Webinar Recap: 2024 Employment Law Trends and 2025 Predictions

Last week, GovDocs was privileged to have Kevin Mosher, partner at Thompson Coe and founder of HRgenius, and Dan Prokott, partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP, join us in a webinar to discuss a recap of some 2024 employment law trends and to opine on their predictions for employment law in 2025. If you missed this riveting webinar, here are some of the highlights of what we discussed. 

Captive Audience Bans

Approximately twelve states have passed laws that are currently in effect or will be effective Jan. 1, 2025 prohibiting employers from holding mandatory meetings where the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the employer’s political (i.e., union) or religious positions. Many other states have pending legislation that will be decided in the upcoming year on this issue. 

Recently, the National Labor Relations Board has also issued a decision stating that an employer violates the National Labor Relations Act if they require employees to attend meetings where the employer expresses its views on unionization. Mosher stated he believes this decision will be quickly overturned under the Trump administration. Even if the NLRB decision is overturned, employers will still need to deal with states that have passed captive audience bans and pay attention to those states with pending legislation on this issue. 

AI in the Workplace

Artificial intelligence (AI) use is exploding in business. And employers are no exception. They are utilizing AI in many ways including using AI technology in talent acquisition, monitoring performance, and determining pay or promotions to name a few. Per Prokott, the biggest risk for employers in utilizing AI may be if the technology results in a disparate impact to employees. For example, if an AI technology used in classifying workers is utilized by many employers and is found to have a disparate impact on individuals based on a protected category, then any employer using this technology may be subject to litigation risk.  

Per Mosher, employers utilizing AI should consider having a policy in their employee handbooks from a liability and risk standpoint to provide the guardrails of how employees may use AI in the workplace.  

Both Prokott and Mosher agreed that employers need to be aware of how decisions are being made with the use of AI and employers should actively monitor and audit their usage of artificial intelligence in the workplace.  

2025 Predictions

It is expected that there will less regulation and oversight in employment law at the federal level under the Trump administration than what occurred under the Biden administration. It is possible some agencies managing oversight of employers under the existing employment laws will be reduced in the coming years which will result in less enforcement.  

With less oversight and regulation at the federal level, Prokott indicated that this may drive further activity at the state level,  and we may see an increase in legislation at the state and local level. 

FLSA Overtime Rule

After fighting tooth and nail to overturn the Obama increase, the first Trump administration passed half of the increase anticipated under the Obama administration. There was further activity under the Biden administration to increase the salary threshold for exempt employees under the 2024 Final Rule. One increase took effect on July 1, 2024 and raised the threshold to $844 per week.  

However, the 2024 Final Rule raising the exempt salary threshold level nationwide was vacated by a federal court in Texas in November 2024. As a result, both the July 1, 2024, and Jan. 1, 2025, increases are no longer in effect, nor will any future increase scheduled under the Final Rule take effect. The federal exempt salary threshold level reverts to the pre-2024 level of $35,568 annually ($684 per week).  

We might see an increase in the salary threshold level for exempt workers in the next four years at something less than the prior Jan. 1, 2025 increase per Mosher’s speculation although he stated it was unlikely we would see any change to the job duties under the FLSA exemption status.