
2019: Looking Ahead
2018 has been a whirlwind year for employers. Countless regulations and laws affecting the employment and labor sectors were implemented which impacted organizations ranging in size and industry. Equal pay laws have gone into effect in states across the country, predictive scheduling has been implemented in countless larger cities, and paid sick leave laws are increasing in popularity in cities and states alike.
Much like its predecessor, 2019 is slated to have a number of impactful changes as well. Below are a few of the things to keep an eye out for, ideally to be able to proactively prepare for the change before it hits:
Minimum Wage Increases – As is the case at the start of nearly every year, many states will start the new year out with an increase in the minimum wage rate for employees. In 2019, twenty states will increase their minimum wage at the start of the year, with many others releasing increases at staggered time frames throughout the course of the year.
Strengthened Harassment Policies – In light of the highly publicized “Me Too” movement throughout the past year, it is no surprise that many states are tightening their policies on workplace harassment. For example, California has been ahead of the game in mandating anti-harassment training for supervisors every two years at organizations with more than 50 employees. This is changing in the North Bay area to affect employers with more than five employees.
Predictive Scheduling – Increasing in popularity, many additional cities are following the trend that Oregon has set with predictive scheduling. While the laws differ in specifics from location to location, a standard set of rules will apply to all policies: schedules must be posted in advance, typically 7 to 14 days ahead of the first scheduled shift; extra pay is provided to the employee if a scheduled shift is altered after it is posted; unless an employee volunteers to do so, there must be adequate rest periods given between shifts; and, employers must retain records relating to schedules for a set period of time.
Tipping Legislation – While many states have implemented similar legislation, at the federal level, significant legislative development has taken place over the past year that affects tipped employees. More specifically, a bill known simply as “The Act” has amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit an employer from keeping tips that have been received by their employees for any reason.
If any of the afore mentioned changes will impact your organization, contact HRCentral to see how we can assist you in updating policies and implementing these practices within your organization in a seamless and efficient way.
Like many state and federal employment and labor law updates, the majority of these regulations will result in updates to state and federal labor law posters. HRCentral provides this service to our clients and colleagues, so feel free to contact us to get a combined state and federal labor law poster ordered for your organization’s locations today!
HRCentral wishes you and your families a very Happy New Year!
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