Compliance Stuff

  The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has revised Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15).  The changes will impact how companies collect the race and ethnicity data for their federal reporting.   The 2024 SPD 15 replaces and supersedes the 1997 SPD 15.  OMB cited “large societal, political, economic shifts in the United States” during the past 25 years including “increasing racial and ethnic diversity; a growing number of people who identify as more than one race or ethnicity; and changing immigration and migration patterns.”   Key revisions include a new race/ethnicity category and a one question format combining the race and ethnicity question into “What is your race and/or ethnicity? Select all that apply and enter additional details in the spaces below.”   With the addition of the new  Middle Eastern/North African  category, there will be seven race and/or ethnicity categories: ...

  On March 12, 2024, the Social Media Law was effective--addressing employer access to employees' and applicants' “personal accounts,” defined as “an account or profile on an electronic medium where uses may create, share, and view user-generated content, including uploading or downloading videos or still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant messages, or internet website profiles or locations that are used by an employee or applicant exclusively for personal purposes.”   Specifically, the law makes it unlawful for any employer to request, require, or coerce any employee to:   disclose any username and password, password, or other authentication information for accessing a personal account through an electronic communications device (defined as “any device that uses electronic signals to create, transmit, and receive information, including, but not limited to computers, telephones, personal digital assistants and other similar devices”);   access the emp...

  Oregon was the first state to provide leave for bereavement, permitting an employee to take job-protective time off following a death in the family.   In 2024, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Jersey are also considering bills that would allow eligible employees to use paid family and medical leave and or paid sick leave for bereavement purposes following the death of a family member.   Kentucky and New Jersey are also considering bills that would bereavement leave, specifically with reproductive loss, such as miscarriage or stillbirth (similar to California's law that was enacted in 2023).   Source(s):  JD Supra , received on March 29, 2024;  Littler , accessed on March 29, 2024;  Massachusetts Legislature,  accessed on March 29, 2024;  Minnesota Legislature , accessed on March 29, 2024;  New Jersey Legislature ,  New Jersey Legislatur e, both accessed on March 29, 2024;  Kentucky Legislature , accessed on March 29, 2024;...

  Montgomery County, California minimum wage rates are set to rise to *$17.15 for large employers and $15.50 for medium sized employers.   Employers should be aware that Montgomery County separates companies in their jurisdiction into three categories; large, medium, and small.    All companies have a minimum wage effective date of July 1 each year, with the exception of small companies, who must raise their minimum wage to $15.00/hour, effective Jan.1, 2024.    The county announced that the minimum wage for large companies will increase to $17.15/hour, with medium–sized only behind by $2.15 with a rate of $15.50/hr. Small company minimum wage rates will not increase, as they rose to $15.00/hour on Jan. 1, 2024.     Large employers employing individuals who earn tips should note that the maximum tip credit is now $13.15. As a reminder, the tipped employee wage will remain at $4.00/hour.    Source(s):  GovDocs.com , received on ...

  States such as New York, Maine, and Minnesota enacted laws restricting employers from requiring employees to attend employer-sponsored meetings regarding the employer's opinion on political or religious matters and also prohibiting an employer to take action against employees if they refuse to attend the employer sponsored meetings.   These bills are generally encouraged by unions to prevent mandatory employer-sponsored meetings related to “political matter” .   Source(s):  JD Supra , received on March 29, 2024;  New York State Assembly,  accessed on March 29, 2024;  Maine Legislature , accessed on March 29, 2024;  Minnesota Legislature , accessed on March 29, 2024.

  The state of California has had a statute that voids a noncompetition clause or agreement that restrains a person from participating in a profession, trade or business, with very limited exceptions for a while---other states are following suit.     States such as Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Rhode Island, and Utah are introducing bills that would make it difficult to bind a prospective or current employee with such agreements.   New York city is also considering legislation related to noncompetition agreements---prohibiting non-compete agreements with low wage workers and the use of restrictive covenants with freelance workers.   Source:  JD Supra , received on March 29, 2024.  

