Quarterly HR Update – December 2023

We are getting ready for 2024! We hope everyone is enjoying the last month of 2023 and able to take some time to rest and relax before the new year. While we don’t know exactly what 2024 will bring, we do know there are some new laws and regulations coming our way, some of which we’ve reported on already.

For this Update, we are providing a nice recap and overview of what we know is in store for us in 2024!

Please reach out with any questions.

Please note this is a summary of upcoming changes and not an all-inclusive overview.

Legal Updates

Under Federal Law…

OSHA Electronic Recordkeeping Rule: As we reported in September, effective January 1, 2024, more employers will be required to submit electronic information to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Our previous Update provides more details.

President Biden’s Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence: As artificial intelligence is more widely used in both our regular and work lives, we’re seeing more from our government in terms of regulations and restrictions. One of our trusted legal resources, Fisher Phillips, put together a great overview for employers and President’s Biden’s Fact Sheet provides even more detail.

Under Washington Law…

Overtime & Exempt Salary Threshold Changes: January 1st marks some wage-related changes for Washington employers. As we shared back in September, effective January 1, 2024, the minimum wage in Washington is increasing to $16.28 per hour and the minimum salary threshold for exempt employees under the “white collar” exemption categories in Washington increases to $67,724.80 per year for both large and small employers. For information on Seattle and SeaTac’s minimum wage changes for the new year, take a look at our recent Washington Wage & Hour Changes for 2024 article for those details.

Off-Duty Marijuana Use: Back in June we shared that Governor Inslee signed Senate Bill No. 5123 into law, which goes into effect January 1, 2024. SB 5123 provides some protections to employees regarding their lawful and off-duty use of marijuana in regard to pre-employment testing and hiring decisions. Here’s our June Update with more details.

Requesting PFML Records: Effective January 1, 2024, Senate Bill 5586 will allow an “interested party”, which includes an employer, to request certain information related to claims under the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Act. This will likely be helpful to employers as they administer leave and benefit programs that coincide with a PFML claim. Information that can be requested includes: the type of leave taken, the requested duration of the leave (including approved dates), the remaining PFML hours available, the weekly benefit amount, and the actual benefits paid and hours claimed.

Under California Law…

Minimum Wage & Exempt Salary Threshold Changes: Similar to Washington, California has some wage-related changes for 2024. As we reported in September, effective January 1, 2024 the minimum wage for all California employers is $16.00 per hour and the minimum salary threshold for exempt employees under the “white collar” exemption categories increases to $66,560 per year. It’s important to keep an eye on local changes too as many cities and counties in California have different requirements. California’s Department of Industrial Relations reports a handy tool (made available from and maintained by UC Berkley) to track these changes: list of City and County minimum wages in California.

California Paid Sick Leave: Governor Newsom recently signed SB 616 which outlines changes to California’s paid sick leave requirements under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act (HWHFA). Here are the major changes effective January 1, 2024:

Employers must increase the accrual to at least 5 days (or 40 hours) of paid sick leave. This is an increase from 3 days (or 24 hours) as currently required.
Employers must increase the rolling accrual cap (or maximum accrual cap) to 10 days (or 80 hours). This is an increase from 6 days (or 48 hours) as currently required.

Violence Prevention Safety Requirements: In September of this year, California enacted SB 553 which outlines workplace violence prevention requirements for virtually all California employers. (Note, the law exempts a) some worksites with less than 10 employees if other criteria are met, and b) employers in the healthcare industry since they already comply with related regulations passed back in 2016). We have some time to learn more about this one, as the law takes effect July 1, 2024.

To give a quick preview – between now and July, California employers must include a “workplace violence prevention plan” section in their Injury and Illness Prevention Plans. Requirements include, but are not limited to, outlining procedures to respond to reports of workplace violence and to communicate with employees regarding workplace violence. There are recordkeeping requirements as well, related to training, incident logs, investigations, and identifying, evaluating and correcting hazards.

We will provide more information on these requirements well in advance of July, including information regarding regulations about workplace violence restraining orders, which don’t go into effect until 2025. Stay tuned!

Wage Theft Notices: By January 1, 2024, Wage Theft Prevention Notices need to be updated for non-exempt employees in California. The Labor Commissioner updated the Notice to Employee document to use for this purpose, adding information regarding paid sick leave and emergency/disaster disclosure. As a reminder, the information outlined on the Notice is required to be provided to non-exempt employees upon hire and when the information changes during employment, within seven days.

Reproductive Loss Leave: Senate Bill 848, signed by Governor Newsom in October, allows eligible employees, effective January 1, 2024 to take up to five days leave due to a reproductive loss event. While the law allows leave for multiple events, the total leave an employee can take within a period of 12 months can be capped at 20 days. Employers are not permitted to ask employees for documentation regarding the need to take this type of leave. SB 848 is a subset of California’s Bereavement Leave law under CFRA. As such, California employers with at least five employees must comply. From an employee eligibility perspective, employees who have been employed at least 30 days are eligible.

Non-Compete Agreements: These days, enforcing a Non-Compete Agreement in California is pretty much impossible. For all the juicy details explaining why this is, please see this thorough article from Littler. And, if you’re still using Non-Compete Agreements, we recommend you reach out to an attorney to review your practice and whether there are any notifications you need to send out.

Under Oregon Law…

Oregon PFMLI and OFLA: Our September Update outlined details from Senate Bill 999, a recent law that better aligns various aspects of Oregon’s Paid Family Medical Leave insurance program and the Oregon Family Leave Act. While most changes are already in effect, employers have until July 1, 2024 to align their OFLA and PFMLI benefit years to match the PFMLI definition: “a rolling forward year, for the 52-week period beginning on the Sunday before PFMLI leave begins”. If you need to transition to this new definition, please remember a 60-day notice of the change must also be given to employees.

HRT Northwest: Your HRT Northwest Team

Seattle: (253) 642-7372 | info@hrtnorthwest.com