Labor & Employment Law Update

On December 12, 2024, the the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its revision to the personal protective equipment (PPE) standard for construction to ensure properly fitting PPE for all construction workers.

Less than a month before the changes are set to go into effect, the Illinois Department of Labor has given employers some guidance on how the department will be enforcing the new requirements and published the poster that employers must display to their employees.

The election results are in and many are wondering what to expect for business employment immigration. With relatively little information available at this point, it can be challenging to speculate about what is going to happen. What we do know may be gleaned from President-Elect Trump’s first administration.

2025 is set to be another year of expanded paid leave requirements for employers. While the results are still preliminary, employers should start preparing in the states that have voted in new leave laws.

A roundup of employment law changes impacting employers in jurisdictions across the nation. 

On Nov. 15, 2024, a federal judge in Texas invalidated the United States Department of Labor’s rule that raised the minimum salary levels under the Fair Labor Standards Act “white collar” exemptions. As a result, the minimum salary levels that were in place prior to July 1, 2024, now apply again effective immediately.

On Nov. 13, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board outright banned mandatory captive audience meetings, holding that they constitute an automatic unfair labor practice that violates section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act.

Insurance coverage requirements for mental health and substance use disorders (“MH/SUDs”) is changing in a way that impacts group health plans, employers, and behavioral health providers. 

On September 22, 2024, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3234 (A.B. 3234) into law, which requires employers who voluntarily conduct a “social compliance audit” of their business operations and practices to post a clear and conspicuous link on their website to a report detailing the findings of the employer’s compliance with child labor laws. This law goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

Perhaps now more than ever before, a person’s political stance on the most hotly debated issues is so strongly tied to their personal identity. This is exactly why employers cannot ignore the real likelihood that political expression will seep into the workplace.