Fall 2019 HR Compliance Calendar

Select the state(s) where your employees work to read a summary of recent or upcoming compliance requirements and make sure you’re staying compliant. This Compliance Calendar covers January 1, 2020 minimum wage increases for all applicable states and some larger U.S. cities. Please note that several jurisdictions adjust their minimum wage rates annually for inflation, and some of them haven't yet announced their increases for January 2020.

Federal

January 1, 2020

• New overtime rule takes effect. The minimum salary required to be exempt from overtime is increasing. Employers should evaluate the potential impact on their business now to determine if they will reclassify impacted employees as non-exempt (and pay them overtime when due) or raise their salaries to comply.

Alaska

January 1, 2020

• Alaska increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $10.19 per hour.
• Alaska increases salary requirement for overtime exemptions. The state's minimum salary requirement for the administrative, professional, and executive exemptions increases to $815.20 per week.

Arizona

January 1, 2020

• Arizona increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $12.00 per hour.

Arkansas

January 1, 2020

• Arkansas increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $10.00 per hour.

California

January 1, 2020

• California increases minimum wage.
• San Diego increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $13.00 per hour.
• San Jose increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $15.25 per hour.
• California increases salary requirement for overtime exemptions. The state's minimum weekly salary requirement for the administrative, professional, and executive exemptions increases as follows:
• California expands use of ABC test for independent contractors. If a worker fails to satisfy one or more parts of the state's ABC test, they must be classified and treated as an employee.
• California expands employee voting protections. Employers are prohibited from requiring or requesting that an employee bring their vote-by-mail ballot to work or complete their vote-by-mail ballot at work.
• California requires new notice for flexible spending accounts. Employers must notify participants of any deadline to withdraw funds before the end of the plan year using at least two different mediums (email, phone, text message, mail, or in-person), one of which may be electronic.
• California amends rules for reporting serious workplace injuries. Employers must immediately report a serious workplace injury, illness, or death by telephone or a specified online mechanism established by the state.
• California bans hairstyle discrimination. Employers may not discriminate against or harass applicants and employees because of hair texture and hairstyles that are historically associated with race.
• California expands paid sick leave for certain workers. Providers of in-home supportive services will be entitled to 16 hours or two days, whichever is more, of paid sick leave per year. Previously, these workers were entitled to 8 hours of paid sick leave per year.
• California expands human trafficking training requirements. Hotels and motels are required to provide 20 minutes of classroom or other interactive training on human trafficking awareness to certain employees. Training must be completed by January 1, 2020, for all employees hired before July 1, 2019, and within six months of hire for those employed after July 1, 2019. The training is also required every two years.
• California amends organ donation leave requirements. In addition to providing up to 30 days of paid leave for organ donation, employers with 15 or more employees must give an additional unpaid leave of absence, not exceeding 30 days in a one-year period, for organ donation.
• California adds new rules for lactation accommodations. Employers must develop and implement a policy on lactation accommodations and lactation rooms must meet certain new requirements. Additionally, a denial of reasonable break time or an adequate space to express milk will be considered a failure to provide a rest period in accordance with state law.
• California delays aspects of new privacy law. The applicability of certain provisions of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as they relate to employment-related records is delayed one year.

Colorado

January 1, 2020

• Colorado increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $12.00 per hour.

Connecticut

October 1, 2019

• Connecticut increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $11.00 per hour.
• Connecticut expands harassment training and notice requirements. Employers with three or more employees must provide at least two hours of sexual harassment training to all employees and supervisors and comply with expanded sexual harassment notice requirements. Employers with less than three employees must provide all supervisors with at least two hours of sexual harassment training. Workers hired on or after October 1, 2019, must receive the training within six months of their start date.
• Connecticut requires Civil Air Patrol leave. Employers must allow employees time off from work to respond to an emergency as a member of the Civil Air Patrol. The time off may be unpaid.

Delaware

October 1, 2019

• Delaware increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $9.25 per hour.

District of Columbia

January 1, 2020

• New rules for tipped employees go into effect. Before January 1, 2020, employers of tipped employees, except hotels, must use a third-party for payroll. By January 1, third-party payroll providers and hotels must begin submitting a quarterly report to the District that certifies that each employee has been paid at least the minimum wage, including tips.

Florida

January 1, 2020

• Florida increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $8.56 per hour.

Illinois

January 1, 2020

• Illinois increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $9.25 per hour.
• Illinois clarifies tipping rules. The law makes clear that tips are the property of the employee, and employers are prohibited from keeping tips. It also provides that failure to pay gratuities owed to an employee more than 13 days after the end of the pay period in which they were earned violates state law.
• Illinois enacts rules for video interviews. Employers that request video interviews and use artificial intelligence to analyze them must notify applicants in advance and obtain their consent to be evaluated.
• Illinois requires sexual harassment training. Employers with employees working in Illinois must provide training on preventing sexual harassment. The training must be provided to all employees at least annually. Also, restaurants and bars must provide all employees and new hires with a written sexual harassment policy along with sexual harassment training that is specific to bars and restaurants.
• Illinois approves recreational marijuana law. Illinois permits the use of recreational marijuana and offers protections for employees who use marijuana while off duty.

Maine

January 1, 2020

• Maine increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $12.00 per hour.
• Maine increases salary requirement for overtime exemptions. The state's minimum weekly salary requirement for the administrative, professional, and executive exemptions increases to $692.31 per week.
• Maine restricts use of Social Security Numbers. Employers cannot ask applicants for their Social Security Number on a job application or during the application process unless it's for the purpose of drug testing in accordance with state law and background check requirements.

