Tag Archives: 2017

Reminder: New Federal Overtime Rule Effective December 1

Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay Exemption Salary Thresholds Raised for Many Employees

Effective December 1, a new rule updates the regulations governing which executive, administrative, professional, and highly compensated employees are entitled to the minimum wage and overtime pay protections of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Current Rules
The current federal rules provide an exemption from both the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements of the FLSA for bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees who meet certain tests regarding their job duties and who are paid on a salary basis at not less than $455 per week ($23,660 per year). “Highly compensated employees” (HCEs) who are paid total annual compensation of $100,000 or more and meet certain other conditions are also deemed exempt.

New Rule
The new rule updates the salary and compensation levels needed for executive, administrative, professional, and highly compensated employees to be exempt. In particular, the final rule:

  • Raises the salary threshold from $455 a week to $913 per week (or $47,476 annually) for a full-year worker;
  • Increases the HCE total annual compensation level to $134,004 annually;
  • Amends the regulations to allow employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses, incentives, and commissions to satisfy up to 10% of the new standard salary level, so long as employers pay those amounts on a quarterly or more frequent basis; and
  • Establishes a mechanism for automatically updating the salary and compensation levels every 3 years, beginning on January 1, 2020.

Note: When both the FLSA and a state law apply, the employee is entitled to the most favorable provisions of each law.

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY HR360.COM

Washington Voters Approve Minimum Wage Increases and Paid Sick Leave

Minimum Wage Increases Begin January 1, 2017

Voters in Washington State have approved a ballot initiative that raises the state minimum wage and requires paid sick leave.

Minimum Wage
Under the initiative, the minimum wage will rise as follows:

  • Beginning January 1, 2017: $11.00 per hour.
  • Beginning January 1, 2018: $11.50 per hour.
  • Beginning January 1, 2019: $12.00 per hour.
  • Beginning January 1, 2020: $13.50 per hour.
  • Beginning January 1, 2021 (and each following January 1st), the minimum wage will be adjusted for inflation.

Note: An employer must pay to its employees all tips and gratuities and all service charges (except those that are itemized as not being payable to the employee(s) servicing the customer). Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to (and may not count towards) the employee’s hourly minimum wage.

Paid Sick Leave
Beginning January 1, 2018, every employer must provide each of its employees paid sick leave (at the greater of the newly increased minimum wage or the employee’s normal wage). Highlights of the law are presented below:

  • An employee will accrue at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked.
  • An employer may provide paid sick leave in advance of accrual, provided that such front-loading meets or exceeds the requirements of the law for accrual, use, and carryover of paid sick leave.
  • An employee is authorized to use paid sick leave for (among other things) an absence resulting from the employee’s mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, or to allow the employee to provide care for a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition.
  • Unused paid sick leave carries over to the following year, except that an employer is not required to allow an employee to carry over paid sick leave in excess of 40 hours.
  • The initiative generally does not require an employer to provide financial or other reimbursement for accrued and unused paid sick leave to any employee upon his or her termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment.

Click here to read the initiative.

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY HR360.COM

Colorado Voters Approve Minimum Wage Increases

Increases Begin January 1, 2017

Voters in Colorado have approved an initiative that raises the state minimum wage. Under the initiative, Colorado’s minimum wage is increased to $9.30 per hour (from $8.31 per hour), effective January 1, 2017.

Additionally, the minimum wage is increased annually by $0.90 each January 1 until it reaches $12.00 per hour (effective January 2020). After that, the minimum wage is adjusted annually for cost of living increases.

Note: No more than $3.02 per hour in tip income may be used to offset the minimum wage of employees who regularly receive tips.

Click here to read the initiative.

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY HR360.COM

New York: Discrimination Based on Association Prohibited

Law Applies to Certain Employers

The New York State Division of Human Rights has issued a regulationthat prohibits discrimination against an individual because of his or herknown relationship or association with a member of a protected class under the state Human Rights Law.

Background
Under state law, it is generally an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer with 4 or more employees to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment an individual or to discriminate against an individual in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of an individual’s age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability,predisposing genetic characteristics, familial status, marital status, or domestic violence victim status (collectively referred to as “protected classes”).

