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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If you are like me, May was filled with family events and yard work, along with the rigors of the everyday job. It is sometimes hard to keep up with everything that is going on in Human Resources in order to be completely informed. Because of all that is happening, we send out a monthly e-newsletter as an easy (we hope!) way to assist you in keeping up with everything in the HR world.
- On May 3rd, President Biden issued a veto to Congress’s attempt to overturn the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new joint employer rule. Congress lacks the ability to rally a 2/3rds majority vote required to overturn the presidential veto, however, the decision is currently blocked by a federal district court in Texas with an active appeal by the NLRB. The new lower standard would make it easier for a company who obtains labor from another organization to be considered a joint employer of a person.
- On May 1st, a San Francisco administrative law judge for the NLRB ruled that Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy made comments to the media in 2022 that violated federal labor law. The CEO made comments about the downsides of labor unions referencing the bureaucracy of getting things done when you have a union and how it is not a good thing for workers. The board decided that a manager can make “factually based predictions,” but that the CEO offered no “objective basis” for his comments. This appears to narrowly define the traditional “FOE” (Facts, Opinions, and Experiences) that leaders have traditionally been allowed to follow without facing unfair labor practice.
- Mercer recently issued a compensation report that indicates how salary increases are tracking for 2024. It appears that actual increases are lower than what was projected late last year for 2024. For example, actual merit increases are trending at 3.3% rather than the expected 3.5%.
- An interesting data point is always the employee engagement report by the Gallup Company. The latest report reflects their polling in February 2024 and highlights that only 30% of employees feel that they are highly engaged. This is a 3% drop from the report at the end of last year and the lowest level since 2013.
- If you wonder why employers sometimes get a bad reputation, there are surveys like the recent Clarify Capital, one of job listings, to provide some clarity? They found that over 27% of hiring managers acknowledged having job postings posted for more than four months, and amongst those who admitted that they post positions they are not actively trying to fill, almost half stated they did it to give the perception that they are a growing company.
- On May 9th, the Internal Revenue Service announced the 2025 limits for Health Savings Accounts (HSA), Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRA) and HDHP (High Deductible Health Plans). For HSAs, the 2025 limit increases are significantly less than for 2024. For example, the family coverage limit will be $8,550, a 3% increase from the current year. The HRA limit will go $50 to $2,150. HDHP deductibles will need to be at $3,300 for family coverage, an increase of $100 while the maximum out-of-pocket for family will have a limit of $16,600. (up $500).
- Last month, we wrote of the proposed changes to the federal exempt salary threshold, both on July 1st of 2024 and January 1st of 2025. For NY state employers, you have already been dealing with a much higher state-specific exempt salary threshold over the last several years. One other aspect to note, however, is a significant increase in the salary threshold for highly compensated employees. This threshold allows an employer to place an employee as exempt from OT solely based on their salary amount and not on the duties test. This number will go up massively from $107,432 to $132,964 in July and $151,164 on January 1, 2025.
- On May 20th, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a final rule updating the Hazard Communication (HazCom) Standard. The new rule revises the criteria of some classifications and updates some labeling provisions.
- For those of you who are federal contractors, in May, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued, guidance regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when making employment decisions. The guidance places the burden on employers to maintain adequate records and to monitor for any potential bias found in any AI filters.
- NY State finally decided on an end date for its COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Law. The last day for this legislation, however, is not until July 31st of 2025. NY is the last state law that remains in effect. If you recall, the law requires employers to provide up to 14 days of paid sick time when an employee is unable to work due to a mandatory COVID-19 quarantine or self-isolation.
- Finally, don’t forget to begin planning for the New York state paid prenatal leave mandate which will take effect January 1st of 2025. The new labor law will require NY employers to provide up to 20 hours of standalone paid leave in a 52-week period for pregnant employees. The paid time allotted will be to attend prenatal medical appointments and any needed procedures. NY is the first state to pass a law entitling employees with this benefit.
We encourage you to further research any of the items above that are of interest to you. See you again in July!
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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