Countdown To 2020: Five Hot Compliance Tips To Keep HR Professionals Out Of Hot Water

It is time to make sure you are ready for 2020 (and beyond). Here are five (5) hot HR compliance issues you should be tracking and implementing:

New Salary Thresholds for Exempt Employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act Effective January 1, 2020, the standard minimum salary levels for exempt executive, administrative and professional employees will increase from the current $455 per week to $684 per week (which equates to $35,568 annually). The minimum annual salary for the highly compensated employee exemption is increasing from the current $100,000 to $107,432. The exemption for certain computer employees remains $27.63 per hour if the employee is paid on an hourly basis.

Employers may satisfy up to 10% of the standard salary levels by paying nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) at least annually. There also is a special catch-up provision that allows employees to make a catch-up payment up to 10% of the minimum standard salary level within one pay period following the end of the 52-week period.

HR professionals must identify impacted employees and make any necessary adjustments, effective no later than January 1, 2020, if they choose to retain the employee's exempt status. HR professionals also must keep in mind that some states have higher salary thresholds and/or different tests for exempt employees.

Salary History Bans More and more states, counties and cities are enacting bans to prohibit employers from demanding an applicant's wage history, at least as part of the initial application process, and/or from retaliating against applicants who refuse to provide wage history. Indeed, Illinois and Alabama enacted laws effective September 2019 and New York and New Jersey have laws going into effect in January 2020.

Specific prohibitions vary depending on the particular law or ordinance. Keeping this in mind, as well as the growing trend to limit employers' inquiries on wage history, HR professionals should review their applications, interview protocols, recruiter guidelines, and reference check practices to ensure that their companies are complying with applicable laws and ordinances.

Independent Contractor Status Determining who is properly classified as an independent contractor versus an employee never has been easy. There is a multitude of different federal and state tests, and these tests continue to evolve. For example, earlier this year the National Relations Relations Board established an...

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