  Beginning April 1, 2024, federal contractors will be able to certify the status of their Affirmative Action Programs (AAPs) for each establishment and /or functional/business unit, as applicable.   The deadline for certifying compliance is   July 1, 2024.   Source:  www.dol.gov ,   accessed on March 29, 2024.

  The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) enforces VEVRAA (the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act.  VEVRAA prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating against protected veterans and requires the employer to take affirmative action to recruit, hire, promote, and retain these individuals.   To measure our progress (as a Federal Contractor), VEVRAA requires contractors to establish a hiring benchmark every year to measure our progress toward achieving equal employment opportunity for protected veterans .  We can adopt the national hiring benchmark or setting an individualized using a five factor method.   Our companies choose to use the national hiring benchmark.  Effective March 31, 2024, the new benchmark is  5.2%   Additionally, OFCCP released a new course in the  Contractor Compliance Institute (CCI)  on the VEVRAA hiring benchmark. This 20-minute course covers the purpose of th...

  The Occupational Safety and Health Act gives the employer and employees the right to authorize a representative to accompany OSHA officials during a workplace inspection.  The final rule clarifies that, consistent with the law, workers may authorize another employee to serve as their representative or select a non-employee .  For a non-employee representative to accompany the compliance officer in a workplace, they must be reasonably necessary to conduct an effective and thorough inspection.   The rule will be effective May 1, 2024.   Source(s):  News Release   received March 28, 2024;  Federal Register , accessed on March 29, 2024 (to be available on April 1, 2024.

  The Department of Labor filed its appeal to the Ninth Circuit contesting an order that would require the DOL (OFCCP) contractors' 2016-2020 2020 Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Reports---reports that require specific employers pay data, covering wages and hours.   The DOL states that the court had not given an “ordinary or common” meaning to the term “commercial,” as required by the Ninth Circuit precedent.   It may be summer of 2024, at the earliest, before a ruling is issued.   Source:  Ogletree Deakins , reported on February 27, 2024

  How to calculate California's paid sick leave law for part-time employees can be a difficult thing, especially if you are not used to providing part-time employees paid sick leave.  The Shaw Law Group identifies the most common methods of calculating paid sick leave and address how they apply to part-time employees: Accrual Method (1:30) Employers may have a policy in which employees accrue one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. This policy applies equally to part-time and full-time employees.   Accrual Method (Alternative Rate) Employers may have employees accrue paid sick leave at a rate other than one hour for every 30 hours worked, but must meet certain benchmarks to make that alternative accrual valid. Employers using an alternative accrual rate must ensure that employees accrue 24 hours or three days of sick leave by the 120th day of the year and 40 hours or five days by the 200th day.   California’s Department of Industrial Relations (“DIR”) recen...

  An employer's number of full-time employees is crucial to the determination of whether penalties should apply and the calculation of those penalties.  The IRS approved the use of two different determination methods: Monthly Measurement Method and the Look-Back Measurement Method.   Each method considers an employee's “hours of service”.  Hours of service includes hours worked, paid PTO, paid holiday, disability or other similar leave of absence (except when an employee is receiving compensation under a workers' compensation or a state wage replacement program or from an arrangement in which the employer did  not  contribute.   Employers must use the same measurement method for all employees other than for the following employee classifications: (i) hourly v. salaried, (ii) employees in different states; (iii) union v. non-union; and (iv) employees in different union groups.   Monthly Measurement Method (MMM):     Similar to how employe...

  A temporary court order intended to maintain the status quo or preliminary injunction was upheld by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit blocking enforcement of Florida's Individual Freedom Act.   The Act prohibits employers from requiring attendance at any training that "espouses (supports), promotes, advances, inculcates (instills), or compels the employee to believe" certain concepts related to race, color, sex, or national origin that legislators find offensive.  This Act went into effect on July 1, 2022.   Following this decision, state officials may not enforce the Act against employers. Florida has 14 days from the entry of the Eleventh Circuit’s decision to petition for a rehearing by the full circuit. In a statement, the Florida governor’s office said the state is reviewing all options for a potential appeal. It did not offer any insight into the state’s next steps.   The Compliance Department will follow developme...