Maryland

October 1, 2019

• Maryland expands nondiscrimination law. The Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act, which applied to employers with 15 or more employees, is amended to cover independent contractors and employers of all sizes if the employee has filed a complaint alleging harassment.
• Maryland requires organ donation leave. Employers with 15 or more employees must provide organ and bone marrow donation leave to eligible employees.

January 1, 2020

• Maryland increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $11.00 per hour.

Massachusetts

October 1, 2019

• Massachusetts requires paid family leave contributions. Employers must begin withholding employee contributions (0.75% of earnings) on October 1.

January 1, 2020

• Massachusetts increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $12.75 per hour.
• Massachusetts decreases some Sunday and holiday premium pay. Retail establishments with seven or more employees (including the owner) must pay a premium of 1.3 times the employee's regular rate (down from 1.4 in 2019) for work on Sundays, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Independence Day.

Michigan

January 1, 2020

• Michigan increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $9.65 per hour.

Minnesota

January 1, 2020

• Minnesota increases minimum wage. The state's minimum wage increases as follows:
• Duluth, MN requires paid sick leave. Employers with five or more employees must provide paid sick leave to employees.

Missouri

October 31, 2019

• Kansas City restricts pay history inquiries. Employers with six or more employees cannot ask about an applicant's pay history.

• Missouri increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $9.45 per hour.

Nevada

January 1, 2020

• Nevada adds protections for applicants who use marijuana. Apart from certain safety sensitive positions, employers are generally prohibited from refusing to hire a prospective employee because they submitted to a drug test and the results indicate the presence of marijuana.
• Nevada requires certain employers to offer paid leave. Employers with 50 or more employees in the state must provide paid leave to employees. Employees may use leave for any reason. New employers are exempt from the law for the first two years of operation.

New Hampshire

October 15, 2019

• New Hampshire expands gender identity protections. New Hampshire's gender identity protections are expanded to other areas of the law barring discrimination, including job ads, access to public accommodations, and health insurance coverage.

New Jersey

January 1, 2020

• New Jersey increases minimum wage.
• New Jersey bans salary history inquiries. Employers cannot ask about an applicant's pay history or screen, determine compensation and benefits, or refuse to hire an applicant because of their pay history.

New Mexico

January 1, 2020

• New Mexico increases minimum wage. The state's minimum wage increases to $9.00 per hour.
• Albuquerque increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $9.35 per hour.  The minimum wage increases to $8.35 per hour for employers that provide employees with healthcare and/or childcare benefits of at least $2,500 per employee per year.

New York

October 8, 2019

• New York expands equal pay requirements. The law is expanded to cover all protected classes from pay discrimination under the state's Human Rights Law. This means that employers cannot pay an employee in a protected class less than an employee outside that protected class for equal work.
• New York expands nondiscrimination rules. Employers are prohibited from requiring an individual to forego wearing religious attire, clothing, or facial hair. For example, an employer cannot refuse to hire or promote an employee because they wear a beard for religious reasons.

October 11, 2019

• New York amends harassment and discrimination rules. Harassment based on any characteristic protected under the New York Human Rights Law is prohibited and non-employees (such as interns and independent contractors) are protected from discrimination.

October 30, 2019

• Westchester County requires domestic violence leave. Employers must provide up to 40 days of paid time off per year to employees who are victims of domestic violence or human trafficking.

November 18, 2019

• New York expands protections for domestic violence victims. Employers cannot refuse to hire, terminate, or discriminate in any terms and conditions of employment because of an individual's status as a domestic violence victim. Victims are also entitled to a reasonable amount of time off from work.

December 31, 2019

• New York increases minimum wage. The state's minimum wage increases as follows:
• New York increases salary requirement for overtime exemptions. The state's minimum weekly salary requirement for the administrative and executive exemptions increases as follows:

Ohio

January 1, 2020

• Ohio increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $8.70 per hour.

Oregon

January 1, 2020

• Oregon requires notification of employment authorization inspections. Employers must notify employees of an upcoming inspection from a federal agency that requires the employer to provide access to employees' employment verification records.
• Oregon requires reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers. Employers with six or more employees must provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, or other related medical conditions to applicants and employees. Employers must also post notices informing employees of their rights under the law.

South Dakota

January 1, 2020

• South Dakota increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $9.30 per hour.

Vermont

January 1, 2020

• Vermont increases minimum wage. The minimum wage increases to $10.96 per hour.

Virginia

January 1, 2020

• Virginia expands wage statement requirements. Employers must provide employees with a written statement each payday that includes certain information. The statement may be in the form of a paystub or online accounting.

Washington

January 1, 2020

16.         Washington increases minimum wage. The state's minimum wage increases to $13.50 per hour.

17.         Seattle increases minimum wage. Employers with 500 or fewer employees must pay non-exempt employees at least $15.75 per hour. These employers can meet this requirement by paying no less than $13.50 per hour in wages and contributing at least $2.25 per hour to an employee's medical benefits and/or reported tips.

18.         Washington requires harassment policy and training. Hotels and motels with 60 or more rooms must adopt a sexual harassment policy, provide mandatory training to managers, supervisors, and employees, and provide a panic button to each employee.

19.         Washington requires employers to provide time off under the state's family and medical leave insurance program. Employers must provide eligible employees with paid family and medical leave. The program is funded via payroll deductions, which began in January 2019. Employers with 50 or more employees are responsible for 37% of the total contribution and employees are responsible for 63%. Employers with less than 50 employees are not required to pay the employer portion of the premium. However, small employers that choose to pay the employer contribution are eligible for state grants.

20.         Seattle requires commuter benefits. Employers with 20 or more employees must offer employees the opportunity to use pre-tax income to purchase qualified commuter benefits.