State & Local Employment Law Developments: Q1 2023

California

Vehicle Tracking Devices: Effective January 1, 2023, the California Department of Motor Vehicles is authorized to permit alternatives to stickers and license plates as vehicle tracking devices, but employers are prohibited from using alternative devices to monitor employees unless during work hours and only if strictly necessary for the employees to perform their duties.

Overtime Exempt Pay for Computer Professionals, Physicians and Surgeons: Beginning January 1, 2023, the minimum hourly rate of pay increases for overtime-exempt computer professionals, physicians and surgeons that are paid hourly.

In addition, please see our previous, California-specific update for information on the following laws or amendments that have taken effect in 2023:

• Expansion of Leave to include “Designated Person” and additional family members
• Bereavement Leave
• New pay transparency requirements
• Notice required for Call Center relocations or mass layoffs
• Expansion of Human Trafficking Notice requirements and liability
• Occupational Safety at live events
• Employee protections during emergency conditions

Berkeley

Fair Workweek: Effective January 1, 2023, the Berkeley Fair Workweek Ordinance Requires covered employers in Berkeley to provide certain entitlements to employees subject to collective bargaining agreements (CBA), including advance notice of schedule changes, rest between shifts and the right to request flexible arrangements.

San Francisco

Paid Sick Leave: Effective February 12, 2023, the Domestic Workers’ Equal Access to Paid Sick Leave Ordinance establishes a portable paid sick leave system where domestic workers can earn and consolidate paid sick leave benefits from multiple employers.

Supplemental Military Leave: Effective February 19, 2023, the Military Leave Pay Protection Act requires employers with more at least 100 workers worldwide to supplement the pay of employees during military leave for up to 30 calendar days in a year.

Colorado

Paid Sick Leave: Effective January 1, 2023, amendments to the Wage Protection Rules implementing the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) provide clarifications on HFWA pay calculations.

Paid Family and Medical Leave Premium Withholdings: Beginning January 1, 2023, under the Colorado Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML), covered employers are required to remit a specific premium contribution of 0.9% of every covered employee’s wage up to the Social Security taxable wage base.

Denver

Wage Theft Transparency: Effective January 10, 2023, this Denver ordinance permits employees to file a wage theft complaint with the Denver auditor or in a private suit, in addition to the ability to file a complaint under the Colorado Wage Theft Transparency Act. Under the new ordinance, employers have posting, recordkeeping and anti-retaliation requirements.

Illinois

Kin Care Leave: Effective January 1, 2023, an amendment to the Employee Sick Leave Act (ESLA) clarifies that the rights afforded under the ESLA serve as the minimum standard in a negotiated collective bargaining agreement.

Paid Leave for Any Reason: On March 13, 2023, the Governor signed into law a bill requiring employers to provide paid leave that employees may use for any reason beginning January 1, 2024. Please refer to our prior update.

Additional laws addressing bereavement leave, meal break/day of rest and hairstyle discrimination went into effect on January 1, 2023. More information about these laws is available in previous quarterly updates.

Louisiana

Worker Classification Amnesty Program: Effective January 1, 2023, any employer that has been misclassifying workers as independent contractors can apply to the Louisiana Fresh Start Proper Worker Classification Initiative, which permits employers to reclassify workers as employees without liability for previous misclassification. The application for this program is open through December 31, 2023. 

Maine

Final Pay Law: Maine’s Final Pay Law is amended to require employers with 11 or more employees to pay terminated employees all unused, paid vacation accrued at time of termination pursuant to the employer's vacation policy on and after January 1, 2023. The amendment also expands employer liability to include all accrued vacation pay owed when employment ends, plus interest, double the unpaid wages and the accrued vacation pay as liquidated damages.

Massachusetts

Repeal of Retail Worker Premium Pay Requirements: Effective January 1, 2023, employers are no longer required to provide premium pay to Massachusetts retail employees for working on Sundays and certain holidays.

Paid Family and Medical Leave Contribution Rates: Effective January 1, 2023, Paid Family and Medical Leave contribution rates decrease.

Minnesota

St. Paul

Earned Sick and Safe Time: Amendments to the Earned Sick and Safe Time Ordinance became effective on February 24, 2023. This specifies that employers must allow accrual and use of sick and safe time for employees working within the geographic boundaries of St. Paul. The amendments also expand anti-retaliation provisions and the statute of limitations, update definitions and time accrual methods, and require that employers notify employees of an investigation.

