Leisure and Medical Marijuana
In November 2022, Missourians voted to amend the Missouri Structure by legalizing leisure marijuana and modifying the prevailing medical marijuana legislation. The modification, which went into impact December 8, 2022, doesn’t present any employment rights to customers of leisure marijuana. Missouri employers can nonetheless prohibit and take an hostile employment motion on the idea of leisure marijuana.
Nevertheless, employers are actually prohibited from discriminating in opposition to an worker with a medical marijuana card as a result of she or he:
- possesses a medical marijuana card;
- lawfully makes use of marijuana off the employer’s premises throughout nonworking hours; or
- checks constructive for marijuana, until the worker used, possessed, or was beneath the affect of marijuana whereas working.
The prohibitions in opposition to discrimination don’t apply if compliance would trigger the employer to lose a financial or licensing-related profit beneath federal legislation. The prohibitions additionally don’t apply to positions wherein the authorized use of marijuana impacts the power to carry out job-related employment obligations, impacts the protection of others, or conflicts with a bona fide occupational qualification that’s moderately associated to the individual’s employment.
Employers can proceed to ban workers from working beneath the affect of marijuana and utilizing or possessing marijuana on the employer’s property or throughout work hours. Employers also can proceed to drug-test workers for marijuana, however they need to accomplish that with warning in order to not violate the adjustments associated to medical marijuana. Missouri employers ought to evaluate and doubtlessly revise their drug-testing insurance policies and practices to adjust to the brand new legislation.
Missouri Minimal Wage
For the fifth yr in a row, Missouri begins the brand new yr with a brand new minimal wage. Efficient January 1, 2023, the minimal wage will increase to $12, up from $11.15 in 2022. The Missouri Division of Labor and Industrial Relations’ new minimal wage poster is obtainable right here.
Illinois
In contrast to Missouri, it was a busy yr in Illinois with respect to new laws and amendments to present legal guidelines affecting worker rights and employer obligations. As defined under, Illinois employers ought to plan to revise and amend employment insurance policies relating to bereavement, relaxation and meal breaks, and EEO/anti-discrimination. Chicago-based employers even have expanded sexual harassment coverage and coaching necessities in 2023.
Household Bereavement Depart Act
Efficient January 1, 2023, the Little one Bereavement Depart Act turns into the Household Bereavement Depart Act and expands the circumstances beneath which an worker can take bereavement depart. Now, an worker might use as much as 10 workdays to attend the funeral, or various to a funeral, of a coated member of the family, to make preparations necessitated by the loss of life of a coated member of the family or to grieve the loss of life of a coated member of the family. Coated relations embody kids, stepchildren, spouses, home companions, siblings, dad and mom, parents-in-law, grandchildren, and grandparents and stepparents.
Bereavement depart may additionally be used for a miscarriage or being pregnant loss, an unsuccessful spherical of in vitro fertilization or a failed assisted reproductive expertise process, a failed adoption match or an adoption that isn’t finalized as a result of it’s contested by one other get together, a failed surrogacy settlement, a prognosis that negatively impacts being pregnant or fertility, or stillbirth. Importantly, employers that require workers to offer cheap documentation supporting the necessity for bereavement depart for a fertility, being pregnant or adoption-related cause should use the shape supplied by the Illinois Division of Labor, which may be discovered right here. In requesting cheap documentation, employers can not require workers to determine which class of occasion the depart suits.
As earlier than, bereavement depart should be taken inside 60 days after the date on which the worker receives discover of the qualifying occasion.
Crown Act
Efficient January 1, 2023, the Create a Respectful and Open Office for Pure Hair (CROWN) Act (SB 3616) amends the definition of “race” beneath the Illinois Human Rights Act. Particularly, the modification identifies that illegal discrimination on the idea of race consists of discrimination on the idea of traits related to race, together with hair texture and protecting hairstyles reminiscent of braids, locks, and twists.
One Day Relaxation in Seven Act and Meal Breaks
On Might 13, 2022, the One Day Relaxation in Seven Act was amended to require that employers give non-exempt workers 24 hours of relaxation in every consecutive seven-day interval starting January 1, 2023. But, whereas the Illinois Administrative Code offers that workers can voluntarily conform to work on the seventh day of the week, we advocate that the voluntary settlement to work the seventh day be clearly documented and signed by the worker. Employers also can request permits from the Illinois Division of Labor authorizing the employer to require workers to work on designated days of relaxation primarily based on enterprise necessity and financial viability.
