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Alabama
Beginning 1/1/2024, Alabama exempts hourly worker’s overtime pay from state income tax.
This will exclude any amounts from gross income , for income tax purposes, received by a full-time hourly employee in excess of 40 hours in a week. This exemption will expire 18 months after January 1, 2024, June 30, 2025, unless renewed.
California
Beginning 1/1/2024, California is expanding its paid sick leave.
The new mandatory sick leave is expanded from 24 hours to 40 hours, or from three days to five days. The accrual can stay at one hour for every thirty hours worked, but the employee had to accrue 40 hours by the end of the 200th calendar day of employment. If the employer front loads they still may, but for the updated amount of hours. The annual usage cap has also increased from 24 hours to 40 hours and the accrual cap has increased from 48 hours (six days) to 80 hours (ten days).
Fast Food Industry Minimum Wage Law Passed.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill No. 1228 into law on September 28th, 2023. This law repeals the FAST Recovery Act and withdraws the voter referendum that was scheduled for the November 2024 election ballot.
The following items are included in the signed bill.
- A fast food council will be established and then appointed by the governor and legislative representatives.
- Their duties are to recommend regulations that could affect working conditions related to health and safety, security, and protections from harassment or discriminations, among others.
- Their authority will not include regulating paid sick leave, vacation, or predictable scheduling.
- Fast food restaurant employees will be entitled to earn a minimum of $20.00 per hour beginning April 1, 2024.
- The Fast Food minimum wage will increase on an annual basis, beginning on January 1, 2025, up through 2029, unless the sunset provision is eliminated in any future amendment to the law.
- The council can set different minimum wage rates in different regions of the state if deemed necessary.
Illinois
Statewide Paid Leave for All Workers Act Effective 1/1/2024.
Beginning 1/1/2024, Illinois will be one of three states that have enacted a paid leave for any reason act; The Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLFAW). Below are some key points, and in the website there are more comprehensive details and the FAQ site.
- Employers can implement a maximum of a 90 day waiting period to use the accrued paid leave but can be less than 90 days if the employer chooses.
- Accruals for PLFAW will be one hour for every 40 hours worked with a minimum of 40 hours of paid leave in a 12 month period.
- Unused leave will carryover annually.
- Employers are not required to provide more than 40 hours of leave in a 12 month period.
- Both full and part-time employees will accrue at this rate, resulting in part-time employees possibly having less than 40 hours. This is ok as long as they accrue 1 hour per 40 hours worked.
- Employers can also front load hours with the 40 hours minimum.
- If frontloaded, employers do not have to carry over any unused leave to the next 12 month period.
- Overtime exempt employees are counted as working 40 hours a week unless their regular work week is less than 40 hours.
- If you already provide paid time off that meets the minimum requirements of the act, you do not need to implement a new policy or add more hours.
- There are no requirements of reasons for the leave and employers cannot require documentation or certification for the need of the leave.
- Employers are not required to pay out any unused leave if the employee terminates, but must restore any leave if the employee returns to the same employer within 12 months.
- The Act requires employers to post a notice, where other notices are posted.
- The Illinois Department of Labor will provide the required notice.
- At this time it is not been released.
Minnesota
Statewide Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) Effective 1/1/2024.
Beginning 1/1/2024, Minnesota’s new Earned Sick and Safe Time law goes into effect. Below are some key points, and in the website there are more comprehensive details and FAQs.
- An eligible employee is one who works at least 80 hours in a year for an employer in MN and are not an independent contractor.
- Temporary and part-time employees are eligible.
- Employees earn one hour of sick and safe time for every 30 hours worked.
- Maximum accrual is 48 hours in a year, though an employer can agree to a higher cap amount.
- Reasons for using ESST
- Employee’s mental or physical illness, treatment, or preventative care.
- Family members mental or physical illness, treatment, or preventative care.
- Absence due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking of an employee or family member.
- Closure of the employee’s workplace or family member’s school or care facility due to weather or public emergency.
- When a health authority or health care worker determines if an employee or family member is at risk of infecting others with a communicable disease.
- Family members include:
- Children, foster child, adult child, legal ward, child for whom the employee is a legal guardian, or child to whom the employee stands or stood in loco parentis.
- Spouse or registered domestic partner.
- Sibling, stepsibling, or foster sibling.
- Biological, adoptive, or foster parent, stepparent, or person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor.
- Grandchild, foster grandchild, or step-grandchild.
- Grandparent or step-grandparent.
- A child of a sibling of the employee.
- A sibling of the parents of the employee.
- A child-in-law or sibling-in-law.
- Any of the family of the members listed above of an employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner.
- Any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.
- Up to one individual annually designated by the employee.
- Earned sick and safe time ordinances are already in existence in the following cities:
- The employer must follow the law that is most favorable to their employees.
- Bloomington
- Duluth
- Minneapolis
- St. Paul
- Mize will be publishing a comparison of these different laws for easy comparison.
- We will let you know when this is available
Oregon
There is a newly proposed payroll tax in Salem, Oregon that is being put on the November 7th ballot. If the vote passes to enact the tax it will affect those working in Salem, Oregon. The rate would be 0.814% of wages for those making over minimum wage. Those making minimum wage are exempt.
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