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When the Ball Drops, So Do New Labor Laws
“The days are long but the years are short” – a sentiment that rings true whether you’re raising kids or practicing employment law. This year had it all: scandals, war, a presidential election . . . and because we’re employment attorneys, we won’t touch on any of that. But you know what we will talk about? Holiday cheer, of course. that’s what. Yes, it’s cold, and yes, you’ll probably write “24” instead of “25” for at least two weeks, but hey, it’s the holidays! Basketball, football, and Hanukkah were on Christmas Day. Oh, and did we mention all those statutory changes going into effect when the ball drops?
For the uninitiated, there’s always a flurry of labor and employment law updates that take effect as the clock strikes midnight. So in this edition, we’re doing a rapid-fire rundown of the changes you should definitely have on your radar. And like any good employment attorney, we wish you all a very happy holiday season ; )
Let’s dive in!
Increases to Wage and Hour Laws
For as long as I can remember, you could always count on two things heading into January: the Jets being eliminated from the playoff picture, and changes to local minimum wage and overtime laws. Here’s what to expect in 2025 for New York and New Jersey:
- New Jersey
- Minimum wage will go up by $0.36, increasing it to $15.49 per hour for most employees.
- Tip credit will increase to a maximum of $9.87
- New York
- Minimum wage will be $16.50 for New York City, Westchester, and Long Island, and $15.50 for the rest of the state.
- The tip credit for service employees will also increase $0.10 from $2.65 to $2.75 per hour for NYC, Westchester and Long Island, and to $2.60 per hour for the rest of the state.
- The salary threshold for overtime exemption will increase to $64,350 annually ($1,237.50 weekly) for NYC, Westchester, and Long Island, and $60,405.80 annually ($1,161.65 weekly) for the rest of the state.
If you’re an employer with employees below these amounts, you’ll need to make changes to bring your people into compliance. If you’re a Jets fan, there is nothing we can offer to help.
New York Prenatal Leave
Start updating those handbooks
To ensure you’ll comply
You’ll want to be a part of New York’s new requirement for 20 hours of paid prenatal leave
Or you might get sued
Starting January 1, 2025, New York will require all employers with at least one employee to provide up to 20 hours of paid prenatal leave for medical appointments related to pregnancy, available to both full- and part-time employees. This is in addition to paid sick and safe leave, so make sure your policies are up to date. No accrual, no waiting period—and yes, leave time doesn’t need to be paid out at year’s end.
NJ Salary Transparency
As previously reported, beginning June 1, 2025, Garden State employers with 10 or more employees will have to disclose salary and benefits information in job postings for promotional opportunities and employment listings. The new law includes penalties for non-compliance of $300 for the first violation and $600 for each subsequent violation. This is part of the growing trend of salary transparency laws, already in place in states like New York, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, and (of course) California.
Sunset of COVID Paid Sick Leave
Remember this one? Of course you do – the New York State COVID-19 Emergency Leave Law, passed alllll the way back during the early stages of the pandemic, provides employees with paid leave when subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19. We started hearing far less requests for this leave after the CDC ended the five-day isolation rule, but this law was/is still on the books . . . that is, until July 31, 2025, when this rule will expire.
CTA Madness
We may be stepping on the toes of the Business Law Blog, but quick primer and reminder on the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) . . .
Originally rolled out January 2024, the CTA was designed to make corporate ownership more transparent by requiring certain companies to disclose their true, behind-the-scenes owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). And it’s pretty much been a rocky road since then. A few months after it was enacted, a federal judge in Alabama issued an injunction and temporarily halted the law. That injunction was lifted a few months later, and we were back to filing. On December 3rd – just weeks prior to the end-of-year deadline – a federal judge in Texas issued another injunction, ruling that the CTA was unconstitutional . . . and then that injunction was lifted, but the January 1, 2025 deadline remained, resulting in a mad dash of procrastinators trying to make the deadline.
FinCEN has since extended the deadline for most companies to January 13th (they say FinCEN’s heart grew three sizes that day . . .”) but, honestly, it’s anyone’s guess at this point. Safest route is, to the extent you have not done so already, make the filing if you’re an eligible company. Need assistance with the filing – or worse yet, wondering whether you’re an eligible company? – give us a call.
DOL Salary Requirement Injunction
You may have noticed that earlier in this post, we did not mention salary increases for federal overtime exempt rules. Why, you might ask? Let’s head back to Texas!
As you probably remember, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a rule earlier this year that would have increased salary thresholds for certain exempt employees (the so-called “EAP” employees, standing for employees exempt under the Executive, Administrative, and Professional exemptions), with such an . This rule was challenged by both the State of Texas as well as a coalition of business groups, and these cases were consolidated.
If you’ve been paying attention, you probably know what happened next. In November, the judge in that consolidated case ruled that, “the EAP Exemption requires that an employee’s status turn on duties—not salary—and because the 2024 Rule’s changes make salary predominate over duties for millions of employees, the changes exceed the [DOL]’s authority to define and delimit the relevant terms.” As a result, the January 1, 2025 increase has been set aside. The minimum salary required to satisfy the EAP exemptions, provided the duties tests are met, returns to $684/week. Reminder that certain states, like NY, have higher minimum salary requirements (*cough cough see above cough cough*).
Thank you as always for reading. 2024 was certainly a wild ride – and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2025. Wishing all of you – even our adversaries and those of you passing those employment laws in California – a very happy and a healthy new year!
And as always, if you’ve got questions, you know we’ve got answers.
~ The W + K Team
ABOUT WEINSTEIN + KLEIN P.C.
Established in 2019, Weinstein + Klein is a boutique law firm focused on labor and employment law, business matters, and litigation. W + K works with businesses, individuals, and entrepreneurs to protect their legal interests. In addition to advising clients on employment matters and working with businesses to minimize their risk of litigation, we advise small businesses and start-ups on various business law matters.