Posted on October 10, 2019

Comment Period for Proposed Rule Ends Dec. 9

On Oct. 8, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule to amend employee tip regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. This proposed rule has been issued, in part, to bring the regulations into alignment with legislation approved by Congress in 2018 and to incorporate DOL guidance about tipped wages. 

Among other things, the proposed rule would:  

• Prohibit employers (including managers and supervisors) from keeping employee tips;
• Permit non-tipped employees to share in the tip pool, if their employer does not use the tip credit; and
• Allow employers to use the tip credit when paying tipped employees for non-tipped activities that are “contemporaneously” performed with tipped activities. 

Some expect the proposed rule will “provide employers greater flexibility in determining pay practices for tipped and non-tipped workers.” These individuals also expect that the proposed rule “may allow for a reduction in wage disparities among employees who contribute to the customers’ experience.”

Click here for more information.

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on October 10, 2019

New Rate Becomes Effective Jan. 1 

On Sep. 30, 2019, the Montana Department of Labor and Industry announced that the state minimum wage rate will increase from $8.50 to $8.65 per hour. The new rate becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2020. 

The 15-cent increase is the result of an annual adjustment the state makes to account for changes in inflation. 

Click here for additional information on Montana’s minimum wage.

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on October 08, 2019

New Rate Becomes Effective on Jan. 1

Ohio has announced a new minimum wage rate of $8.70 per hour for nonexempt employees. The state minimum wage rate applies to employers that gross $319,000 per year or more. The 2020 wage for tipped employees is $4.35 per hour.

Employers that gross less than $319,00 per year must pay their employees at least the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour. The federal minimum wage rate also applies to employees under the age of 16. 

The Ohio Department of Commerce has already published the 2020 minimum wage poster employers must display in their workplace.

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on October 02, 2019

New Rate Becomes Effective on Jan. 1

The state of Alaska has announced a minimum wage rate of $10.19 per hour for 2020. The minimum wage in the state is adjusted annually using the Consumer Price Index for urban consumers in the Anchorage metropolitan area for the preceding calendar year. 

Click here for more information about Alaska's wage laws. 

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on October 01, 2019

New Law Becomes Effective Jan. 1

California has adopted a new law that changes the process for determining whether a worker should be classified as an employee or independent contractor. The new law sets the California Supreme Court’s decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles as the state standard for employee classification and expands its scope to include classification related to the state’s labor code, wage orders, unemployment benefits and workers’ compensation laws. 

Under the new standard, also known as the ABC test, a worker is an employee if he or she provides labor or services for remuneration. The new law also shifts responsibility to employers to prove that independent contractors are classified correctly. Under the ABC test, a worker is an employee, unless the employer can prove that the worker:

A: Is free from the control and direction of the employer when performing work, both practically and in the contractual agreement between the parties;
B: Performs work that is outside the usual course of the employer’s business; and
C: Is culturally engaged in an independently established trade, occupation or business of the same nature as the work performed for the employer.

Finally, the new law does not diminish the flexibility of part-time or intermittent work schedules, nor the ability to work for multiple employers, but it does prohibit employers from reclassifying individuals who were employees on Jan. 1, 2019 as independent contractors.

 

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 24, 2019

Final Rule Takes Effect Jan. 1

On Sept. 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a new final rule that updates the salary thresholds that some individuals must meet in order to qualify for a minimum wage and overtime exemption under the federal Fair Labors Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2020. 

As expected, this final rule increases the standard salary level for the executive, administrative and professional exemptions from $455 to $684 per week ($35,568 per year). It also increases the highly compensated employee salary level from $100,000 to $107,432 per year.

In addition, the rule allows employers to use an employee’s nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) to satisfy up to 10 percent of the employee’s standard salary level. 

Finally, the rule also makes changes to the standard salary level for the exemption that applies to employees in the motion picture industry and some U.S. territories.  

The DOL intends to update the standard salary and highly compensated employee total annual compensation levels more regularly in the future through notice-and-comment rulemaking.

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 19, 2019

Employer Notice and Withholding Requirements Become Effective

The end of the month marks important employer deadlines for Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML).

By Sept. 30, 2019, Massachusetts employers are required to provide written notice to their current workforce of PFML benefits, contribution rates, and other provisions as outlined in the law. For more information from the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave, click here.
 
In addition, by Oct. 1, 2019, Massachusetts employers must begin withholding PFMLcontributions from covered individuals' wages. Click here for more information.
  

