2024 Labor Law Updates
HR Resources for Operators
We sat down with Sophie Amodeo, Director of People + Operations at Oyster Sunday, and our labor attorney at Jackson Lewis PC to discuss a few pertinent 2024 labor laws, the impact on day-to-day operations, and the next steps to take to ensure compliance. This is a free resource for all operators. Feel free to share it with your team or other folks in your network.
Let’s Get Started.
Hello, and Happy New Year! I’m Sophie, Director of People + Operations at Oyster Sunday. With the new year, we find ourselves ushering in a handful of new labor laws that affect our teams and operations.
In order to remain up-to-date in your business with any labor law updates, we strongly recommend performing an audit + update of any existing HR policies and protocols to ensure compliance. From there, it’s important to reflect these changes in any company documents, such as employee handbooks or onboarding materials.
As always, we want to ensure our clients and their teams are set up for success. The information below provides a sample of a few pertinent updates for 2024 but may not be comprehensive of all updates or states in the US. To ensure compliance for your business, please reach out directly and we’re happy to provide support.
If you’re interested in learning more about how we support our clients with their HR and compliance needs or have specific questions, please contact us—we’d love to meet you. Get in touch.
2024 Labor Law Updates
In the ever-evolving landscape of employment and labor, staying aware of legislative changes is imperative for both employers and employees. As we step into 2024, a series of significant updates to labor laws have been enacted, marking a pivotal moment in shaping the dynamics of the workplace.
These revisions not only reflect the evolving needs of the workforce but also address the challenges posed by a changing economy and industry. In addition to the updates shared below, it’s important to check any updates to state / local wage and hour laws, including any changes to minimum wages and thresholds.
Whether you're an employer navigating the responsibilities that come with these updates for the first time or for your existing business, we’re here to support you. With any labor update, we strongly recommend a thorough review + audit of HR policies and protocols to ensure operations remain compliant.
Curious to hear more about how we work with our clients to support their HR needs? Get in touch → hello@oystersunday.com.
The information below provides a sample of a few pertinent updates for 2024 but may not be comprehensive of all updates or states in the US. All laws are effective January 1, 2024, unless otherwise stated. To ensure compliance for your business, please reach out directly and we’re happy to provide support.
California
California AB 1076 – Makes it unlawful to include a noncompete clause in an employment contract or to require an employee to enter a noncompete agreement that does not satisfy specified exceptions. Employers must notify current employees and former employees (employed after January 1, 2022) that any non–compete agreement or non–compete clause contained within an agreement the current or former employee signed is void, unless the agreement or clause falls within one of the statutory exceptions. The law’s effective date is January 1, 2024 and notices must be provided by February 14, 2024.
California SB 699 – Any contract that is void under section 16600 is unenforceable, regardless of where and when the contract was signed. In addition, an employer or former employer may not attempt to enforce a contract that restricts an employee’s ability to engage in a lawful profession, trade, or business, even if the contract was signed outside of California and the employment was maintained outside of California. It also prohibits an employer from entering into a contract with an employee or prospective employee that includes non–compete clauses and other restrictive covenants that are void under section 16600.
California AB 2188 – Prohibits discrimination against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment based on (1) a person’s use of cannabis off–the–job and away from the workplace or (2) an employer–required drug screening test that has found the person to have non–psychoactive cannabis metabolites in their hair, blood, urine, or other bodily fluids.
California SB 616 – Increases the amount of paid sick days provided to eligible employees from 3 days (24 hours) to 5 days (40 hours). The amount of paid sick leave that employees may accrue and carry over from one year to the next is increased from 48 hours to 80 hours.
California SB 848 – Employers with at least five employees must provide employees who have worked at least 30 days with up to five days of reproductive loss leave. A “reproductive loss” includes a miscarriage, failed surrogacy, stillbirth, unsuccessful “assisted reproduction” (such as artificial insemination or embryo transfer), or failed adoption.
California SB 700 – Amends its Fair Employment and Housing Act to prohibit employers from requesting information from an applicant relating to the applicant’s prior use of cannabis and from using information about a person's prior cannabis use obtained from the person's criminal history, with certain exceptions.
California AB 1288 – Repeals the FAST Recovery Act but establishes a modified version of the Fast Food Council until January 1, 2029. The new law also sets minimum wage increases for fast–food workers, with an increase to $20.00 effective April 1, 2024. Thereafter, the minimum wage for fast–food workers will increase annually on January 1.
