Oregon has three separate minimum wages that vary based on work location and inflation (as applicable), which are labeled Portland Metro, Standard, and Nonurban. The Standard minimum wage is applicable to the counties of Benton, Clatsop, Columbia, Deschutes, Hood River, Jackson, Josephine, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Polk, Tillamook, Wasco, Yamhill, and parts of Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington outside the urban growth boundary. The Standard minimum wage is $14.20 per hour between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. It will be adjusted annually, effective July 1, based on the increase, if any, to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the US City Average.
Continue Reading Oregon Slated To Increase Minimum Wage Effective July 1, 2024Alaska’s Minimum Wage Increases on January 1, 2024
Alaska’s minimum wage will increase to $11.73 per hour, effective January 1, 2024, from the current minimum wage of $10.85 per hour. This represents an increase of $0.88, or approximately 8.1%. Minimum salaries for certain exempt employees will also rise on January 1, 2024. These employees are required to maintain a salary equivalent to two times the minimum wage for the first 40 hours they work. Consequently, the minimum salary for such workers will increase to $938.40 per week, or $48,796.80 per year, from the current minimum of $868.00 per week, or $45,136.00 per year.
As 2024 approaches, Alaska employers should be prepared to address this update as of January 1, 2024.
New Paid Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Laws in Washington State Effective January 1
Multiple new laws will take effect in Washington state beginning January 2024, bringing changes to the state’s minimum wage laws and adding requirements under the state’s Paid Sick Leave Law.
The state minimum wage will increase to $16.28 per hour, a 3.4% increase over last year’s minimum wage, and more than double the federal minimum wage, which continues to sit at $7.25. The new minimum wage rate will apply to workers who are 16 years old and older. Employees who are 14 or 15 years old may be paid $13.84 per hour.
Read the full Update here.
2024 Colorado Minimum Wage Rate Increase
Colorado’s state minimum wage will increase to $14.42 per hour beginning January 1, 2024. However, Colorado employers should be aware that municipalities within Colorado will also be increasing their minimum wage above the state’s minimum wage. If a municipality provides a higher minimum wage rate than the state, the employer must pay the higher rate.
The following localities will be increasing their minimum wage.
City/County | Applies to | Minimum Wage Rate Per Hour | Effective Date |
Boulder County | All employees within the unincorporated parts of Boulder County. Does not include the city of Boulder. | $15.69 | 1/1/2024 |
Denver | All employees. | $18.29 | 1/1/2024 |
Edgewater | All employees. | $15.02 | 1/1/2024 |
NLRB and OSHA’s New MOU Will Increase Interagency Cooperation and Coordination
The National Labor Relations Board and Occupational Safety and Health Administration executed a Memorandum of Understanding on October 31, 2023, that will help facilitate interagency coordination and cooperation. The goal of this partnership is to strengthen health and safety protections for workers.
The MOU sets forth a process for information sharing, training, and outreach between the NLRB and OSHA, much like other MOUs into which the NLRB has entered with other agencies, including the Department of Law’s Wage and Hour Division and the Office of Labor Management Standards.
Read the full Update here.
Chicago Passes Sweeping Paid Leave Ordinance
The city of Chicago approved the Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance on November 9, 2023, providing all employees working in the city with up to five annual days of paid leave that can be used for any purpose and five annual days of paid sick leave that can be used for specified purposes.
The ordinance, which takes effect on December 31, 2023, significantly expands paid leave requirements for Chicago employers and includes some of the harshest penalties in the country for violations of paid leave provisions.
Read the full Update here.
Arizona Court of Appeals Reinstates Retaliatory Discharge Claim Under Fair Wages and Healthy Family Act
The Arizona Court of Appeals recently held in Papias v. Parker Fasteners LLC that a discharged employee could proceed with his retaliation claim against his former employer. The employee alleged that he had been terminated when he attempted to use earned paid sick time under Arizona’s Fair Wage and Healthy Family Act.
Read the full Update here.
Arizona District Court Finds Denial of Temporary Telework Not an Adverse Employment Action
Recently, in Matthews v. City of Tempe, 2023 WL 6880652, the Arizona Federal District Court considered whether an employer discriminated against a former employee when it denied him an opportunity to telecommute on certain days but allowed female employees to take advantage of remote work.
Read the full Update here.
Connecticut Expands Sick and Safe Leave
Connecticut Paid Sick and Safe Leave was expanded to add two additional permitted uses, effective October 1, 2023. Connecticut Paid Sick and Safe Leave originally went into effect in 2012. The law allows covered employees to accrue one hour of paid sick and safe leave for every 40 hours worked and accrue up to 40 hours per year. Covered employees may also carry over up to 40 hours of paid sick and safe leave from one year to the next, subject to a usage cap of 40 hours. However, unlike other mandatory paid sick and safe leave laws, the Connecticut law has narrow application.
Read the full Update here.
California Raises Minimum Wage for Healthcare Workers Effective June 1, 2024
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 525, which provides a tiered approach for minimum wages for the state’s healthcare workers. The law sets forth detailed descriptions of which types of healthcare facilities are covered and which employees are covered by the law. Covered employees include “an employee of a health care facility employer who provides patient care, health care services, or services supporting the provision of health care, which includes, but is not limited to, employees performing work in the occupation of a nurse, physician, caregiver, medical resident, intern or fellow, patient care technician, janitor, housekeeping staff person, groundskeeper, guard, clerical worker, nonmanagerial administrative worker, food service worker, gift shop worker, technical and ancillary services worker, medical coding and medical billing personnel, scheduler, call center and warehouse worker, and laundry worker, regardless of formal job title.” The law may also apply to contracted or subcontracted employees if (1) the employee’s employer contracts with the healthcare facility employer, or with a contractor or subcontractor to the healthcare facility employer, to provide healthcare services, or services supporting the provision of healthcare and (2) the healthcare facility employer directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other person, exercises control over the employee’s wages, hours, or working conditions. There are also some defined exclusions from the law; for example, individuals who perform delivery or waste collection work on the premises of a covered healthcare facility or medical transportation services in or out of a covered healthcare facility are excluded, provided that the worker is not an employee of any person that owns, controls, or operates a covered healthcare facility.
Continue Reading California Raises Minimum Wage for Healthcare Workers Effective June 1, 2024