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This fall brings key legal changes for employers. Los Angeles County’s Fair Chance Ordinance, Florida’s minimum wage increase, and new anti-discrimination laws in New Hampshire highlight the September updates. October will see Alabama’s amended overtime rules, Alaska’s approval of oral fluid drug testing, and a new minimum wage for California health care workers. Connecticut, Maryland, and Massachusetts also introduce new employer obligations. Staying informed on these changes is crucial for compliance.

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Effective September 2024

Los Angeles County, California, Fair Chance Ordinance Takes Effect

Effective September 3, 2024, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance restricts criminal background screenings for employers in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, California, and prohibits covered employers from preventing or discouraging individuals with criminal history from applying to job openings. 

Ord. No. 2024-0012.

Florida Minimum Wage Increases to $13.00

Effective September 30, 2024, the minimum wage in Florida increases from $12.00 per hour to $13.00 per hour. +Fla. Const. Art. X, § 24, as amended by Amendment 2.

New Hampshire Ban on Hairstyle Discrimination Takes Effect

Effective September 1, 2024, New Hampshire prohibits discrimination because of a person’s protective hairstyle. A protective hairstyle means hairstyle or hair type, including braids, locs, tight coils or curls, corn rows, Bantu knots, Afros, twists and head wraps.

New Hampshire Increases Dollar Limit on Certain Payments of Deceased Employee Wages

Effective September 10, 2024, an employer may pay up to $3,000 (increased from $300) in wages owed to a deceased employee to a claimant other than the surviving spouse

New Hampshire Requires Veterans’ Benefits and Services Poster

Effective September 17, 2024, all employers must post a benefits and services poster pertaining to veterans. The poster will be developed and distributed by the New Hampshire labor commissioner.

Pennsylvania Data Breach Notification Law Amendments Take Effect

Effective September 26, 2024, Pennsylvania’s Breach of Personal Information Notification Act is amended to, among other things:

• Modify the definition of medical information within the definition of personal information;
• Reduce the threshold number of individuals that triggers the required notice to consumer reporting agencies;
• Require employers to notify the Office of Attorney General after a breach; and
• Require employers to cover all costs and fees for credit reporting and monitoring services under certain circumstances.

Texas Workplace Violence Prevention Plan and Policy Deadline Takes Effect for Health Care Facilities

By September 1, 2024, Texas requires certain health care facilities to adopt, implement and enforce a written workplace violence prevention policy and a written workplace violence prevention plan.

Effective September 1, 2023, Texas required these facilities to establish workplace violence prevention committees and to respond to incidents of workplace violence in specified ways.

Effective October 2024

Alabama Amends Overtime Pay Exemption

Effective October 1, 2024, the following amendments to the Alabama overtime pay exemption take effect:

The overtime pay exemption (which currently exempts from gross income and Alabama state income tax compensation for hours worked above 40 in any week if it is received by a worker for tax years that begin on or after December 31, 2023, and before June 30, 2025) ends and instead applies to amounts paid as overtime in accordance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act if the compensation is received for tax years beginning on or after October 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.

For employers governed by the federal National Railway Labor Act, the exemption applies to hourly component overtime compensation as defined in applicable collective bargaining agreements.

From January 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024, employers must report the total amount of overtime pay received by employees paid a full-time hourly wage; however, as of October 1, 2024, employers must report the total amount of all wages paid to such employees.

Alaska Permits Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Effective October 28, 2024, Alaska amends its drug testing law to permit employers to require the collection and testing of an employee’s or prospective employee’s oral fluid for any job-related purpose consistent with business necessity and the terms of the employer’s drug testing policy.

Previously, only samples of an employee’s or prospective employee’s urine or breath were permitted to be collected for drug testing.

California Amends PAGA Procedure for Curing Alleged Pay Statement Violations

Under an amended Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) correction procedure starting October 1, 2024, if an employer has allegedly violated certain pay statement requirements it may possibly avoid PAGA litigation by correcting the violation(s) and giving written notice by certified mail to the PAGA plaintiff or their legal counsel. The notice must also be filed online with the California Department of Labor and Workforce Development describing the actions taken to cure the violation(s) within 33 calendar days of the postmark date of the PAGA notice. If the pay statement violation(s) is/are not cured within 33 days, the PAGA plaintiff may sue the employer in court. Additional procedures apply.

California Health Care Worker Minimum Wage Takes Effect at $18.00-$23.00

Effective October 15, 2024 (if state revenue between July 2024 and September 2024 is at least 3% higher than expected under current projections) or January 1, 2025, if state revenue does not rise to that level, covered health care facilities must pay covered health care employees a minimum wage according to the following schedule:

• Large Facilities and Integrated Systems – $23.00
• Hospitals – $18.00
• Clinics and All Other Health Care Facilities – $21.00
• Covered health care employees who are compensated on a salary basis must be paid a monthly salary equivalent to no less than 150 percent of the health care worker minimum wage or the standard 200 percent of the minimum wage, whichever is greater.

This development originally was scheduled to take effect on June 1, 2024. However, on May 31, 2024, a bill was enacted that postponed the implementation date to July 1, 2024. Then on June 29, 2024, another bill was enacted that further postponed the implementation date to October 15, 2024, or January 1, 2025, and made other changes.

Connecticut Expands Family Violence Victim Leave Law

Effective October 1, 2024, Connecticut’s family violence victim leave law is amended to add the requirement of leave for reasons related to sexual assault.

Connecticut Amends Paid Family and Medical Leave Act

Effective October 1, 2024, amendments to the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) impact employer coverage and employee compensation.

In addition, paid family and medical leave benefits are available for reasons related to sexual assault, based on amendments to the family violence victim leave law.

Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Handbook Statement: Connecticut

Effective October 1, 2024, Connecticut’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) will be expanded to include new qualifying reasons related to sexual assault. This update is crucial for all employers with at least one employee in Connecticut.

Key Highlights:

1. Expanded Eligibility: Employees may now be eligible for PFML benefits if they need leave for reasons related to being a victim of family violence or sexual assault. This is in addition to the already covered reasons like bonding with a new child, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, or dealing with their own serious health issues.
2. Benefit Duration and Calculation: Eligible employees can receive up to 12 weeks of wage replacement benefits in a 12-month period, with an additional 2 weeks available for pregnancy-related health conditions. Benefits are administered by the CT Paid Leave Authority (PLA) and are calculated based on the employee’s earnings, capped at 60 times the state minimum wage.
3. Employee Contributions: PFML benefits are funded through mandatory payroll deductions from employees, capped at one-half of one percent of their base weekly earnings.
4. No Job Protection Beyond CTFMLA: While employees can receive wage replacement benefits, the PFMLA does not provide additional job protection beyond what is already offered under the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act (CTFMLA) or other applicable laws.
5. Notice Requirements: Employers must provide written notice to employees about their entitlement to PFMLA benefits at the time of hiring and annually thereafter, including information on how to apply for these benefits and protection against retaliation.

Action Required: Employers should update their handbooks and notify their employees of these changes to ensure compliance by October 1,

2024. For more information, visit the CT Paid Leave Authority’s website at www.ctpaidleave.org.

Delaware Employers Must Register for Expanding Access for Retirement and Necessary Savings (EARNS) Program

Employers with five or more covered employees must register for the Delaware Expanding Access for Retirement and Necessary Savings (EARNS) Program or certify their exemption by October 15, 2024. Employers can register as of the program’s formal launch on July 1, 2024.

District of Columbia Allows Managers to Attend Sexual Harassment Training Online

Effective October 1, 2024, managers have the option to attend the District of Columbia’s required sexual harassment training online. Previously, managers had to attend training in person.

Maryland Paid Family and Medical Leave Contributions Begin

UPDATE: The Paid Family and Medical Leave Law (S.B. 275) was amended (by S.B. 828) to delay the start of contribution withholding from October 1, 2023, to October 1, 2024, and the availability of benefits from January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2026. Also, the amendments cap contribution rates, modify the employer-employee contribution rate cost-share percentages, and add a definition of wages subject to contribution withholding.

Beginning October 1, 2024, covered employers, employees and participating self-employed individuals in Maryland are required to make contributions to fund paid family and medical leave (PFML) benefits provided for by the state’s Time to Care Act of 2022.

Employees may access PFML benefits beginning January 1, 2026.
Anti-retaliation and notice provisions are effective January 1, 2023.

Maryland Requires Pay Ranges in Job Postings

Effective October 1, 2024, Maryland employers must include a wage range and general description of benefits and other compensation in any public or internal posting for a position that will be physically performed at least partly in Maryland.

Maryland Amends Equal Pay Law to Cover Additional Protected Characteristics

Effective October 1, 2024, the Maryland Equal Pay for Equal Work Act is amended to prohibit pay discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, religious beliefs, race and disability. The Act applies to all private employers in Maryland, in addition to state and local government entities.

Maryland Prohibits Military Status Discrimination

Effective October 1, 2024, the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act is amended to prohibit discrimination on the basis of military status.

Maryland Amends Pay Statement and New Hire Pay Rate Notice Requirements

Effective October 1, 2024, Maryland employers must provide detailed information to employees on written pay statements, or on online pay statements (previously, the law was silent on whether electronic pay statements were even permitted). Among other information, pay statements must include (not an exhaustive list):

• The employer’s name registered with the state, address and telephone number;
• The date of payment and the beginning and ending dates of the pay period for which the payment is made; and
• Hours worked, pay rate, basis of pay and any deductions.

The labor commissioner is required to create and make available to employers at no charge a pay stub template that may be used to comply with these requirements.

In addition, the information employers are required to provide to new employees at the time of hire (i.e., rate of pay, regular paydays and leave benefits entitlement) must be provided in writing.

Massachusetts Requires Employers to Submit EEO Reports

Effective October 30, 2024, Massachusetts employers that have 100 or more employees and are subject to federal EEO-1 reporting requirements must submit the previous year’s EEO-1 report to the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth by February 1 each year, with the first report due February 1, 2025.

Employers subject to EEO-3 and EEO-5 reporting must submit the previous year’s EEO-3 or EEO-5 report by February 1 in each odd-numbered year, and employers subject to EEO-4 reporting must submit the previous year’s EEO-4 report by February 1 in each even-numbered year.

Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act Takes Effect

Effective October 1, 2024, the Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act (CDPA) gives Montana residents privacy rights with respect to their personal data and establishes certain requirements and limitations for covered businesses that control or process personal data about Montana residents.

The CDPA’s protections do not apply to individuals acting in an employment context or to HR data (information about job applicants, employees, agents, or independent contractors acting in those roles).

Minnesota Permits Oral Fluid Drug and Alcohol Testing

Effective October 1, 2024, Minnesota amends its Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act (DATWA) to permit oral fluid (saliva) testing as a form of drug, alcohol and cannabis testing as long as it complies with the procedures and requirements outlined in the DATWA.

The amendments specify that oral fluid testing does not require the services of a testing laboratory or the customary chain-of-custody procedures.

Minnesota Clarifies Calculation of Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Agricultural Employees

Effective October 1, 2024, Minnesota amends its workers’ compensation law to explain how to calculate the weekly wage of certain agricultural employees for the purposes of wage replacement benefits.