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Millions of workers in the U.S. have some potentially big changes looming in 2020.
In California, some businesses may have to take a hard look at which workers count as full-time employees and who’s an independent contractor.
In Washington D.C., new parents will have paid time off to be with their newborn, and so will federal workers across the nation.
Meanwhile, millions of low-wage workers should be seeing wage increases for their regular shifts and a better chance of overtime pay for their extra work.
These are some of the workplace laws slated to go into effect in 2020.
This is a year that’s starting out with an extremely tight labor market. There’s decades-low unemployment in a workforce that exceeds 160 million people, and companies are hungry to attract and keep talented staffers.
But even while it’s a job-seekers market, many people aren’t seeing appreciation for their work in the form of a raise. An estimated half of all workers missed out on a raise in 2019 — and that’s actually an improvement over 2018.
Some of the new laws grapple with emerging trends: the growing “gig economy” and the spreading legalization of marijuana. Others are boosting pay as many workers live paycheck to paycheck.
Here’s a look at state and federal laws about to go into effect:
The minimum wage is going up in 22 states
Minimum wages are scheduled to increase in 22 states between late 2019 and the start of 2020, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
The wage increases will mean an extra $8.2 million for 6.8 million workers, the think tank said.
The changes range from Florida’s 10-cent adjustment for inflation to a $1.50 hourly pay bump in New Mexico and Washington.
Depending on the size of the wage increase, individual workers could earn between $150 and $1,700 more in 2020, the think tank researchers said.
The federal minimum wage remains $7.25 for workers. The federal minimum wage hasn’t increased since 2009.
More workers will be eligible for overtime pay
The feds are expanding rules allowing more people to get overtime pay.
Beginning in January, workers making up to $684 a week can get paid time-and-a-half pay for work over 40 hours. Before the rule change, workers became eligible for overtime pay if they made $455 or less.
Broadened rules will benefit an additional 1.3 million workers and generate $298.8 million in extra pay, the Labor Department says. A previous Obama administration proposal would have applied a higher ceiling, at $913 a week.
More workers are getting paid family leave
Last week, President Donald Trump signed a bill that would give federal workers 12 weeks of paid family leave — a measure his daughter, Ivanka, vocally supported. An estimated 2.1 million workers would receive the benefit, which goes into effect in October 2020.
Meanwhile, Washington will become the eighth state with a paid leave law in effect, according to the National Partnership for Women & Families, a nonprofit organization focused on gender and race equality in the workplace. Washington D.C.’s paid family and medical leave law will go live in July 2020, it noted.
Washington’s law offers a 12-week maximum of paid leave for bonding with a new baby or caring for a family member. Washington D.C.’s law offers eight weeks for parental leave, six for family care and two weeks for someone caring for their own serious medical condition.
The three measures nudge along access to paid family leave. More employers are offering the benefit, but it’s still uncommon in America. Last year, 17% of all civilian workers had paid leave, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
There will be debates over who counts as an ‘employee’
California is about to implement a law that makes it tougher for companies to deem someone an independent contractor instead of an employee.
The label has a significant meaning, because certain wage and leave laws only extend to “employees.”
As the gig economy grows — with rideshare companies like Uber UBER, +1.53% and Lyft LYFT, +3.54% for example — critics say workers aren’t getting fairly compensated under the “contractor” designation. (The companies dispute the argument and Uber officials have previously said almost half of their drivers drive less than 10 hours weekly.)
The law, known as Assembly Bill 5, says someone who offers labor or services in exchange for pay is an employee. That is, unless the hiring company shows three things: the person is “free from the control and direction” of the hiring company, they’re doing work that’s beyond the company’s usual scope of business and the person has a track record doing that type of work in the past.
Applying those paper rules to real life situations will be tricky, some observers say.
Some trade groups, such as those representing the trucking industry and freelance writers, are suing over the law ahead of its implementation. Uber, Lyft and other companies are planning for a November 2020 ballot measure that would exempt them from the law and create a whole new type of independent contractor designation.
If the law withstands the court challenges and ballot measures, Assembly Bill 5 could help usher in similar laws in other states, said Jay Jamrog, co-founder of the Institute for Corporate Productivity, a research organization with a range of blue chip companies as members.
“I would imagine legislatures would not be doing their jobs if they weren’t looking” at what was happening in California, Jamrog said.
A spokeswoman for a coalition of drivers, small businesses and community groups with funding from Uber, Lyft and DoorDash said all sorts of residents in the high-cost state use app-platforms for extra money. “The new law could take this flexibility away — potentially eliminating hundreds of thousands of work opportunities and forcing app-based workers into rigid employment schedules whether they prefer it or not,” she said. The ballot measure that the coalition is backing would give drivers earnings guarantees and certain benefits, she said.
Cannabis in the workplace is still up for debate
In January, Illinois becomes the 11th state to allow recreational adult marijuana use, and that has consequences for workplaces using heavy machinery and drug tests.
As the new laws take effect, there are also new protections for worker’s off-duty marijuana use, according to Littler Mendelson, a law firm representing employers. Despite the added protections, employers don’t have to tolerate workers who are under the influence of marijuana on the job. They can still discipline or fire the worker, the firm noted.
Striking the right balance might be tricky, if past lawsuits are any indication. In states like Arizona and New Jersey, other workers have sued saying they were wrongly fired because of their off-hours marijuana use. (Those cases applied to medical marijuana use.)
Big workplace changes may also come from the Supreme Court
While state and federal laws are changing the workplace, big changes may also come from U.S. Supreme Court in 2020.
The Supreme Court is considering a case that asks whether federal civil rights law protects someone for being fired because of their sexual orientation.
It’s already against the law to be fired because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The question is whether that statute also covers sexual orientation. Judges heard oral arguments in October.
More than 20 states already have anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation, said attorney Alice Jump of Reavis Page Jump, which represents workers and employers. A decision saying there’s no coverage could spur federal lawmakers to amend the 1964 act, she said.
A separate case could carry big implications for older workers who believe they’re the victims of age discrimination. Babb v. Wilkie focuses on the standard of proof that federal employees need to follow when they sue for age discrimination.
“The tension of older employees wanting to remain in the workforce and desire of employers to cost cut and bring in new blood is something that’s been going on for while. If the standard of proof is lower, it should increase claims. As the population ages, claims should increase anyway,” she said. Arguments in that case are scheduled for Jan. 15.
