What HR should know about the 2024 work rules passed under the Biden administration

It’s been a busy spring for DC staffing and employment agencies, which have finalized a number of policies that could have implications for future HR professionals.

With the November presidential election approaching, regulations adopted by President Biden’s administration after mid-May could be invalidated if Republicans take control of both houses of Congress and the White House. Lawmakers can do this through the Congressional Review Act, which gives members of the new Congress 60 days to reconsider laws passed at the end of the previous Congress.

White House administrations typically try to finalize rules in the spring of an election year to avoid scrutiny during that look-back period – hence the avalanche of newly published employment regulations that your HR department is currently preparing to comply with. Here’s the TL; DR of all labor and employment policies adopted in DC this spring.

The FTC banned the competition. On April 23, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized its long-awaited rule prohibiting employers from using non-competition clauses in employment contracts. While the provision faces legal challenges – including a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – it is expected to impact some 30 million workers when it goes into effect.

HR departments that have traditionally relied heavily on non-competitors are advised to consider other ways to protect their organizations from unfair competition or the dissemination of confidential information in light of the prohibition. Alternatives may look like non-disclosure agreements or non-solicitation provisions, experts told HR Brew in January.

The DOL extended overtime to salaried employees. An estimated 4 million additional salaried workers will be eligible for overtime when the Department of Labor (DOL) final rule is implemented on January 1, 2025. This rule, announced on April 23, will raise the salary threshold for white-collar workers to be eligible for overtime from $35,568 to $58,656 per year.

Employers will need to consider whether they can afford to increase employee salaries above this threshold. If not, they may have to reclassify them as non-exempt hourly workers.

The DOL’s Independent Contractor Rule has gone into effect. The Biden administration took aim at worker misclassification with a final rule that went into effect on March 11. This provision imposes a more stringent test on employers to determine whether an employee qualifies as an independent contractor.

Reinstates the “multi-factor economic reality test” that was loosened by President Donald Trump in 2021. Instead of considering a single factor when determining independent contractor status, employers must now consider multiple factors, including the “chance of profit or loss.” and the degree of control the employer exercises over the work.

The DOL issued a final rule extending the third-party allowance to workplace inspections. Employees can ask a third-party representative – whether or not a direct employee of their company – to be present during an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) workplace inspection under regulations that go into effect May 31. This provision seeks to clarify an existing standard that was challenged by a district court in 2017.

The new standard moves away from the expectation that a non-employee representative has industry-specific credentials and instead indicates that he or she may be approved on the basis of a range of qualifications, including “appropriate knowledge, skills or experience of hazards or site conditions work.” or similar jobs, or language or communication skills.”

The EEOC has updated its workplace harassment guidelines for the first time in two decades. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released updated guidelines on workplace harassment on April 29. The guidance, the first update of its kind since 1999, states that workplace harassment may include gender-based harassment, such as misidentifying an employee or preventing them from accessing a bathroom consistent with their gender identity.

In light of the increased number of employees working remotely, at least some of the time, the EEOC also indicated that harassment may occur in virtual environments. For example, sending racist jokes via company email or targeting employees on social media are among the behaviors the EEOC will review for potential harassment.

The EEOC issued a final rule implementing the PWFA. In a final rule announced on April 15, the EEOC outlined how employers should comply with the Pregnant Employees Fairness Act, which went into effect last year.

Under this legislation, employers must provide “reasonable accommodations” to employees who are pregnant or have a related condition. Related conditions could include abortion, the EEOC said in its rules. The agency also identified four changes to the workplace that could be considered reasonable “in virtually all cases,” including allowing additional bathroom breaks and allowing workers to take food and drink breaks when needed.