2024 Regulatory Updates
This year has been full of changes in regulations and additional guidance. With some updates in effect, some yet to come, and others with pending litigation it can be challenging to know what to do and when! We have outlined some key updates and we encourage you to follow the links for additional information and reach out to our team for support in updating your Employee Handbook, policies and procedures, and for training your teams.
April 29, 2024 - EEOC released updated Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace. This guidance supersedes and replaces previous compliance manuals, policy guidance and enforcement guidance from various years. There are also 77 examples of harassment provided within the new Guidance, which are great training scenarios for managers and staff.
June 18, 2024 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) becomes effective. The PWFA, which is administered and enforced by the EEOC, requires covered employers (those with 15 or more employees) to provide reasonable accommodations to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship.
Key Action Items:
Make sure your policy addressing PWFA accurately reflects the regulations.
Educate your managers (and anyone else likely to receive a request) on the presumptively reasonable accommodations, the limitations on asking for supporting documentation, and the importance of prompt accommodation.
To ensure appropriate responses, require anyone who received a request to immediately communicate it to HR.
Here’s a Guide to assist you with implementing PWFA.
July 1, 2024 - FLSA Updated Salaries for Overtime Exemptions - On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) announced a final rule, Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees. The final rule updates and revises the regulations issued under section 13(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act implementing the exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) employees.
Revisions include increases to the standard salary level and the highly compensated employee total annual compensation threshold, and a mechanism that provides for the timely and efficient updating of these earnings thresholds to reflect current earnings data.
While there is pending litigation, we still recommend conducting an evaluation to know what the impact may be and also to be prepared for July 1st should the litigation not delay implementation.
Key Action Items:
Identify which exempt employees could be affected.
Calculate the hours worked by the afffected exempt employees.
Evaluate the options and decide about how, and how much, the employee will be paid.
We are sharing 2 Guides for you: Decision-Making Guide and Implementation Guide.
September 2024 - FTC Bans on Non-Competes - On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a final rule which bans almost all noncompete clauses nationwide. The final rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on May 7 and will take effect on September 4, 2024. There is current litigation pending which may impact the rule and implementation; ensure you stay connected for any updates.
The rule will ban all new noncompete clauses as of the rule’s effective date and will also make existing noncompete clauses void, except for those with senior executives that are in effect before September 5, 2024. Employers will be required to provide written notice to affected workers if they are subject to noncompete clauses that are no longer enforceable.
Additional information about the final rule (including the final rule itself), employee model notices, and FAQs can be found on the FTC’s Noncompete Rule page. If you have questions or concerns about noncompete agreements or policies, you should speak with an attorney.