Workforce News:  New Regulations for 2024 and Beyond

As is always the case, the new year brings new workplace regulations and 2024 is no exception.  New laws and regulations at the city, county, state and federal level either have already been enacted or will take effect in the coming year.  

The Eastridge legal and compliance team is working with clients to ensure they are aware of these and other new rules and regulations and continuously monitors changes.  As the world of work continues to evolve and become more complex, partnerships are a vital part of staying ahead of changes and planning for the future.

Here are some of the highlights:

• 2024 minimum wage increases are being rolled out on the state and city level.  This year 20+ states and nearly 40 local jurisdictions have increased their minimum wage rates as of January 1, 2024.
  
  
• Proposed increase to the federal minimum salary requirement:  On August 30, 2023, the DOL released a proposed rule that, if finalized, would increase the minimum salary required to $1,059 per week in order for administrative, professional and executive employees to be considered exempt from the FLSA overtime pay requirements.
  
  
• New state and local regulations impacting staffing and employers also take full effect in 2024.  NJ, for example, issued a Temporary Worker Bill of Rights which was rolled out in 2023.  Illinois and Cook County, both updated their paid sick leave and paid leave laws that came in effect in 2024.  
  
  
• The Department of Labor issued a final rule on classifying workers as
  independent contractors.  The new regulation, which uses a multi-factor “economic realities” test to confirm when a worker is or is not an independent contractor is effective March 11.  While it’s not expected that these new rules will significantly change how the DOL enforces policy, (nor will it change the often more restrictive state laws for classifying independent contractors)  it highlights the need to ensure workers are properly classified by both employers and staffing agencies.  

Eastridge leverages a process to work with clients on determining the proper classification of its workforce.  Through this process Eastridge’s compliance team looks at a range of factors and then recommends a course of action to ensure maximum adherence to the DOL’s and/or applicable state law standards for classifying workers as either independent contractors or employees.  There are then a number of Eastridge services such as contingent staffing, employer of record and vendor management that can be applied ensuring that organizations have options in order to comply with worker classification regulations.

• Changes to Marijuana Screening as more state laws are put into effect protecting an employee’s use of marijuana outside the workplace. California is the latest state to pass this type of legislation and several other states, including Connecticut, Washington D.C., Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Washington have similar laws and numerous other states are considering or in the process of passing similar laws.  California’s new law went into effect on January 1, 2024.

As a nationwide employer, Eastridge has removed marijuana from its standard panel drug screen in order to comply with this growing legal trend.  However, clients that may fall under an exception to such laws and/or required to test for marijuana based on statutory and industry requirements will maintain the option to continue testing for marijuana as permitted by applicable law.