New Jersey

New Jersey WARN Act: Amendments to the New Jersey WARN Act become effective April 10, 2023, after a multi-year delay due to COVID-19. The amended New Jersey WARN Act imposes significant additional requirements for employers, including mandatory notice and severance if a layoff impacts 50 or more employees in New Jersey. Please see our LaborSphere blog about the amended New Jersey WARN Act for additional information.

New York

New York Pay Transparency Law: The New York State Pay Transparency Law has been amended to broaden the scope of covered positions to include those “that will physically be performed outside of New York but report[] to a supervisor, office, or other work site in New York” and reduce employer recordkeeping requirements. The effective date for the law remains September 17, 2023. Please see our LaborSphere blog about the Pay Transparency Law for additional information.

Warehouse Protections: Effective February 19, 2023, the Warehouse Worker Protection Act (WWPA) imposes specific transparency requirements regarding quotas for production and employees stationed at warehouse distribution centers.

Lawful Absence Retaliation Protections: Effective February 19, 2023, New York’s labor law is amended to specify that employers are prohibited from punishing workers for taking lawful absences.

NY HERO Act Amendment: Effective March 3, 2023, the New York Health and Essential Rights (NY HERO) Act requires covered employers to recognize a workplace safety committee within 15 days of establishment.

New York City

Automated Employment Decision Tools: New York City in 2021 passed Local Law 144, which regulates the use of “automated employment decision tools.” It was to go into effect January 1, 2023, but the agency that is to enforce the law, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), was unable to issue its regulations before that date, and so in December the Department announced that the law would not be enforced until April 15, 2023, and released its revised draft regulations, with public comment invited in January. At present, there are still no regulations. The Department posts the following at its website:

February 2023 Update: DCWP is currently reviewing the substantial volume of thoughtful comments that it received about the rules for Local Law 144 of 2021 (automated employment decision tools). We plan to finalize our rule and begin enforcement in the coming months.

The statement that the DCWP will “begin enforcement in the coming months” suggests that the April 15 deadline no longer exists, and there is currently no fixed deadline. 

Albany County

Pay Transparency: Effective February 12, 2023, employers with four or more employees must include the minimum and maximum salary or hourly wage in all advertisements for jobs (excluding temporary employment at temporary staffing firms).

New Hampshire

Voluntary Paid Family and Medical Leave: Effective January 1, 2023, wage replacement benefits are payable under New Hampshire’s voluntary Paid Family and Medical Leave Plan.

Oregon

Agricultural Employees Overtime: Nonexempt agricultural workers must be paid one and one-half their regular rate of pay for every hour worked overtime, which takes effect January 1, 2023.

Sick Time Law: Effective January 1, 2023, the Oregon Sick Time Law (OSTL) is amended to provide that certain multiemployer-employee trust or benefit plans satisfy an employer’s obligations to provide sick time.  

Employer Size for Paid Family and Medical Leave Law: Effective March 16, 2023, Oregon has amended employer size calculations for its Paid Family and Medical leave law, with the determination based on average number of employees over 12 months.

Pennsylvania

Discrimination: Effective February 22, 2023, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act redefined religious creed, sex and race under the Human Relations Act. The revised definition of sex expands protections for pregnancy and for LGBTQIA+ individuals. The revised definition of race expands protections to include certain ethnic characteristics such as hairstyle. The revised definition of religious creed clarifies an employer’s duty to provide reasonable accommodation.

Philadelphia

Reproductive Health Autonomy: Effective January 16, 2023, Philadelphia’s Fair Practices Ordinance was amended to prohibit discrimination based on reproductive health autonomy, which includes the use or intent to use certain medicine, devices, medical services or procedures, practices or interventions related to the reproductive system.

Paid Sick Leave: Effective February 28, 2023, Philadelphia’s Promoting Healthy Families and Workplace Ordinance (PHFWO) is amended to require electronic notification of employee rights if employees do not work at an onsite location and to address interference with leave benefits.

Rhode Island

Caregiver Leave: Effective January 1, 2023, the number of weeks available for paid temporary caregiver leave increases to six weeks (from five) in a benefit year.

Pay Equity Law: Effective January 1, 2023, Rhode Island’s Pay Equity Law broadens pay discrimination protections beyond sex to include race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age and national origin.

Washington

Noncompetition Enforceability: Effective January 1, 2023, the amount of minimum earnings for a non-competition agreement to be enforceable for employees increased to $116,593.18 for employees and $291,482.95 for independent contractors.

Seattle

Discrimination: Effective March 25, 2023, Seattle’s antidiscrimination ordinance was amended to prohibit discrimination on the basis of a person’s caste, which is defined within the ordinance.

Samantha L. Barnfather contributed to this article.