Note: The prohibitions against sex discrimination (in all areas of jurisdiction where sex is a protected category) also prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or the status of being transgender.

New Regulation
Where the term “unlawful discriminatory practice” is used in the Human Rights Law, it is construed to prohibit discrimination against an individual because of his or her known relationship or association with a member (or members) of a protected class covered under the relevant provisions of the Human Rights Law.

The new regulation is effective as of May 18, 2016. Click here to read the text of the new rule. The text of the New York State Human Rights Law is available here.

 

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY HR360

New York Raises Minimum Wage to $15 Per Hour Over Next Several Years

Increases to Begin by End of 2016

Under new legislation, the New York minimum wage is generally expected to rise as follows:

  • For workers in New York City employed by large businesses (those with at least 11 employees), the minimum wage is expected to rise to $11 at the end of 2016, then another $2 each year after, reaching $15 on December 31, 2018.
  • For workers in New York City employed by small businesses (those with 10 employees or fewer), the minimum wage is expected to rise to $10.50 by the end of 2016, then another $1.50 each year after,reaching $15 on December 31, 2019.
  • For workers in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties, the minimum wage is expected to increase to $10 at the end of 2016, then $1 each year after, reaching $15 on December 31, 2021.
  • For workers in the rest of New York State, the minimum wage is expected to increase to $9.70 at the end of 2016, then another $0.70 each year after until reaching $12.50 on December 31, 2020—after which it will continue to increase to $15 on an indexed schedule.

Click here for more information.

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY http://www.hr360.com

California Raises Minimum Wage to $15 Per Hour Over Next Several Years

 

Increases Begin January 1, 2017 for Certain Employers

Under a new law, the California minimum wage is scheduled to rise as follows:

  • For employers with 26 or more employees, the minimum wage will be:
    • From January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017: $10.50 per hour.
    • From January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018: $11 per hour.
    • From January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019: $12 per hour.
    • From January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020: $13 per hour.
    • From January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021: $14 per hour.
    • From January 1, 2022 until adjusted for inflation: $15 per hour.
  • For employers with 25 or fewer employees, the minimum wage will be:
    • From January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018: $10.50 per hour.
    • From January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019: $11 per hour.
    • From January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020: $12 per hour.
    • From January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021: $13 per hour.
    • From January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022: $14 per hour.
    • From January 1, 2023 until adjusted for inflation: $15 per hour.

Click here to read the text of the law.

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY http://www.hr360.com

Executive Order Establishes Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contract Workers

New Provisions Generally Applicable to New Contracts in 2017

Under a new Executive Order applicable to covered contracts where the solicitation for such contract has been issued (or the contract has been awarded outside the solicitation process) on or after January 1, 2017, workers on such contracts will earn a minimum of 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.

Accrual of Leave

  • Executive departments and agencies generally must ensure that new contracts, contract-like instruments, and solicitations (collectively referred to as “contracts”) include a clause—which the contractor and any subcontractors must incorporate into lower-tier subcontracts—specifying, as a condition of payment, that all employees must earn at least 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
  • A contractor may not set a limit on the total accrual of paid sick leave per year (or at any point in time) at less than 56 hours.
  • Accrued paid sick leave must carry over from 1 year to the nextand must be reinstated for employees rehired by a covered contractor within 12 months after a job separation.
  • The Executive Order does not require a covered contractor to make a financial payment to an employee upon a separation from employment for accrued sick leave that has not been used (but unused leave is subject to reinstatement as described above).

Use of Leave

  • Paid sick leave may be used for an absence resulting from physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition; obtaining diagnosis, care, or preventive care from a health care provider; caring for certain relatives; or for certain instances related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

Employee Notice

  • Paid sick leave must be provided upon an employee’s oral or written request that includes the expected duration of the leave, and is made at least 7 calendar days in advance where the need for the leave is foreseeable (and in other cases as soon as is practicable).

Note: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is expected to issue regulations that, among other things, may provide definitions, recordkeeping requirements, and further guidance on the specific types of contracts and contract-like instruments subject to the Executive Order.

Additional information and requirements are available in the text of theExecutive Order.

Our Compliance Assistance for Federal Contractors page features helpful resources for federal contractors and subcontractors.

Originally posted by WWW.HR360.COM