5 Employment Law Predictions for 2024

In 2023, legislation prohibiting non-compete agreements, specific restrictive covenants, and authorizing individuals to pursue civil action against employers or persons alleged to have violated a non-compete ban was vetoed by New York’s Governor. In 2024, New York may be expected to align the law into a form that Governor Hochul will sign. It is anticipated that other states will introduce similar legislation. On a national level, the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) proposed rule is awaiting a final vote. If approved, it would institute a comprehensive nationwide ban on non-compete agreements, with the final vote scheduled for April 2024, at the earliest.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its Final Rule establishing a new standard under the National Labor Relations Act for determining whether two employers are “joint employers.” The effective date for this new rule has been extended to February 26, 2024. There has already been opposition to this rule from the US Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of businesses who filed a lawsuit against the NLRB.  The lawsuit alleges the joint employer rule is statutorily unauthorized and arbitrary and capricious. It is expected there will be continued opposition to this new standard throughout 2024.

As with past years, it’s expected that additional state and local jurisdictions will continue to pass paid leave laws in 2024. For example, in late 2023, Illinois and Minnesota passed state-wide paid leave laws. This left local jurisdictions scrambling to amend their existing ordinances to align with the new state requirements which became effective on January 1, 2024.  As minor differences remain in local and state laws, employers should understand the requirements at both levels to ensure compliance in these two states.

The Department of Labor is again proposing to raise the exempt salary threshold level. During GovDocs’ 2023 Employment Law Trends webinar, the speakers did not expect this to have broad implications for larger employers, but Kevin Mosher, partner with Thompson Coe, indicated it was likely to affect retail and hospitality the most where shift managers may be earning less than $55,000. In these situations, employers should understand they do not necessarily need to raise salaries, but if they don’t do so, any exempt employee making less than the new threshold level would then be eligible for and need to be paid overtime. Again, this is if the proposed rule passes. Employers are advised to monitor potential changes and their impact on overtime eligibility.