December 2023 Legal Updates

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.

Some of the notable recent and upcoming state changes in this issue are as follows:

COLORADO

ENSURE EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK ACT – Effective January 1, 2024

1. Career progression promotions are no longer considered “job opportunities” subject to company-wide posting.
2. Until July 1, 2029, employers with no physical office in Colorado and under 15 remote employees need only post remote job opportunities to their Colorado employees.
3. Back pay for violations extended from three years to six.
4. Within 30 days of selection, Colorado employers must internally announce new hires and promotions as follows:

• • For a job opportunity, employers must disclose to the employees with whom the position will work with regularly:
  • the name of the candidate selected for the job opportunity;
  • the selected candidate’s former job title if that individual was an internal hire;
  • the selected candidate’s new job title; and
  • information on how employees may demonstrate interest in applying to similar jobs in the future.
  • For career development/progression provide to employees:
  • information about the requirements for such progression,
  • information about each position’s compensation, benefits, and full-time or part-time status,
  • the position’s duties and access to further advancement.

For more details on the differences between job opportunities and career progressions, please review this blog.

COLORADO’S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION ACT REVISION – Effective August 7, 2023

• Discriminatory behaviors no longer need to be severe or pervasive,
• Employers should consider the “totality of the circumstances” when assessing possible violations.
• To ensure you can defend discrimination claims, we recommend you have a harassment prevention program, it’s communicated to employees, and it’s enforced through investigations and appropriate action.

ILLINOIS

CITY OF CHICAGO PAID LEAVE CHANGES – Effective January 1, 2024

Paid Leave

Effective January 1, 2024, all employers with employees working in the City of Chicago will be required to provide their employees with paid leave in addition to mandated Paid Sick Leave.

All employees will accrue 1 hour of Paid Leave for every 35 hours worked up to a max of 40 hours annually, or the employer may frontload the full 40 hours of annual maximum paid leave on the first day of every plan year.

Paid Sick Leave

Effective January 1, 2024, all employers with employees working in the City of Chicago will be required to continue to provide their employees with Paid Sick Leave with a few revisions to the current law. The revisions include:

• All employees will accrue one hour of Paid Sick Leave for every 35 hours worked up to a maximum of 40 hours annually, or the employer may frontload the full 40 hours of maximum paid sick leave annually.
• Employees can begin using paid sick leave after they complete 30 days of employment.
• In the case of foreseeable absences, the employee may be required to provide seven days’ notice.
• Absences resulting in three days consecutively the employer may require supporting documentation.
• Employees may use paid sick leave in two-hour increments.
• Employees can carry over up to 80 hours of paid sick leave per year.
• Employers are not required to pay unused paid sick leave at separation of employment.

Existing Paid Leave Plans

Employers who have an existing policy that meets or exceeds the requirements of the Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave ordinance will be sufficient.

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES  on January 1, 2024

While the federal minimum wage rate will remain the same in 2024, the minimum wage rate will go up in many states in 2024 (source GovDocs). We encourage you to become familiar with state and local changes in your states of operation. These 22 states will see an increase on January 1, 2024 to the following rates:

• Alaska: $11.73
• Arizona: $11.35 (tipped employees) or $14.35
• California: $16.00 (some cities are higher)
• Colorado: $11.40 (tipped employees) or $14.42 (some cities are higher)
• Delaware:  $11.75 (tipped employees) or $13.25
• Washington, D.C.: $17 minimum wage
• Hawaii: Tipped wages or $14.00
• Illinois: $8.40 (tipped employees) or $14.00
• Maine: $7.08 (tipped employees) or $14.15
• Maryland: $3.63 (tipped employees) or $15.00
• Michigan: $3.93 (tipped employees) or $10.33
• Minnesota: $8.85 (smaller employees)* or $10.85 (large employers)
• Missouri: $6.15 (tipped employees) or $12.30
• Montana: $10.30
• Nebraska: $2.13 (tipped employees) or $12.00
• New Jersey: $5.26 (tipped employees) or $15.13
• New York: $15.00 (some cities are higher)
• Ohio: $5.25 (tipped employees) or $10.45
• Rhode Island: $3.89 (tipped employees) or $14.00
• South Dakota: $5.60 (tipped employees) or $11.20
• Vermont: $6.84 (tipped employees) or $13.67
• Washington: $16.28 (some cities are higher)

We recommend:

Work with your Inspiring HR Consultant, legal advisor or internal HR team to ensure your leave policies, job posting processes and compensation plans are up to date for the turn of the new year.

Interested in other current employment trends? Click the link to view the recent blog: How to Recruit and Hire Your Best-Fit Job Candidate in Today’s Market 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