California AB 594 – Any agreement between a worker and employer to limit representatives actions or mandate arbitration is unenforceable by actions brought by the Labor Commissioner or public prosecutor.
California AB 933 – Expands the definition of a privileged communication to include complaints and related communications regarding sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination and is therefore protected from civil actions.
California SB 476 – Time that employees spend to complete their food handler training and certification is compensable “hours worked.”
California SB 497 – Creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if an employee is disciplined or discharged within ninety days of certain protected activity.
California AB 102 – The Industrial Welfare Commission will convene industry–specific wage boards and adopt orders specific to wages, hours, and working conditions in such industries, provided that any such orders shall not include any standards that are less protective than existing state law. The IWC shall convene by January 1, 2024, with any final recommendations for wages, hours, and working conditions in new wage orders adopted by October 31, 2024.
California AB 647 – Revises recall rights for grocery workers when there is a change of control in a grocery establishment.
Anaheim Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance – Requires covered employers to provide a personal security device commonly referred to as a “panic button” whenever a worker works in a guest room or restroom facility where other workers are not assigned to be present.
City of Berkeley Fair Workweek Ordinance– Effective January 12, 2024. Regulates how employees are scheduled and the flexibility of scheduling provided to employees.
Colorado
Colorado SB 23–105 – Amendment to Equal Pay for Equal Work Act. Employers must post all job and promotional opportunities, with salary range, benefits and information about the hiring process to all employees on the same calendar day and before the employer makes a decision. Within 30 days after a candidate is selected to fill a job opportunity begins working in the position, employers will need to make reasonable efforts to announce, post, or otherwise make known to the employees with whom the selected candidate is intended to regularly work, information on the selected candidate. This also extends the back pay recovery period to six years for employees who claim pay discrimination.
Colorado Proposition 122 (Ballot Measure) – Decriminalizes the use of certain psychedelic plants and fungi. This does not require employers to permit or accommodate the use of psychedelics in the workplace.
Colorado’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) Act – FAMLI benefits become available to employees.
Hawaii SB 1057 – Hawaii employers with at least 50 employees must disclose an hourly rate or salary range that reasonably reflects the actual expected compensation on job listings. Also amends its equal pay statute to prohibit pay discrimination based on any protected characteristic.
Hawaii
Illinois HB 2068 – Certain employers located within designated Illinois counties and townships will be required to provide employees a “pre–tax commuter benefit.”
Illinois HB 2907 – Limits the amount of monetary damages an employer can recover stemming from a labor dispute.
Illinois HB 2493 – Victims' Economic Security and Safety Act: Requires employers to provide unpaid leave to employees who are victims of domestic, sexual, or gender violence or crimes of violence (or whose family or household members are victims).
Illinois SB 2034 – Child Extended Bereavement Leave Act (CEBLA). Employers with at least 50 full time employees are required to provide unpaid bereavement leave to an employee who experiences the loss of a child by suicide or homicide.
Illinois HB 3516 – Employers with 51 or more employees must allow employees to use up to 10 days of paid leave in any 12 month period to donate an organ.
Illinois SB 208 – Paid Leave for All Workers Act. Provides employees with up to 40 hours of paid leave during a 12–month period.
Illinois HB 3733 – Employers with employees who do not report to the office regularly are required to provide work–related notices electronically — either by email or conspicuous posting on the employer’s website or intranet site.
Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance – Effective December 31, 2023. Employers are required to provide 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 employment separation.
Evanston Fair Workweek Ordinance – Requires certain employers in designated industries to give workers a 14-day notice of schedule changes and compensate them with “predictability pay” if any changes occur less than 14 days before the first scheduled shift. Original effective date of September 1, 2023 delayed until January 1, 2024.
Illinois
Michigan SB 34 – Effective March 30, 2024. Repeals Right–to–Work Law governing private employers.
Michigan SB 147 – Effective March 31, 2024. Amends Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include all pregnancy terminations as protected medical conditions.
Michigan
Minnesota HF 447 – Prohibits employment discrimination based on gender identity.
Minnesota SB 2909 – Prohibits an employer from asking about, considering, or requiring disclosure of an applicant’s pay history during the hiring process.
Minnesota SF 3035 – Statewide earned sick and safe leave law (ESSL). Employers must provide employees one hour of paid time off for every 30 hours worked up to a maximum of 48 hours each year to use for sickness, to care for a sick family member, or to seek assistance if an employee or their family member has experienced domestic abuse.
