IN OUR NEVER-ENDING efforts to keep you informed about changes to the regulatory landscape, Continuum Advantage has gathered the most pertinent legal changes in 2024 to HR-related topics below. If you have a question about any of these, don’t hesitate to e-mail hr@continuumadv.com or call us at 515.850.1227 today!

California

Noncompete Agreements

• California AB 1076 voids noncompete agreements in an employment context that does not satisfy one of the exceptions to the prohibition on non-competes. Requires employers to notify current and former employees in writing by February 14, 2024 that a noncompete that applied to them is now void.
• California SB 699 prohibits employers from entering into or attempting to enforce noncompete agreements, which are void under state law, regardless of where and when the contract was signed.

Notice Requirements

• California AB 636 requires employers to 1) include in the required notice to a new employee information regarding emergency or disaster declarations for the county where the employee works, and 2) provide this information and information about agricultural employee rights under California law, in English and Spanish to employees admitted to work under the federal H-2A agricultural visa, if requested by the employee.

Cannabis Use

• California AB 700 amends the Fair Employment and Housing Act to make it unlawful for an employer to request information from a job applicant relating to the applicant’s prior use of cannabis, unless otherwise required by state or federal law.

Discrimination and Retaliation

• California SB 497 creates a rebuttable presumption against an employer in a claim by an employee or applicant for discrimination, retaliation or adverse action, within 90 days of their protected conduct, including complaints of unequal pay, and creates a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation.

Workplace Health and Safety

• California SB 553 requires employers to implement a workplace violence prevention plan and provide training to employees; amends the California Code of Civil Procedure, effective January 1, 2025, to allow a collective bargaining representative to seek a restraining order against an employee who poses a credible threat of violence.

Paid Sick Leave

• California SB 616 increases the number of job-protected paid leave hours employees can receive and use each year; extends some protections to employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement; creates partial preemption of local sick and safe time standards.

Leaves of Absence

• California SB 848 provides for a leave of absence for a reproductive loss event, including the final day of a failed adoption, failed surrogacy, miscarriage, stillbirth, or unsuccessful assisted reproduction.
Minnesota

Discrimination/Pay History

• Minnesota HF 447, Minnesota SB 2909 prohibits employment discrimination based on gender identity; prohibits an employer from inquiring into, considering, or requiring disclosure of a job applicant's pay history during the hiring process.

Paid Leave

• Chapter 53 of MN Laws, the Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) law, requires employers to provide employees one hour of paid time off for every 30 hours worked up to a maximum of 48 hours each year when an employee is sick, to care for a sick family member, or to seek assistance if an employee or their family member has experienced domestic abuse.
• The City of Bloomington’s Ordinance No. 2023-24 amends the city's paid sick and safe time ordinance to align it with the statewide ESST law.
• The City of St. Paul’s Ordinance No. 23-48 amends the city's paid sick and safe time ordinance to align it with the statewide ESST law.
Illinois

Employee Benefits

• Illinois HB 2068 requires employers with at least 50 employees in Chicago and other towns and counties, to allow employees to use pre-tax dollars for the purchase of a transit pass through payroll deductions.

Workers’ Compensation

• Illinois HB 2145 provides that an employer that fails to carry workers' compensation insurance may have its business license revoked and pay fines.

Leaves of Absence

• Illinois HB 2493 requires an employer to provide up to two workweeks of unpaid leave to an employee grieving a family or household member killed in a crime of violence.
• Illinois HB 2034 requires employers with at least 50 full-time employees in Illinois to provide up to two workweeks of unpaid leave unpaid bereavement leave to an employee who has lost a child by suicide or homicide. The amount of the leave depends on the size of the employer.
• Illinois HB 3516 requires employers with businesses with 51 or more employees to allow employees to use up to ten days of paid leave in a 12-month period for organ donation.

Paid Leave

• Illinois SB 208 creates the Paid Leave for All Workers Act to permit employees to accrue 40 hours of paid leave per year to use for any purpose.
• Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance requires that employees will accrue one hour of Paid Sick Leave for every 40 hours worked and may use up to 40 hours of Paid Leave per year. Depending on employer size, Paid Leave may need to be paid out on separation of employment. In effect December 31^st, 2023.
Ohio

Pay History

• The City of Columbus’s Ordinance No. 0709-2023 employers with 15 or more employees from asking about or screening job applicants based on their current or prior wages, benefits, other compensation, or salary histories. In effect March 1^st, 2024.
Connecticut

Workers’ Compensation

• Connecticut SB 913 expands workers' compensation coverage for post-traumatic stress injuries for all employees, not just police officers, firefighters, emergency medical service personnel, emergency 911 dispatchers and similar employees.

Artificial Intelligence

• Connecticut SB 1103 enacts new rules pertaining to artificial intelligence, automated decision-making, and data privacy. Establishes an Office of Artificial Intelligence and a task force to study AI and develop an AI bill of rights. Requires the Department of Administrative Services to inventory AI systems in use by any state agency.
Colorado

Equal Pay/Wage Transparency

• Colorado SB23-105 amends Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act to require employers to post all job and promotional opportunities, with salary range, benefits, and information about the hiring process. Extends the back pay recovery period from three to six years for employees who claim pay discrimination.
Oregon

Discrimination and Harassment

• Oregon HB 3307 extends civil rights, discrimination, and harassment workplace protections to participants in registered apprenticeship programs and certain private-sector on-the-job training programs.

Leaves of Absence

• Oregon HB 3443 expands eligibility for protected leave under the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) to include bias crime victims.
• Oregon SB 1033 defines “active service of the state” for purposes of the requirement that an employer grant a leave of absence during a period of active military service.
Washington

Cannabis Use

• Washington SB 5123 prohibits an employer from discriminating against a person in hiring based on the person's use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace, or because an employer-required drug screening test found the presence of nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites.
Rhode Island

Wage and Hour

• Rhode Island HB 5902 increases the criminal penalty for employers involved in wage payment violations and employee misclassification.

Source: Employment Law Update 2024: New Employment Laws for the New Year