Compliance Stuff

  Effective January 1, 2023, Oregon provides employees with compensation time off from work to care for and bond with a child following the child’s birth or adoption, to recover from a serious health condition or care for a family member’s serious health condition, or to take leave if the employee or the employee’s family member has experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or harassment.   This applies to employers with at least 1 employee in the State of Oregon.    Employers are required to withhold an Oregon employee's Paid Sick Leave Oregon contributions from their paychecks.  Employees have job protection rights under the Paid Leave Oregon regardless the size of their employer, however employers who employ 25 or more worldwide must contribute to the Paid Leave Oregon Fund.   The  Notice Poster  should be made available to Oregon employees.   Source:  Ogletree Deakins  reported on January 30, 2024.  

  Assembly Bill 1076 expanded the prohibition of non-complete agreements and requiring employers to notify employees and former employees that any non-complete agreements to which they previously agreed are now void.   Employers must send these notices by February 14, 2024.   Source:  Shaw Law Group PC  reported on January 30, 2024.

  New Jersey passed legislation November 2023, that addresses the issue of seizures in the workplace and provides employers with the option to display a seizure and epilepsy awareness or poster in the workplace.    The poster will outline important facts that employers and employees should recognize: Epilepsy is not contagious and cannot be transferred to another person  If medication is taken regularly, most individuals will not experience a seizure    The poster also outlines that in the event a seizure does occur:  Remember to turn the person on their side  Remove any objects on the person  Position a pillow or something soft under the person’s head  Stay calm and time the seizure   This poster should be released in  February 2024.   Source:  GovDocs  reported on January 30, 2024.

  The California Privacy Rights ACT (CPRA) applies to HR data in full, and some proposed state legislation also would cover this data.  In addition, even though the state data protection laws outside of California do not apply to HR data, HR departments will have a role in the compliance process for these laws.   Source:  Littler  reported on January 29, 2024.   For further information, Littler also posted  this article  in 2021

  Starting on July 1, 2024, nearly every California employer will be required to implement a workplace violence prevention plan.  SB 553 only applies to California worksites and California employees.  This law does not have an implementation grace period.   Source:  Ogletree Deakins  reported on January 29, 2024.  

  On January 29, 2024, the FAR Counsel released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to implement EO 14069: Advancing Economy, Efficiency, and Effectiveness in Federal Contracting by Promoting Pay Equity and Transparency. The NPRM  proposes  that federal contractors and subcontractors are prohibited from seeking and considering information about a job applicant's compensation history.  It would also require the contractors and subcontractors to disclose expected compensation of positions in job advertisements.   The Compliance Department will stay up to date on this proposal as new information is provided.   Source:  DCi Consulting  reported on January 29, 2024. 

  Requires nearly all Illinois employers (with the exception of school districts under the School code or park districts organized under the Park District Code). The Act provides employees   up to 40 hours of paid leave   per year.  The Act covers all employees except:   Employees as defined in the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.  Temporary college or university student-employees.  Short-term employees of an institution of higher learning.  Employees working in the construction industry who are covered by  bona-fide  bargaining agreement (CBA),  Employee(s) who are covered by a  bona fide  CBA with an employer that provides services nationally, internationally of delivery pickup, and transportation of parcels, documents, and freight. This Act went into effective January 1, 2024.   Cook County Paid Leave  Local to Cook County in Illinois, this ordinance was modeled under the Paid Leave for All Workers...

