Three new rules will take effect this year that alter the overtime wages subject to Alabama withholding tax and employers’ requirements in reporting those newly exempt wages. On October 31, 2023, the Alabama Department of Revenue’s Income Tax Administration issued three final rules that take effect December 3, 2023, and will cover all tax years beginning after December 31, 2023, and ending prior to June 30, 2025.  Notably, the entirety of overtime wages paid to full-time hourly employees will be excluded from Alabama withholding tax.

Janell Ahnert and Tucker Crain discuss new rules in Alabama that change the overtime pay exemption calculation and impart new reporting requirements on Alabama employers through at least June 30, 2025.

SHRM Online

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In Escano v. Innovative Financial Partners, LLC,¹ a magistrate judge held that the defendants’ decision to withhold funds from a payment required under a settlement agreement when the plaintiff refused to provide a Form W-9 did not violate the agreement.

The IRS recently updated its guidance for completing Form 1099-K, used primarily by “gig” companies providing compensation using payment apps or online marketplaces and for individuals selling goods on online marketplaces such as Etsy. As background, in order to promote greater tax transparency and compliance, in 2008 Congress enacted Internal Revenue Code section 6050W to require that certain “third party network transactions” be reported on the then-new Form 1099-K.

The new tax year is swiftly approaching, along with new statutory rates, limits and changes to employment law in England and Wales that HR practitioners should be aware of. 

Annual rates and limits increases

The usual annual updates to the statutory rates and limits will come into effect in early April 2024.

Here are the key changes:

We recently reported on the saga that followed the Constitutional Court's ruling of February 8, 2024 on the conditions for applying the partial exemption from payment of withholding tax for employers organizing shift work (CIR/92, art. 275/5). 

The ruling of February 8, 2024, had given rise to fears among many employers whose successive shifts fluctuate in size that they would simply lose the tax advantage, which can represent a reduction of 10 to 15% in the wage costs associated with shift workers. 

Andrea M. Kirshenbaum discusses how Johnson v. NCAA is noteworthy beyond the realm of college athletics for its expansive discussion of the FLSA.

The Legal Intelligencer

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Joy Rosenquist discusses what California employers should watch for after the state’s AI bias bill failed and its Civil Rights Department continues work on proposed regulations that could be game-changing.

Law360 Employment Authority

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James A. Paretti Jr. and Melissa McDonagh offer insights into the implications of the court’s rejection of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) proposed nationwide ban on noncompete agreements.

Thomson Reuters

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Bradford Kelley and Mike Paglialonga explain the basics of wage and hour laws and why it’s critical for business owners to ensure their business complies with federal, state and local laws and regulations.

American Drycleaner

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Bradford Kelley and Mike Paglialonga explain the basics of wage and hour laws and why it’s critical for business owners to ensure their business complies with federal, state and local laws and regulations.

American Drycleaner

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Rebecca Goldstein talks about new workplace violence prevention laws in California and New York.

Bloomberg Law

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To support personnel transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in 2011 instituted the SkillBridge internship program, which provides service members with valuable civilian work experience through unpaid internships during their last 180 days of service, while the military continues to pay their wages and full benefits.

Starting in January 2025, California’s Fair Employment & Housing Act (FEHA) will prohibit employers from including a statement in a job advertisement, posting, application, or other material that an applicant must have a driver’s license unless the employer “reasonably” anticipates driving to be an essential job function that cannot be comparably performed by alternative means. The stated purpose of the new FEHA amendment is to help facilitate employment for non-drivers who rely on ride hails, public transportation, biking, and walking as their primary means of transportation.

New Jersey is the latest state to advance pay transparency requirements.  On September 26, 2024, the New Jersey state legislature passed Senate Bill 2310, which if signed and enacted by Governor Murphy (as is expected), would mandate that certain New Jersey employers disclose wage or salary ranges and general benefits information in each job posting/advertisement. The bill would also require that employers take “reasonable” steps to make opportunities for promotions known to current employees.

Applicability

Kerry E. Notestine, Chad J. Kaldor, Shawn Matthew Clark and Garrick D. Josephs compare and contrast the Maryland WARN Act and its federal counterpart, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

SHRM

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The United States has announced that Qatar will soon be officially admitted to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP), allowing visa-free travel to the United States by Qatari citizens for up to 90 days. Per the Final Rule published by the Department of Homeland Security on September 26, 2024, Qatar will be added to the VWP no later than December 1, 2024.

Bradford Kelley and Britney Torres predict politics in the workplace will remain an issue beyond the election and so California employers need a long-term plan measures for issues that include voter intimidation and discrimination and employees taking time off to vote.

Law360

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Bradford J. Kelley and James A. McGehee discuss mandates for employers involved in the SkillBridge internship program, which provides military members with civilian work experience.

Westlaw Today

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Bradford Kelley, Sean O’Brien and Alice Wang discuss a new AI framework from the U.S. Department of Labor and what it means for employers. (Subscription required)

Law360

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Following other states and cities across the nation, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 988, the Freelance Worker Protection Act (FWPA), into law on September 28, 2024. This new law aims to provide greater protections to freelance workers (e.g., “independent contractors”).

