FEDERAL UPDATES

EEO-1 Reporting – The deadline to submit and certify EEO-1 reports for 100+ employers is June 4, 2024.  The EEOC just announced that it filed lawsuits against 15 employers in 10 different states and multiple industries for failing to comply with the reporting requirements in 2021 and 2022.  Technically there are no monetary penalties but the EEOC can ask a court to compel compliance, and it is never a good idea to give the EEOC a reason to pay close attention to your company and flag it for violations and special attention going forward.  This is also the EEOC’s first filed suit for this reason, so it appears to signal increased enforcement going forward.

Exempt Salary Threshold Increase – Everyone should know by now that the DOL raised the exempt salary threshold for the executive, administrative, professional, and highly-compensated employee FLSA exemptions in a two-step process effective July 1, 2024, and January 1, 2025.  As expected, a group of businesses filed a lawsuit in a Texas district court to block the increases.  While it’s possible that the lawsuit will be expedited or a temporary injunction may be issued in the next few weeks, employers shouldn’t count on it. At a minimum, they should be reviewing their exempt employee salaries and formulating a plan to meet the initial new thresholds slated for July 1.

STATE/LOCAL UPDATES

California – For “covered health care facilities” subject to the new SB525 Health Care minimum wage that was expected to go into effect June 1, it has been delayed to July 1.

Colorado – Age Discrimination.  Effective July 1, 2024 employers are prohibited from asking about an applicant’s age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or date of graduation from school.  There are exceptions for verifying compliance with bona fide job qualifications about public or occupational safety, or as required by law, but even then asking about specific dates is prohibited.  Employers should review their job application forms, including job applications contained within third-party search engines, to remove these questions and should train anyone interviewing applicants to avoid questions related to age.

Connecticut – Sexual Assault Victim Leave.   Effective October 1, 2024, victims of sexual assault will be permitted to use Connecticut’s PFML program and benefits to take paid time off to seek care or participate in the criminal justice system.  Victims will also be able to receive benefits concurrently with compensation received from the victim compensation program administered by the Office of Victim Services, up to 100% of their regular pay.

Maryland

Vaping.  Effective July 1, 2024, vaping will be prohibited in indoor places of employment, and employers will be required to post signs that state “No Smoking or Vaping” in each indoor area open to the public and at each public entrance to an indoor area where smoking or vaping is prohibited.  The letters on the signs must be at least 1 inch in height.

New Pay Stub Requirements.  Effective October 1, 2024, an employee’s physical pay stub or online pay statement must also include:

• The employer’s name registered with the state, address, and telephone number
• The date of payment and the beginning and ending dates of the pay period for which the payment is made
• The number of hours worked during the pay period (unless the employee is exempt from overtime requirements under federal and state law)
• The rates of pay
• The gross and net pay earned during the pay period
• The amount and name of all deductions
• A list of additional bases of pay, including bonuses, commissions on sales, or other bases
• For piece-rate employees, the applicable piece rates of pay and the number of pieces completed at each piece rate

The state will create a pay stub template that complies with these requirements.  Violations may result in penalties of up to $500 for each employee not provided a compliant pay stub.

Minnesota – Pay Transparency (eff. 1/1/25).  Joining the trend toward pay equity and pay transparency, Minnesota will require all 30+ employers to include a “good faith” pay range or fixed pay rate, and a general description of benefits and “other compensation”, in all job postings. This includes job postings by third-party recruiters, such as staffing agencies or job boards.  Open-ended pay ranges (i.e. “up to $50,000” or “$50,000 +”) are prohibited.  Benefits and other compensation encompass health insurance, retirement plans, bonuses, and other financial perks associated with the position.  Like other states, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry is expected to release more specific guidelines as the effective date approaches.

New York City – Workers Bill of Rights Poster Deadline. The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection released the “Know Your Rights” poster in April.  It consists of a one-page multilingual poster with a QR code linked to the Worker’s Bill of Rights webpage.  By July 1, 2024 employers are required to:

• Provide the poster to every current employee;
• Provide the poster to new employees before they begin work; and
• “Conspicuously post” the poster in the workplace.

In addition, employers with internal websites, apps, or other digital means of communicating regularly with employees must post or distribute the poster through those means as well.

Washington

Unincorporated King County – minimum wage.  To address the discrepancy between some city minimum wages and the rest of King County, the King County Council just passed an ordinance setting a minimum wage of $20.29/hour for unincorporated King County, effective 1/1/25.  It will increase based on inflation on the first of each calendar year (including on the 1/1/25 effective date).  The minimum will be phased in for some employers as follows:

• Employers with 15 or fewer employees and annual gross revenue of less than $2.0 million can pay $3.00/hour less initially, with that reduction decreasing annually by $0.50 catching up in 2030.
• Employers with 15 or fewer employees and annual gross revenue of $2.0 million or more can pay $2.00/hour less, with that reduction decreasing annually by $1.00.
• Employers with 15+ employees but fewer than 500 can also pay $2.00/hour less, with that reduction decreasing annually by $1.00.
• The temporary reductions do not apply to franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ five hundred employees or more in the aggregate, regardless of the geographic location of the franchises.

Time Rounding – A Seattle jury just awarded hospital workers back wages for time clock rounding and meal break calculation rounding. The hospital used a 15-minute rounding time-clock program, which has historically been permitted by Labor & Industries as long as it generally evened out over time.  The jury found that the rounding was regularly in favor of the employer, and therefore employees had been underpaid regularly.  Washington employers should ensure that any timekeeping system they use calculates time to the minute, or that rounding is always in favor of employees to avoid wage and hour claims.

Worker’s Compensation – Effective June 6, 2024, Washington’s workers’ compensation law will allow employees to receive temporary total disability benefits for the day of an injury and the three days following the injury if they are unable to work for seven consecutive calendar days from the date of injury. The law previously required a 14-day disability period.

If you’d like to speak to an Asure HR expert about your business, connect with us.

Asure Software provides this information for general information purposes only.  We are not attorneys, and the information in this update should not be relied upon or regarded as legal advice.  This information may not be accurate or complete as it relates to a particular company or situation and does not reflect all developments or laws in all jurisdictions.