Hot Topics for 2016
January 27, 2016Here are just a few of the employment-related topics are going to be big money for employers in 2016.
- FLSA Changes to OT laws
Employers are anxiously awaiting the Department of Labor changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) changes for exempt and non-exempt employees. With those changes rolling out this year and most likely becoming active shortly after, employers will need to have a game plan for how to implement these changes.
The proposed changes were released in 2015. These changes would amend the White Collar exemption from $23,660 ($455/week) annually to roughly $50,440 ($970/week) beginning in 2016. This jump would affect a wide range of industries. The increase would be the first increase since 2004. Additionally, this amount would be indexed in some fashion to automatically increase the baseline amount going forward.
- Employee Minimum Wage Changes
Many states and local jurisdictions made changes to their minimum wages in 2015. Many of these ordinances and laws were designed with provisions to gradually step up the minimum wage over a couple of years. Because of this, many employers, especially those located in metropolitan areas should note that wages will increase again this year. Individuals on both sides of the topic have been very outspoken about the pros and cons of continuing to increase minimum wages and the effects on both employers and workers.
In addition to state and local changes, the Federal Minimum Wage might increase to as much as $10.00 an hour. There has been a huge push from the President to help provide a livable wage to those who are paid minimum wages. President Obama mentioned this push in his 2015 State of the Union address. Additionally, the White House has set up a special page dedicated to this movement along with the hashtag #raisethewage designed to share stories for the movement.
- Paid Sick Leave
States like New York and California implemented mandatory paid sick leave in 2014 and 2015 respectively. While the details vary from state to state, it is certain that these changes will continue to spread throughout the country to cover workers that aren’t just full-time. Although this is a win for many employees, it may also prove beneficial to employers. Having sick employees stay home can greatly reduce the risk of spreading illness to other employees in the business. It can also help prevent the possible spread of illness to customers, which is a growing concern for some industries.
A true life example of one possible benefit of paid sick leave can be found in Chipotle. In January 2016, Chipotle announced that it would be implementing its own increase in sick time availability to employees. Plagued by several instances of contaminated food, some of which was brought on by ill employees, the company has realized the benefit of making sure sick employees stay home.
- Mandatory Arbitration and the NLRA
Since the original decision from the NLRB in DR Horton back in 2012, the road to mandatory arbitration has been paved with conflict between the NLRB and the federal judicial system. Many federal district and circuit courts have ruled on the issues of mandatory arbitration and also whether there is a conflict with class action waivers and the NLRA. Despite a strong policy in favor of arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) in the judicial system, the NLRB has held firm on their decisions in DR Horton, and subsequently, Murphy Oil. This divide is a topic that is likely going to have to be decided upon by the Supreme Court once and for all to create some unity in the handling of these programs. It is expected that, in line with previous decisions, the Supreme Court would enforce the agreements in support of the FAA.