General Counsel of LandrumHR provided insights on what legal changes employers can expect in 2020.

2020 HR Law Preview by Amie Remington

by Amie Remington, Esq., on December 12, 2019
Amie Remington, General Counsel for LandrumHR, gives a few quick highlights of laws affecting HR that every employer will want to know about. She covers topics from wage and hour rule changes to LGBT rulings to marijuana in the workplace.


Hi, I'm Amie Remington, General Counsel for LandrumHR. Today we're going to talk about three things that will impact HR in 2020.
 
Wage and Hour Rule Changes
The first thing that's going to change HR in 2020 that all employers should be aware of is changes to the US Department of Labor's Wage and Hour rules. Specifically, the old rule said that if somebody was an exempt employee and made at least $455 a week, they could be considered exempt and not be paid overtime. That $455 per week threshold is increasing to $684 a week, which is about $35,000 a year. The duties portion of the Wage and Hour test will not change, so if somebody is professional, administrative, or executive by virtue of their duties, that will remain the same, but the salary amount will increase, so somebody must be paid at least $684 per week or about $35,000 a year to remain exempt.

LGBT Discrimination
The next thing that employers need to be aware of are some changes that might occur because of the United States Supreme Court decisions. Specifically, the Supreme Court is currently exploring whether LGBT rights will be considered protected as sex under title seven. Currently many of the circuits are split and the Supreme Court will resolve this question once and for all and give all employers in the United States a consistent answer.
 
Medical Marijuana
The third thing that employers need to watch in 2020 is the evolution of the laws regarding marijuana. Currently in the United States, there are about 33 states that allow medical marijuana in some form. There are about a dozen states that allow recreational and there are about a dozen that allow both. The problem is that the science hasn't really caught up with the legislation, so there's no way to test for impairment. Even if you could test for impairment, there is no way to distinguish whether somebody who is impaired has used medical marijuana or recreational marijuana. So the decision that each employer needs to make is a risk-based decision based on factors like insurance that you have, whether you have DOT drivers, and whether you're working with a fragile population.
 
If you'd like to learn more about various HR topics, please visit our blog.

 

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Amie Remington, Esq.

As General Counsel of LandrumHR, Amie advises on all business and employment-related legal issues. She is also a regular speaker at national and state-wide events, discussing all aspects of employment law that affect all employers, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the state counterparts to these laws. Before joining LandrumHR, Amie was a partner in the law firm of Bozeman, Jenkins & Matthews, P.A., where she represented employers, management and the State of Florida in all types of employment-related matters. At the firm, Amie focused on policy creation, prevention of discrimination and harassment and management education and training, as well as all aspects of employment litigation, including trial and appeal work.

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