ICYMI 2024 Compliance Changes: What You Need to Know

Keeping up with compliance is a near full-time job. Legislatures across the country have written new laws that will have a tremendous impact on businesses of all sizes and spanning all industries.

Unless it’s your job (or hobby, we don’t judge) to keep up to date with each new requirement, please feel free to skip this blog. However, if keeping up with state bills and ordinances isn’t on your everyday radar, we’ve got you covered.

In a recent webinar, we talked about compliance changes and trends with Janell Stanton, Head of the Employment Law Group with Wagner, Falconer and Judd. Janell specializes in HR and Employment Law and is well-versed in strategies, methods and policies designed to maintain compliance. Simply put, Janell knows all things compliance and has the vital information businesses need to know.

Here are just a few top takeaways from the webinar:

Rising Minimum Wages

From the West Coast to the East, the minimum wage is rising across many parts of the country. California passed a bill that raises the minimum wage for restaurant workers at national fast-food chains, for example, to $20 an hour. In Maryland, the Fair Wage Act of 2023 mandates a uniform $15 hourly minimum wage for all employees. With the minimum wage staying stagnant on a federal level, states are taking the matter into their own hands.

Expanded Leave Requirements

Many states have extended their leave obligations for employers in 2024. California, for instance, has expanded its existing paid sick leave law in several ways, including an increase to an employee-entitled annual paid sick leave. Similarly, in Illinois, the Chicago City Council passed a new paid leave ordinance that requires all Chicago employers to provide employees with ten paid leave days. Moving further south, Tennessee has enacted the “Tennessee Paid Family Leave Insurance Act” which authorizes the issuance of an insurance policy that employers can offer to an employee for the purpose of providing family leave benefits.

Michigan Makes a Big Move

In 2012, Michigan became a “right-to-work” state, which meant that employees could not be compelled by union contracts to join or financially contribute to a labor organization as a condition of employment. Senate Bill 34 repeals these provisions, which becomes effective March 30th. With this move, Michigan became the first state to have repealed its right-to-work law.

Ohio Passes Marijuana Law

Joining 23 other states, Ohio has passed a recreational marijuana law that legalizes and regulates the cultivation, sale, purchase, possession and use of recreational marijuana. The law does not, however, require employers to accommodate an employee’s use of the substance.