  Freelance Isn't Free Act (FIFA) mandates the payment of freelance workers as independent contractors, including requiring written contracts, timely payments of compensation, and the handling of controversies relating to payment, complaint procedures, and penalties.   FIFA becomes effective May 20, 2024.  Any employer that utilizes independent contractors, should evaluated their independent contractor relationships to confirm compliance with FIFA (S5026/A6040)   Source:  Littler  reported on January 25, 2024

  The law requires employers with one hundred or more employees to file annual pay data reports with the California Civil Rights Department. Reports will need to be submitted on or before   May 8, 2024.  Compliance Calendar has been updated with this information.   The amended law obligates covered employers to report median and mean hourly rates within each job category for each combination of race, ethnicity, and sex. It has also added the requirement to report data regarding workers employed through labor contractors.   The California Civil Rights Department is expected to revise templates, FAQ guidance and user guides soon.   Source:  Ogletree Deakins  reported on January 23, 2024.

  OMB approved proposal on January 11, 2024, which means that the FAR Council may publish the proposed rule.  The rule is anticipated to be published in the Federal Register February 2024.   If approved and finalized, would implement President Bidens Executive Order 14069 which aims to eliminate discriminatory pay practices affecting the federal workforce and procurement of property and services by the federal government

Injuries such as: fatalities, hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of eye as a result of work-related incidents   must be reported   to OSHA (29 CFR 1904.2(a)(1).   In the event of these type of injuries, we may need post the (2023) Annual Summary no later than February 1 of the current year (2024).  This posting needs to be in place until April 30, 2024.   Injury and Illness data submission began on January 2, 2024 via the  Injury Tracking Application.

  Effective January 9, 2024, the California Department of Public Health issued an order modifying certain COVID-19 definitions.  The revisions reflect on the department's intervention priorities that are now focused on protecting those that are “at risk” for serious illness.   for confirmed symptomatic cases, from the day of symptom  onset  until 24 hours have passed with no fever, without the use of fever-reducing medications and symptoms are improving and are considered mild.   for confirmed asymptomatic cases, there is not infections period for the purposes of isolation or exclusion.  If symptoms develop, the criteria above will apply.   These revisions and more information can be found in the  Cal/OSHA's COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulations .   Source:  Shaw Law Group  reported on January 17, 2024.

  Littler reports that the District of Columbia will soon require employers to disclose compensation on job posting.    The slated effective date is  June 30, 2024.   Source:  Littler , reported on January 16, 2024  

  The “DC Parking Cashout Law,” DC Code §§32-151 et. Seq. requires employers with more than 20 “covered employees” to report on their provision of certain parking benefits.    Reports were due on  January 15, 2024.

This rule will take effect March 11, 2024.

  Maine's Governor declared a state of emergency on January 11, 2024 for eight counties along the coast that are impacted by flooding by a storm.  Included in the counties affected is Cumberland County, which is the City of Portland.   Source:  Littler , reported on January 11, 2024 

  Effective February 6, 2024, Texas signed into law  SB 7 ,  which bans private employers of any size from imposing or enforcing COVID-10 vaccine mandates as a condition of employment.     Source:  Proskauer , received on November 27, 2023.   

 On November 9, 2023, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed into law a bill that beginning on January 1, 2024, will make compensation received by full-time hourly wage-paid employees for overtime work performed in excess of 40 hours in a workweek exempt from Alabama state income tax. Source: Ogletree Deakins , reported on December 18, 2023

  State Minimum Wage Rate Change (non-contractual) If there are employees that are working on a project that is not bound to SCA Principles (such as Wage Determination and H&W Benefits), please double-check their pay rates. State Minimum Wage (as of January 1, 2024) ($) Administrative and Executive Salary ($) For Tipped Employees ($) Alaska 11.73   Not Applicable Arizona 14.35   11.35 California 16.00     Colorado 14.42 (proposed rate)   11.40 Boulder County  (All employees within the unincorporated parts of Boulder County.  Does not include the city of Boulder) 15.69     Denver 18.29     Edgewater 15.02     Connecticut 15.69   8.23 6.38 Boulder County  ( All employees within the unincorporated parts of Boulder County. Does not include the city of Boulder .) 15.69     Denver 18.29     Delaware 13.25   11.75 Hawaii 14.00     Illinois 14.00   8.40 Massachusetts 15.00...