Employment law has a constantly changing legal landscape
that demands attention particularly within the next couple years. External
forces, such as political agendas, congressional sessions, and cultural
movements, maintain heavy influence on how the law changes or stays the same.
In response to the last two (2) years, employment law is expected to shift in
five (5) main legal trends that everyone needs to be aware of…not just
employment lawyers. The five (5) main trends expected to shift are: the
proposed overtime rule, tip credits, equal pay, paid sick leave regulation, and
sexual harassment prevention.
Anyone who works any job is concerned about their ability to
charge for the extra hours they work. Under the current federal law, an
employee must earn less than Four Hundred and Fifty-Five Dollars ($455) per
week, which equates to the current minimum salary. The Secretary of State has
asserted support for increasing the minimum salary but cautioned that it would
not be close to a previously proposed Nine Hundred and Thirteen Dollars ($913)
per week. A decision regarding overtime pay should be released by the end of
2018.
Unless your employment history includes a restaurant job,
the concept of tip credits may be completely foreign. Tip credits deal with
compensating tipped employees to ensure they meet the federal minimum wage.
Most restaurant employees are paid far below the minimum wage of Seven Dollars
and Twenty-Five Cents ($7.25). Most restaurants utilize a pooled tip system,
which means all tips are collected and evenly distributed. Currently, if an
employee makes the minimum wage, they are not eligible to receive any tips
without having a special tip credit. A new proposed rule is attempting to
remove this regulation and extend pooled tips to previously non-tipped
employees. This trend is extremely important all those in the food servicing
industry.
Equal pay has been a widely versed, and often controversial,
topic. Several states and cities, such as California, Massachusetts, New York
City, and Philadelphia, have pushed toward more pay equality. The latest
attempt was through getting rid of salary history consideration. At the moment,
laws require equal pay for the same work and limit an employer’s ability to
consider an applicant’s previous salary. Essentially, an applicant could apply
for a job and receive a significantly small salary to fit in with the current
equal pay laws. With the cultural discontent toward equal pay constantly
rising, there is little doubt that this employment trend will have interesting
consequences.
Paid sick leave changes have the opportunity to leave a
remarkable impact. As of 2017, several states, cities, and even counties have
introduced new paid sick leave laws or expanded those already in place. One
common feature found in nearly all new paid sick leave laws is coverage for all
employees regardless of employment type (i.e. full-time, part-time, seasonal,
etc…). This progress may be slowed down if the Workflex in the 21st
Century Act is passed that would allow employers to ignore state or local paid
leave laws if they voluntarily offer a guaranteed minimum paid leave
program.
Lastly, in response to the culturally charged #MeToo
Movement, many have called for more effective and enforced sexual harassment,
and prevention, policies. Washington, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania
have proposed bills that would ban non-disclosure agreements following any
sexual harassment cases. Many settlement agreements following sexual harassment
allegations also include confidentiality clauses that Representatives from
California and New York have co-sponsored a bill to limit. This trend has seen
a steady increase on both the legal and societal fronts, which leave have
dramatic changes in its wake.
Best practice advice for all employers, employees, and is to
stay up to date with all newly proposed legislation in your respective state!
Consultation with experienced employment law attorneys and human resource
professionals will also prevent any unfortunate legal mishaps.
Links for reference.
For further general information on tip credits: https://www.patriotsoftware.com/payroll/training/blog/tip-credit-small-business-payroll/
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