 

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 17, 2019

New State Rates Become Effective on Jan. 1, 2020

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry has announced that the state minimum wage rate for large employers will increase to $10 per hour on Jan. 1, 2020. A large employer for minimum wage purposes is an employer with an annual gross revenue of $500,000 or more. 

In addition, the state has announced an $8.15 per hour rate for: 

• Employers with a gross revenue of less than $500,000
• The state training wage (this rate applies to workers under 20 years of age during the first 90 consecutive days of employment)
• The state youth wage (this rate applies to workers who are under 18 years of age) 

Please note that additional rates apply in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 13, 2019

Law to Take Effect Nov. 18

New York state has amended its Human Rights Law, effective Nov. 18, 2019, to require employers to provide leave to employees whom the employer knows are victims of domestic violence. Leave (for a reasonable amount of time) must be allowed under the law for the following purposes: 

• To seek medical attention (including for a child victim);
• To obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, program or rape crisis center;
• To obtain psychological counseling (including for a child victim);
• To take action to increase safety from domestic violence in the future, including relocating; or
• To obtain legal services, assist in the prosecution of the offense or appear in court.

Failing to provide the leave as a reasonable accommodation is an unlawful discriminatory practice, except if it would cause undue hardship to the employer, as defined in the law. Employers may require employees to take the leave as ordinary paid leave, where available, and as unpaid leave, where not.

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 12, 2019

Requirement Applies to Employers that Offer Prescription Drug Coverage

Employers who sponsor group health plans that offer prescription drug coverage to Medicare-eligible individuals must provide a Medicare Part D Creditable or Non-Creditable Coverage Notice to those individuals before October 15.

These notices inform Medicare-eligible individuals whether the plan’s prescription drug coverage is expected to pay, on average, as much as the standard Medicare prescription drug coverage (meaning it is "creditable”).

For more information on this notice requirement, including links to downloadable model notices, click here.

 

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 11, 2019

New Law Becomes Effective July 1, 2020

Currently, most provisions in the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA)—the main employment discrimination law in the state-- apply to employers that have at least 15 employees in Illinois during 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. 

A recent change in the law will expand the IHRA’s anti-discrimination provisions to employers with at least one employee in Illinois during 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. This means that the IHRA will apply to the vast majority of employers within the state. 

Please note that all employers in the state must already comply with the IHRA’s prohibition against discrimination on the basis of physical or mental disability, sex or pregnancy.

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 11, 2019

State Figures to Increase in January

The New York State Department of Financial Services has announced that for calendar year 2020, employers may deduct 0.270% of an employee’s weekly wage, up to an annual cap of $196.72, to pay the premium cost for state paid family leave insurance.

Effective January 1, 2020, eligible employees are entitled to up to 10 weeks of paid family leave in any 52-week period at 60% of their average weekly wage, capped at 60% of the state average weekly wage ($1,401.17), which is $840.70.
 
For more information, please see the New York Paid Family Leave website.

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 10, 2019

Summary Annual Report Due for Calendar Year Plans

Employers required to provide plan participants with a Summary Annual Report (SAR) must do so by Sept. 30, 2019, if they sponsor calendar year plans. The SAR is a summary of the plan’s Form 5500.
 
Employers with large (100 or more participants) fully insured welfare plans must provide participants with a SAR each year. Employers with self-insured, unfunded plans are not subject to the SAR requirement, regardless of plan size.
 
Employers who received an extension of time to file Form 5500 have until Dec. 15, 2019 to provide the SAR.
 
Click here for a sample SAR from the U.S. Department of Labor.

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 09, 2019

Pay Data Must be Submitted for 2017 and 2018

EEO-1 filers must submit Component 2 data (on employee compensation and hours worked) for calendar years 2017 and 2018 to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by Sept. 30, 2019, via a designated online portal.
 
The Component 2 reporting deadline for employers results from a court decision issued earlier this year. The deadline remains in effect despite the government’s appeal of the decision. 
 
The EEO-1 filing requirement generally applies to private employers with 100 or more employees and certain federal contractors. Click here for more information on the pay data collection requirement.

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 09, 2019

Employers Must Begin Payroll Deductions in 2022

Washington state has passed legislation to establish a state-operated public insurance program for long-term care. Washington is the first state in the nation to establish this type of program, which will be funded solely through employee payroll deductions.  

Beginning in 2022, employers must deduct 0.58% of employees’ wages to fund the program. Beginning in 2025, the program will begin paying benefits of up to $100 per day (adjusted for inflation) for a wide range of long-term care services.  