Bloomington Ordinance No. 2023–24/St. Paul Ordinance No. 23–48 – Amends the city’s paid sick and safe time ordinance to align with the state law.
Minnesota
New York AB 836/SB 2518 – Effective March 12, 2024. Prohibits employers from requesting or requiring usernames, login information, passwords, or personal accounts as a condition of hiring, a condition of employment, or for use in a disciplinary action.
New York AB 501/SB 3255 – Effective February 15, 2024. Amends the N.Y. Executive Law § 297 to extend the statute of limitations for filing complaints of discrimination with the State Division of Human Rights from one year to three years. This extension makes the statute of limitations for such filing consistent with the current three-year statute of limitations for sexual harassment complaints.
New York AB 6796/SB 5572 – Effective March 13, 2024. Increases the weekly earnings amount that exempts executive, administrative, or professional employees from direct deposit and benefits or wage supplement laws from $900 to $1300.
New York
Ohio: Columbus Ordinance No. 0709–2023 – Effective March 1, 2024. Employers with 15 or more employees cannot ask about or screen job applicants based on current/prior wages, benefits, other compensation, or salary histories.
Ohio
Oregon HB 3307 – Extends civil rights, discrimination, and harassment workplace protections to participants in certain on–the job training programs and registered apprenticeship programs.
Oregon HB 3443 – Expands eligibility for protected leave under the Oregon Family Leave Act to include bias crime victims.
Oregon SB 184 – Requires employers to include independent contractors in their child support reporting requirements to the Oregon Division of Child Support of the Department of Justice.
Oregon SB 907 – Prohibits retaliation or discrimination against employees who refuse to do work that would expose them to serious hazards, provided the employee acted “in good faith and with no reasonable alternative.”
Oregon
Rhode Island HB 5902 – Increases criminal penalties for wage payment violations and employee misclassification.
Rhode Island
Tennessee SB 378 – Permits the use, sale, and distribution of hemp–derived cannabinoids, does not require employers to accommodate the use of such substances.
Tennessee
Virginia 16 VAC 25–85 – Adopts federal Occupational Safety and Health Standards regarding reporting and recordkeeping.
Virginia
Washington WAC 192–310–190 – Excludes certain corporate officers from filing claims for unemployment benefits.
Washington SB 5123 – Prohibits employers from discrimination against job applicants for either off–duty use of cannabis or an employer–required drug screening that detects non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites.
Washington SB 5586 – Allows a current employer, a current employer’s third–party administrator, or an employee to request access to an employee’s Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave Act claim records.
Washington SB 5111 – Requires employers to pay out unused leave for certain temporary construction workers who have not been employed for 90 days upon separation.
Washington
NLRB Final Joint Employer Rule – Current effective date February 26, 2024 as of the time of publishing. Two or more employers will be held as joint employers under the NLRA if they share or codetermine employees’ essential terms and conditions of employment. Original effective date of December 26, 2023 delayed until February 26, 2024, barring subsequent agency action or judicial intervention
Federal
That’s a wrap!
On a daily basis, we help our clients find creative solutions that directly impact the people of their businesses. If you are hoping to dive deeper into your HR compliance and support, we’d love to hear from you.
Our team at OS knows that chefs, operators, and owners have a lot to juggle on a daily basis, which is why we love to support our clients in finding creative solutions that impact their bottom line and ensure the financial stability of their businesses.
If you have specific HR or Operations questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to Sophie at sophie@oystersunday.com. If you have general questions or would like to learn more about our services, you can contact us at hello@oystersunday.com. And if you thought this was helpful, spread the knowledge and forward it to a friend in the industry.
About Sophie Amodeo
Oyster Sunday
Director of People + Operations
Sophie is a people-focused operations leader with over 10 years of experience working with restaurants and food companies. She began her career at her family's diner in Michigan, which is where her passion for restaurants and their people began. Prior to joining Oyster Sunday, she worked with award-winning businesses such as Blue Hill at Stone Barns, where she oversaw hospitality consulting projects, and Prune Restaurant on the management team. She firmly believes that a people strategy is a good business strategy and is passionate about partnering with operators to help build businesses that reflect their cultural values, vision, and growth objectives. Sophie studied Human Development and Social Relations and currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband.
