See what is new with us and keep up on the latest employment laws and legislation that affect your business with articles by Joe Stein, WNY HR Professional.
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December is here, and HR Professionals in WNY are trying to balance personal activities with year-end business responsibilities. So much is happening that it has become exceedingly difficult to keep up to date with all the latest news impacting our jobs. As always, we have compiled this monthly update in our attempt to make sure you are informed.
- The big nationwide news was the decision (on November 15th) by the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Texas regarding the proposed new federal exempt salary threshold to $58,656. The court dismissed this change, stating that it was not based on permissible construction. They specifically noted the steep rise in the increase overriding the traditional duties test and the regularly scheduled increases in its decision. Of course, New York State already has a higher salary exempt threshold, with it going to $60,405.80 on January 1st.
- The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced its 401k contribution limits for 2025.?The annual employee deferral limit will increase $500 to $23,500 for workplace retirement plans. The aged 50 and over catch up remains at $7,500.?The total contribution for 2025 is a maximum of $31,000 (contribution limit + catch up).? What is also new for 2025, is that employees aged 60-63 years old can have a higher catch-up contribution limit. For these people, the catch-up is $11,250 rather than $7,500.? Employers, however, are not required to offer this “super” contribution catch-up for more chronologically senior employees. There are also changes to the 2025 limits for IRAs. The annual contribution limit remains at $7,000 and the catch-up for those aged 50 and over will still be $1,000 in 2025.
- The IRS was also busy announcing Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) limits. The contribution maximum for FSAs will increase to $3,300 and the carryover limit will have a limit of $660. For HSAs, the self-only contribution maximum will be $4,300 while the family amount will be $8,550 with a $1,000 catch-up number.
- On October 25th, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of the U.S., overturned a 2021 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision against Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The NLRB had ordered Musk to delete a tweet that he made that outlined possible negative consequences if Tesla workers should organize.?The U.S. Circuit determined that Mr. Musk was exercising free speech under the 1st Amendment.?
- The NLRB issued an interesting decision on November 8th, when they changed the decades-long test for determining what an employer may lawfully communicate to employees during an organizing campaign. The Board had decided that they will review - for an unfair labor practice, on a case-by-case basis, when a company states that unionization would result in the loss of a direct relationship between employees and management. Any employer statements of this nature (specifically employer impact predictions) will be evaluated for potentially threatening or coercive language.?
- Furthermore, on November 13th, the NLRB banned mandatory “captive audience meetings” (overturning over 75 years of precedent) when the subject matter for the employer is unionization.?The determination is that these meetings are inherently coercive and a violation of employees Section 7 rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). New York State had issued its own legislation on this subject in 2023. Of course, all NLRB decisions are subject to be reversed when the new administration is in the White House in January.
We have now completed another update. Many of the items covered above are quite complex, and a short paragraph summary does not begin to address the subject. We encourage you to further research any of the items above that are of interest to you. See you again in the New Year!
The following has been prepared for the general information of readers. It is not meant to provide advice regarding any specific legal or policy matter and should not be acted upon without verification by the reader.
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