To qualify for benefits, an individual must: 

• Be at least 18; 
• Have paid the payroll tax for:
  • A total of 10 years without interruption of five consecutive years; or 
  • Three years within the last six years; and
• Require assistance with at least three activities of daily living.   

Employers should watch for guidance on the payroll tax from Washington’s Employment Security Department, including requirements for remittance and reporting.

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 09, 2019

New Law Becomes Effective Jan. 1, 2020

Effective Jan. 1, 2020, all employers in Illinois must provide annual employee training on workplace sexual harassment prevention. 

In addition, all provisions of the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) will apply to every employer in the state, regardless of size (rather than just those with 15 or more employees) starting on July 1, 2020.  

These changes, among others, were made under a series of new laws that the state enacted in August 2019. The new laws also expand the state’s existing protections against workplace discrimination and harassment, extend these protections to nonemployees, impose new restrictions on contracts and require certain employers to file annual reports. Employers in certain industries are also subject to other new requirements.

Illinois employers should become familiar with the new laws and review their workplace harassment policies and training programs, or begin developing them, to ensure compliance. Employers should also watch for future guidance from the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR).

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 05, 2019

Employees Who Complete Training in 2019 Do Not Have to Repeat It Until 2021

Under a new law enacted on Aug. 30, 2019, California employers with five or more employees now have until Jan. 1, 2021, rather than Jan. 1, 2020, to comply with new sexual harassment prevention training requirements. 

These requirements, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2019, were enacted as part of a series of changes made in Sept. 2018. Under those changes, employers must provide supervisors with at least two hours of training, and all other employees with at least one hour of training, every two years. 

While the original deadline was Jan. 1, 2020, the new law gives employers another year to provide the initial training. It also clarifies that employees who receive the training in 2019 do not have to complete it again until after Jan. 1, 2021. 

California employers with five or more employees should review the training requirements and ensure that each of their employees receives the required training by the end of 2020 and again every two years thereafter. Employers may find resources for compliance with the training requirements here.

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 03, 2019

New Law Becomes Effective Jan. 1, 2020

On Aug. 13, 2019, California adopted a new law that will require employers to report cases involving a serious injury or illness, or death to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health by phone or through a specified online mechanism that will be established by the state for this purpose. 

Currently, the law allows employers to submit this report by telephone or email. The new law will allow employers to continue the current reporting practice until the new online mechanism is made available.

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 03, 2019

New Law Becomes Effective Jan. 1, 2020

Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, Oregon state law will prohibit employers from paying different wages to employees solely because they belong to a protected class. This means that employers must pay the same wages to employees who perform work of comparable character. However, the law also allows wage differentials based on one of the following factors:

• A merit system;
• A seniority system;
• A system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production (including piece-rate work); 
• Workplace locations;
• Travel, if travel is necessary and regular for the employee;
• Education;
• Training;
• Experience; or
• Any combination of the factors described above, if the combination accounts for the entire compensation differential. 

Protected classes in Oregon are groups distinguished by:

• Age (18 and older)
• Color
• Gender identity   
• Marital status
• Members of the uniformed services
• National origin 
• Physical or mental disability (for employers with six or more employees)
• Pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition (including lactation) 
• Race
• Religion
• Retaliation
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
• Veteran status

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.

Posted on September 03, 2019

Temporary Law Effective Until Dec. 18

On Aug. 20, 2019, Colorado  adopted temporary rules to strengthen employee protections under the state’s wage and hour laws. These temporary rules are also being proposed as permanent amendments to the law. 

These temporary rules require employers who provide vacation pay to pay all earned vacation to their employees upon separation. Some employer-employee agreements are still permitted to determine the amount, accrual and limits of vacation pay. “Use-it-or-lose-it” policies are still permitted under this order as long as they do not cause an employee to forfeit earned vacation time for the year of separation.

The rules also prohibit employers from intimidating, threatening, restraining, coercing, blacklisting, discharging or otherwise discriminating against any employee who has filed any complaint or is seeking to enforce his or her rights under the Wage Protection Act. 

Finally, under the temporary rules, an individual’s immigration status is irrelevant to his or her rights under the state wage and hour laws. Attempting to use an employee’s immigration status to negatively affect his or her wage and hour rights is an unlawful act of obstruction, retaliation or extortion. This type of unlawful conduct includes threatening (or inducing another) to report an individual’s immigration status to law enforcement officials

© 2019 HR 360, Inc.