The amendments additionally have an effect on meal break necessities. At present, employers should present non-exempt workers who work a 7.5-hour shift with a 20-minute meal break that happens no later than 5 hours after the beginning of the shift. Starting January 1, employers should present one other 20-minute meal break for every further 4.5-hour interval an worker works. In different phrases, an worker should be scheduled to work 15 hours to be eligible for a second meal interval.
The modification elevated penalties for violations as much as $500 per offense for employers with 25 or extra workers, and damages should be paid to affected workers with that very same greenback quantity ceiling per offense. Be aware, although, that workers should deliver any claims with the Illinois Division of Labor; they don’t have a proper to make a declare of a violation in courtroom.
Lastly, employers should additionally show the “Your Rights Beneath Illinois Employment Legal guidelines” poster with these amendments at the beginning of the brand new yr.
Pay Information Reporting
Starting January 1, 2023, personal employers with 100 or extra workers should adjust to particular pay knowledge reporting necessities. Particularly, employers should submit an announcement of equal pay compliance, their EEO-1, a listing of workers with their complete wages, and a $150 utility payment to the Illinois Division of Labor (IL DOL). Employers should get hold of an equal pay registration certificates by March 24, 2024.
On January 24, 2022, the IL DOL introduced it will talk straight with coated companies when it’s time for them to use for the certificates. In response to IDOL, every coated enterprise will obtain a minimum of 120 days’ advance discover of their deadline. As a result of the IL DOL is randomly choosing coated companies to which it sends notices, some might not obtain their discover of their assigned registration date till late 2023 to satisfy the ultimate deadline in March 2024.
Any employer that may be a coated enterprise ought to, if it has not already, register with the IL DOL by offering the contact info of key personnel members to make sure that future communications and notices will probably be obtained. The IL DOL is requesting the names and e mail addresses of three key enterprise personnel from each coated enterprise.
You will discover extra info relating to the necessities for the Equal Pay Compliance Assertion right here.
Chicago Sexual Harassment Coaching
In mid-2022, the Chicago Metropolis Council adopted an ordinance including a number of sexual harassment prevention necessities for employers together with written coverage, discover, coaching and recordkeeping necessities.
Efficient July 1, 2022, all employers in Chicago will need to have a written coverage prohibiting sexual harassment that features:
- A press release that sexual harassment is illegitimate within the metropolis of Chicago;
- The next definition of sexual harassment: “any (i) unwelcome sexual advances or unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature; or (ii) requests for sexual favors or conduct of a sexual nature when (1) submission to such conduct is made both explicitly or implicitly a time period or situation of a person’s employment, or (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by a person is used as the idea for any employment determination affecting the person, or (3) such conduct has the aim or impact of considerably interfering with a person’s work efficiency or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working setting; or (iii) sexual misconduct, which implies any habits of a sexual nature which additionally entails coercion, abuse of authority, or misuse of a person’s employment place”;
- A requirement that every one workers take part in anti-sexual harassment prevention coaching yearly;
- Examples of prohibited conduct that constitutes sexual harassment;
- Particulars on how an worker can report an allegation of sexual harassment, together with, as acceptable, directions on learn how to make a confidential report, with an inner criticism type, to a supervisor, employer’s company headquarters or human assets division, or different inner reporting mechanism;
- Info on authorized providers, together with governmental businesses, which might be accessible to workers who could also be victims of sexual harassment; and
- A press release that retaliation for reporting sexual harassment is illegitimate within the metropolis of Chicago.
The written coverage should be made accessible within the worker’s main language inside the first calendar week of their employment.
Moreover, Chicago employers will need to have their workers take part within the following trainings yearly:
- One hour of sexual harassment prevention coaching for all workers;
- two hours of anti-sexual harassment prevention coaching for all supervisors/managers; and
- one hour of bystander coaching for all workers. Bystander intervention coaching teaches methods on how onlookers can contain themselves straight and not directly in harassment incidents to assist these being focused.
Chicago employers additionally should retain written data of the insurance policies and trainings given to every worker, in addition to different data needed to point out compliance with the ordinance. The data should be retained for a minimum of 5 years or all through any declare, civil motion, or investigation pending pursuant to the ordinance, whichever is longer.
Lastly, Chicago employers should conspicuously show, in a minimum of one location the place workers generally collect, posters designed by the Chicago Fee on Human Rights discussing prohibitions on sexual harassment. Employers should show a minimum of one poster in English and one in Spanish. The posters may be discovered right here.
You probably have questions or want to talk about any of the problems outlined right here, please contact an legal professional in Greensfelder’s Employment & Labor Observe Group.
Learn our recap and forecast of federal employment legislation adjustments right here.
