The end of the year, that is. Although given the number of celebrity deaths in recent weeks, I think some people might be reading that headline a little more broadly. We are not making doomsday predictions, however.

Back in the fall, we started a list of employment laws that were going to go into effect in January 2017. We tried to get a jump start on the list as we knew how quickly the end of the year can creep up on you. How right we were as the Fall flew past and now we find ourselves just days away from the New Year without having updated the list.

Our first big update is to remind everyone that the FLSA salary test has been enjoined. The other big changes have to do with sick leave laws. The last few years have seen a lot of jurisdictions adopting sick leave laws. This year is no exception. The sick leave laws going into effect in January 2017 are as follows:

  1. Executive Order 13706 — Back in September, President Obama issued an Executive Order that applies to federal contracts entered into, sent out for bid, or renewed after 1/1/17. The EO requires that contractors provide up to a maximum of 56 hours paid sick leave per year. The DOL has issued guidance for the Final Rule, which can be found here.
  2. Morristown, New Jersey becomes the latest New Jersey municipality to have a paid sick leave law. The law goes into effect on 1/11/17 and requires employers with 10 or more employees to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave. Employers with less than 10 employees are not exempt from the law; they only have to provide 24 hours of sick leave.
  3. Vermont – The law applies to employers with 6 or more employees and goes into effect on 1/1/17. This law does have two phase-in provisions. For employers with less than 6 employees, the law will not be effective until 1/1/18. For other employers, in the first year, they must only provide up to 24 hours of sick leave. After the first year, employers must provide up to 40 hours of sick leave.
  4. Spokane, Washington – This law is also effective as of 1/1/17 and is similar to Morristown's law in that there are different requirements for employers with 10 or more employees and less than 10 employees. Employers with 10 or more employees must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave while employers with less than 10 employees must provide up to 24 hours of sick leave.

The laws will not only require a review of policies to insure that employees are being provided with sick leave, they also come with record keeping requirements and notice requirements. Employers with questions are encouraged to seek the advice of employment counsel.

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