Kerry Notestine, Chad Kaldor, Shawn Matthew Clark and Garrick Josephs discuss the Maryland WARN Act and compares and contrasts it with its federal counterpart, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

Wolters Kluwer

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Employers concerned about the risks and expenses associated with employment litigation have increasingly required their employees to agree to arbitration in the event of a dispute.  Even upon the issuance of the arbitrator’s final decision, however, a court’s intervention may still be necessary.  At the very least, the court can actually enforce an arbitration award, whereas the arbitrator cannot.  Moreover, the losing party in the arbitration may seek to vacate the arbitrator’s decision on limited grounds, or seek further review of the district court’s decision by filing an appeal with th

Libby Henninger weighs in on several wage and hour bills that will be prevalent in the next six months.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Jim Paretti offers his opinion on how things have gone in interactions with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during the pandemic.

Law360 Employment Authority

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Michael Lotito writes about unions and their allies’ attempts to sneak parts of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act into the budget bill.

The Wall Street Journal

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George Vassos explains new rules that broaden and clarify British Columbia’s ability to investigate employment compliance matters and tighten rules for hiring children younger than 16 years old.

SHRM Online

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On April 4, 2022, in Fraser Health Authority v British Columbia General Employees’ Union, 2022 CanLII 25560, Arbitrator Koml Kandola of the British Columbia Labour Relations Board dismissed the union’s grievance respecting the dismissal of the grievor because she was ineligible to work under the order issued b

Since late fall 2021, we have seen a steady flow of arbitration awards emerge in Ontario and British Columbia that consider issues relating to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies in the unionized workplace. In this Insight, we provide an overview of key trends in these awards.

Rhonda B. Levy and Barry Kuretzky provide an overview of key trends in arbitration awards in Ontario and British Columbia since fall 2021 that have considered issues relating to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies in the unionized workplace.

Human Resources Director Canada

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The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario recently held a preliminary hearing to determine whether allegations made under the Human Rights Code (Code) fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of a labour arbitrator, or whether the Tribunal had concurrent jurisdiction over employment-related human rights matters in a unionized workplace.  

In light of President Biden signing the Speak Out Act, Elizabeth A. Lalik, Lauren M. Bridenbaugh and Jim Paretti say this is a good time for employers to review their policies and practices for handling sexual harassment incidents that fall under all applicable federal and state statutes.

EHS Today

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Jim Paretti says several new bipartisan laws focused on issues women experience in the workplace may move employers to work on preventing instances that would violate the new measures.

Bloomberg Law

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Angel Valverde presents issues for development of international arbitration in the U.S., as there are no visas that specifically allow a foreign national to be employed as an arbitrator, attorney or expert witness in an arbitration proceeding.

International Law Quarterly

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Traditionally, January 1 has been the key date for which employers must prepare to implement new labor and employment compliance obligations for new laws passed within the previous year.  For the past several years, we have reported on employment and labor laws taking effect mid-year. Increasingly, new compliance challenges are not taking a summer vacation.

On June 28, 2023, the California Second District Court of Appeal issued a decision interpreting the scope of California Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.98(a)(1), a recently amended California statute that requires employers to pay all arbitration costs and fees within 30 days of the due date, or risk being in material breach of the arbitration agreement.  In Cvejic v. Skyview Capital, the court held that an arbitrator cannot cure a missed or late arbitration fee payment.

California’s legislature covered a wide array of labor and employment law topics this legislative session. The laws discussed below were signed into law by Governor Newsom and will become effective on January 1, 2024 unless otherwise noted.  This Insight includes highlights of new laws affecting employers and is not intended to cover every new state and local law that was enacted this session.

Employers should begin reviewing these requirements to help ensure compliance with these new laws. Time to update those Employee Handbooks and train the management team!

Theodora Lee said overall case filings in the San Francisco state trial court have been down significantly compared to pre-pandemic levels, but she’s seeing an uptick in labor and employment law cases.

The Recorder

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On April 12, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed whether the Federal Arbitration Act’s (FAA) transportation exemption—meaning the FAA would not apply—only relates to workers within the transportation industry. In Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries Park St., LLC,¹ the Supreme Court unanimously held Section 1 of the FAA exempts classes of workers who are actively engaged in interstate transportation, even if the individuals are not employed by a company in the transportation industry (the “Transportation Exemption”).

Two days before the United States Supreme Court ruled in Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries Park St., LLC,¹ that the Federal Arbitration Act’s (FAA) transportation worker exemption (meaning the FAA would not apply) extends beyond the transportation industry, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed whether the exemption applies to “contracts of employment” between business entities. In Fli-Lo Falcon, LLC v.

On May 3, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law SB 2006 (codified as Section 381.00316, Florida Statutes).  The law prevents business entities from requiring that patrons or customers provide documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination or post-infection recovery to enter or obtain service from a business in Florida. It also prohibits educational institutions from requiring students or residents, and governmental entities from requiring persons, to provide vaccination passports or proof of post-infection recovery.

William H. Foster and Katie E. Towery examine the impact President Biden’s “America’s Jobs Plan” might have on South Carolina’s growing businesses and workforce. 

Association of Corporate Counsel South Carolina

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On September 29, 2021, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) Jennifer A. Abruzzo released a nine-page memorandum taking the unequivocal position that “certain Players at Academic Institutions” are employees under Section 2(3) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).  Refusing to call such players “student athletes,” Abruzzo asserts in the memorandum (GC 21-08) that:

Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi recently issued back-to-back executive orders (EO) regarding COVID-19. It appears that the third EO was stuck in holiday traffic. This latest EO, like her sisters, amends November’s EO-2021-075 to curtail COVID-19 infections.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) requires recipient institutions—i.e., any entity receiving funding from the NIH—to have policies that foster a harassment-free environment.