Over the past several years, California has gradually increased the state’s minimum wage rate, resulting in the most recent increase, effective January 1, 2023, to $15.50 per hour for all employers. This minimum wage rate applies to all employees, subject to a few limited exceptions. This increase also affects the minimum annual salary requirement for exempt employees. Under California law, exempt employees must be paid a threshold annual salary of two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment. Accordingly, effective January 1, 2023, the minimum salary for otherwise exempt employees increased to $64,480.00 a year.…

Continue Reading California Minimum Wage Requirements Effective January 1, 2023

On January 5, 2023, in an announcement that could have sweeping implications for employers across the country, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a new rule that would ban employers from imposing noncompete clauses on their workers and invalidate all existing noncompetes currently in effect. The proposed rule would apply to independent contractors and anyone else working for an employer, whether paid or unpaid. The proposed rule would also require employers to rescind existing noncompetes and actively inform workers that these restrictions are no longer in effect.…

Continue Reading FTC Proposes National Ban on Noncompete Clauses

Employers who utilize the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) standard mileage reimbursement rates should be aware that the IRS has updated its standard mileage rates, effective January 1, 2023. This update includes three types of rates, including the business use rate, which is now 65.5 cents per mile driven. This rate represents an increase of…

Last fall, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new pay transparency law effective January 1, 2023. A description of the law can be found here. This new law includes reporting requirements for employers with 100 or more employees and, for employers with 15 or more employees, requires pay scale disclosures to be provided in…

In November 2022, the Los Angeles City Council passed the Fair Work Week Ordinance, which requires retail businesses in Los Angeles with 300 employees or more to follow certain scheduling restrictions. The ordinance applies to businesses in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) within the retail trade categories and subcategories 44 through 45. It covers employees who work at least two hours per workweek within the city of Los Angeles and are entitled to minimum wage under California law.…

Continue Reading Los Angeles Fair Work Week Ordinance Imposes New Wage and Hour Requirements for Certain Retail Businesses

On November 8, 2022, voters in Washington, D.C., overwhelmingly passed Initiative 82, the “District of Columbia Tip Credit Elimination Act of 2021,” which will phase out the tipped mandatory base wage by 2027. Notably, a very similar initiative was passed in 2018 by the Council of the District of Columbia but was ultimately repealed.…

In October 2022, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled that an individual cannot face personal liability as an “employer” under the Virginia Wage Payment Act (VWPA). The decision both clarifies Virginia law and serves as an important reminder for employers (and their managers and supervisors) that many states can impose personal liability on individuals for wage-and-hour claims.…

Continue Reading Personal Liability for Wage Claims? Virginia Says ‘No,’ but Other States Say ‘Yes’