On November 5, 2024, voters throughout the nation weighed in on a number of state and native poll measures impacting employment legislation, together with will increase to state minimal wage charges and paid sick depart mandates. Summarized beneath are the outcomes of the extra distinguished poll measures determined by voters, together with new obligations for employers in Alaska, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska and Oregon.
For a extra in-depth dialogue of those new legal guidelines, keep tuned for our annual year-end state legislation roundup which can cowl these developments and different vital state and native employment legislation updates in additional element.
ALASKA TO RAISE MINIMUM WAGE, MANDATE PAID SICK LEAVE AND BAN MANDATORY EMPLOYER-SPONSORED MEETINGS
Alaska’s voters handed Poll Measure 1, elevating The Final Frontier’s state minimal wage, mandating paid sick depart and banning necessary employer-sponsored a/okay/a “captive viewers” conferences. The entire provisions are slated to enter impact on July 1, 2025.
- Alaska’s hourly minimal wage will enhance to $13.00/hour, with phased will increase to the minimal wage till 2027 and thereafter adjusted yearly for inflation.
- Alaska workers will accrue as much as 56 hours of paid sick depart per 12 months for use for absences on account of sickness or harm in addition to to handle home violence, sexual assault or stalking. The paid sick depart provisions apply to employers with 15 or extra workers.
- The poll measure additionally restricts Alaska employers’ capability to mandate worker attendance at conferences discussing “political or spiritual” issues. As we’ve beforehand mentioned (right here and right here), Alaska turns into the tenth state to ban “captive viewers” conferences.
ARIZONA REJECTS “TIPPED MINIMUM WAGE”
- Arizona Proposition 138 failed. The initiative sought to amend the Arizona Structure to permit an employer to pay tipped workers as much as 25% per hour lower than the state’s minimal wage.
CALIFORNIA YET TO CALL RESULTS ON INCREASE TO MINIMUM WAGE
- California Proposition 32 would enhance the Golden State’s minimal wage, starting January 1, 2025. As of this publication, Proposition 32 is on the trail to defeat, however the election outcomes haven’t been known as but.
MAINE (CITY OF PORTLAND) VOTES TO AMEND EMERGENCY MINIMUM WAGE PROVISION
- Voters in Portland, Maine accepted adjustments to the town’s minimal wage ordinance, limiting the appliance of the emergency wage provision solely to durations when the town has declared a state of emergency. Beforehand, nonremote staff in Portland acquired 1.5 instances the state minimal wage each time the State of Maine declared a state of emergency, even when employment situations throughout the Metropolis of Portland weren’t impacted or altered.
MASSACHUSETTS REJECTS INCREASE TO MINIMUM WAGE FOR TIPPED WORKERS
- Query 5 failed, that means Massachusetts will preserve its present tipped minimal wage. The measure would have regularly elevated the minimal wage for tipped workers over the course of 5 years.
MISSOURI VOTES TO RAISE MINIMUM WAGE AND MANDATE PAID SICK LEAVE
Proposition A handed in Missouri, growing the Present-Me State’s minimal wage and requiring paid sick depart.
- Efficient January 1, 2025, Missouri will elevate its minimal wage to $13.75/hour, with a rise to $15.00/hour in January 2026 and annual changes thereafter primarily based on the Shopper Worth Index.
- Efficient Could 1, 2025, workers will accrue a minimal of 1 hour of paid sick depart for each thirty hours labored. If the employer has 15 or extra workers, workers aren’t entitled to make use of greater than 56 hours of paid sick depart per 12 months. Employers with 14 or fewer workers can cap worker use of paid sick depart at 40 hours per 12 months.
NEBRASKA VOTES TO APPROVE PAID SICK TIME AND LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA
- Underneath Initiative Measure 436, efficient October 1, 2025, Nebraska workers of employers with 20 or extra workers can have the power to accrue and use paid sick time as much as 56 hours per 12 months. Staff of employers with fewer than 20 workers will accrue as much as 40 hours of paid sick time per 12 months.
- Nebraska voters additionally accepted Initiative Measure 438, legalizing medical marijuana use. Though the initiative doesn’t tackle whether or not Nebraska employers are required to accommodate using medical marijuana as a incapacity nor does it embody any anti-discrimination provisions for marijuana use, Nebraska employers who carry out drug testing of workers ought to keep alert for additional developments associated to medical marijuana use because it pertains to drug-free workplaces.
OREGON TO REQUIRE LABOR PEACE AGREEMENTS FOR CANNABIS EMPLOYERS
- Oregon voters handed Measure 119, requiring hashish enterprise to have a labor peace settlement with a bona fide labor group (in different phrases, a union) with a view to acquire or renew a license to function in Oregon. The settlement should present, at a minimal, that the hashish enterprise agrees to stay impartial when a labor group communicates with the workers of the hashish enterprise about collective bargaining rights. Measure 119 applies to functions or renewals for hashish licenses and certifications which might be acquired on or after December 5, 2024.
Squire Patton Boggs will proceed to observe these initiatives for any authorized challenges or extra steering, and we encourage employers to do the identical to make sure compliance. When you’ve got any questions on these measures or associated points, contact your Squire Patton Boggs lawyer to debate.