Law Updates for May 2024

INFINITI HR is happy to provide Monthly State Labor Law Updates as a service to our subscribers. These briefs provide a general description and are not meant to be all-inclusive of compliance requirements. This list is not inclusive of all legislative changes for employers across the U.S. Changes may have been addressed in previous updates, which can be accessed from our blog.

Employers are encouraged to work with their Inspiring HR Consultant before making policy changes to capture the full requirements of these laws.

CALIFORNIA

California Workplace Violence Prevention Plan Resources – Effective July 1, 2024

As of July 1, 2024, most California employers will be required to have a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan in place. Employers who are exempt from this requirement are as follows:

• Worksites of 10 or fewer employees and that are not accessible to the public.
• Workers who are working from their location of choice that is not controlled by their employer, such as a home office.
• Healthcare employers, which already have Workplace Violence Prevention Cal/OSHA requirements in place.

MASSACHUSETTS

Massachusetts Paid Family & Medical Leave Updates Notices and Poster – Effective January 1, 2024

The Massachusetts Family and Medical Leave (MA PFML) has released an updated workplace poster, which reflects the 2024 contributions and benefit increases. The poster must be displayed in a location where all employees can easily access it.

MA PFML now allows employees to “top off” their partial wage replacement with company provides paid leave. As a result, the MA PFML updated the required employee notice to include information regarding the usage of other available paid leaves, such as PTO, vacation, and/or sick leave. The required notice also includes detailed information regarding MA PFML usage, wage replacement, and contributions.

Employers must display the updated poster in the workplace where all employees have access to it. Employers must also provide the applicable required notice to each employee upon hire and upon request.

FEDERAL

Exempt Minimum Salary Threshold – Changes begin July 1, 2024

The U.S. Department of Labor released its final rule on overtime protections that will increase the salary thresholds required to exempt a salaried bona fide executive, high-level administrative, or professional employee from federal overtime pay requirements. There are already legal challenges to the increase; however, it is recommended that employers prepare for the increase to take effect while monitoring for updates.  

Currently, there are two minimum salary levels:

1. $684 a week ($35,568 annually) for the Executive, High-Level Administrative, and Professional (EAP) exemption
2. $107,432 for the Highly Compensated Exemption (HCE).

Effective July 1, 2024, the EAP minimum will be $844 a week ($43,888 annually). The HCE minimum will be $132,964 annually.

Effective January 1, 2025, the EAP minimum will be $1,128 a week ($58,656 annually). The HCE minimum will be $151,164.

If the rule is not altered after litigation, the minimum salary levels would automatically update every three years based on earnings data, starting on July 1, 2027.

PLEASE NOTE: State and Local exempt salary levels may already be higher than the above Federal amounts.

The minimum salary is only 1 of 3 requirements for an employee to qualify for an EAP exemption:

1. be salaried, meaning that they are paid a fixed amount that is generally not subject to reduction (the “salary basis test“);
2. be paid at least a specific salary amount (the “salary level test”, described above); and
3. primarily perform executive, high-level administrative, or professional duties, (the “duties test“).

Nothing in the new Rule changes the salary basis test or the duties test.

Employers are encouraged to audit exempt employees’ positions to ensure they are meeting the duties test. For those that qualify earning less than $58,656, either their salaries will need to be increased to continue to qualify for the exempt status, or affected employees will need to be changed to a non-exempt status, begin recording their hours of work, and be eligible for overtime when working over 40 hours in a workweek.

Non-Compete Ban – Effective September, 2024

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has adopted a comprehensive ban on non-competes effective in September 2024. Under the new ban, nearly all new non-compete agreements will be banned, and many existing non-compete clauses or agreements will be void.

The new rule prohibits employers from asking employees to sign new non-compete agreements, and will require employers to notify current and former employees who have signed non-competes that they are no longer bound by such agreements, except for “senior executives.” The FTC defines the term “senior executive” as workers earning more than $151,164 annually who are in a “policy-making position.”

Under the new rule, employers can continue to ask employees to sign confidentiality agreements protecting company trade secrets, proprietary information, and client lists.

Unless successfully legally challenged, this rule is anticipated to go into effect on September 4, 2024.

 

Interested in other current employment trends? Click the link to view the recent blog: Workplace Discrimination, Harassment, and Bullying Explained or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance, and benefits.

This article does not constitute legal advice, and there are subtle variations in employment law as it pertains to these topics, depending on where your business operates. It is strongly suggested that you seek consultation or legal counsel before