Dear Valued Client,
Many of our clients are aware of their responsibilities under the “The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act” (USERRA), a federal law passed in 1994 that protects military service members and veterans from employment discrimination on the basis of their service, and allows them to regain their civilian jobs following a period of uniformed service.
While employers recognize their responsibility under USERRA, many employers neglect the needs of spouses of military members who may suffer when their spouse is relocated to a new position or new base. Military spouses have long faced employment barriers and hence higher rates of unemployment and underemployment. We endorse employers who establish and develop programs which recognize the needs of all military families through flexibility and retention of military spouses.
As the year closes, employers can recognize the commitment of our service members and their commitment to our country and that of their families, by establishing a program designed to assist all military families to retain and thrive in an employment experience that doesn’t change.
Happy Holidays,
As we head to year end, please keep in mind New Jersey is raising the minimum wage once again on 1/1/2025.
All 3 types of wage categories are being increased as follows:
In the ever-evolving landscape of U.S. labor laws and societal shifts, marijuana usage and its implications in the workplace stand “front and center.” As states continue to legalize or decriminalize cannabis, HR professionals and business leaders find themselves in uncharted territory.
Specific guidance on federal laws, postings, documentation, and employee expectations are issues our clients face every day when it comes to cannabis. We are ready to assist you in understanding policies and procedures and properly communicating those policies and procedures to your staff. As laws evolve, so should your organization – the issues surrounding legalization of cannabis have presented us with a myriad of concerns.
Many employers are now utilizing automated employment decision tools (“AEDTs’”) to make HR and employment decisions such as review of job applications, hiring, performance evaluations, retention, promotion, and termination. Employers should be cautious about using AEDTs for such traditional human resources tasks without attention to current and emerging laws and regulations that could create liability for an employer if their use of AI is improper. Without proper development, use and monitoring, AEDTs can be biased based on the data imputed, how an algorithm processes data or both. Such bias may have unintended consequences including legal implications which state and federal laws and regulations. While we recognize AI has significant value, we still believe Human Resources is called “Human Resources” for a reason – because there is a human element that is necessary and vital to all HR and employment decisions.
AI is rapidly emerging and if you need advice on its use at your workplace, don’t hesitate to email or call us as we stand ready to address all HR issues in these changing times.
As many of you know, we have closely followed the U.S. Department of Labor’s changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA). Recently, the DOL revised the annual salary-level threshold from $35,568 to $58,656, to be effective January 1, 2025 for white-collar exemptions to overtime requirements.
Additionally, effective July 1, 2024, the salary threshold will increase to $43,888. Employees making less than the salary-level threshold, such as hourly workers, can be eligible for overtime if they work enough hours.
Starting July 1, 2027, the department also will automatically increase the overtime threshold every three years.
To be exempt from overtime under the FLSA’s “white collar” executive, administrative and professional exemptions—the so-called white-collar exemptions—employees must be paid a salary of at least the threshold amount and meet certain duties tests. If they are paid less or do not meet the tests, they must be paid 1 1/2 times their regular hourly rate for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek.
SO forward thinking employers must decide whether to raise the salary of those employees who earn above the overtime threshold under the old standard, but below it under the new standard so they remain exempt. Employers that choose not to raise these employees’ salaries should be prepared to pay overtime to these employees when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek. Schedules for those employees whose salaries are not raised above the new threshold may need adjusting to limit overtime costs. Careful communication should be rolled out to explain why employees formerly categorized.
As always, please call us with any HR question!
We are often contacted by our clients that today’s employees seem disinterested and unenthusiastic, often lacking the “work ethic” that business owners and managers themselves possess and value. Many times our clients are quick to blame Gen Z’ers, but we have found a phenomenon in our post-pandemic workplace and that is today’s labor market as a whole (and not just those of Gen Z age) values time for themselves and their families and work flexibility more than how they work and how they progress. There is no better indication of this trend than the persistent shortage of workers. We will often assist client’s in employee searches at al levels, and our most consistent experience is the consistent “hit and miss” nature of our searches – sometimes a plethora of candidates and at other times we literally have none! Workers clearly want less benefits, more benefits and a nice place to work! So do I!
So what’s an employer to do?!?!? We are not sure we have the answer but foundational change is never easy to address. Our guidance in these situations is to stay grounded and understand – the employee seeking these transformational changes can still be your best employee and productive. Superior HR is always about meeting an employee where they are – today’s employee may not be “old school” in his or her approach to work, but today’s employee can still be a productive team member. If you ever want to discuss today’s employee or any employment issue, don’t hesitate to contact our offices.
As we head full steam in to the new year, we hope all of the Holiday parties landed everyone safe and sound and with out incident! Of course, if you experienced any problems, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
That said, we always start the year off with just some quick updates and nothing heavy:
So, on Jan. 1, the minimum wage increases by $1, bringing it to $15.13 per hour for most employees.
Additionally, wages will increase for:
If you are one of our public entity clients and have questions about the Police Licensing Program, please don’t hesitate to contact us privately. Happy and Healthy 2024!”