As 2023 comes to a close, it is important for employers to verify they are up to date on the many changes coming in 2024. The following is a look at the changes in federal laws that will affect employers, as well as the minimum wages organizations in the Employers Council region must pay employees in 2024.
Salary Basis Threshold (Spring 2024)
A U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposal in 2023 would, among other things, increase the salary threshold for being exempt from overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for certain types of white-collar jobs. Currently, salaried employees earning $684 a week ($35,568 per year) are exempt. The proposal calls for that salary threshold to rise to $1,059 per week ($55,068 per year), which the DOL estimates would affect more than 3 million workers. Public comment ended in November 2023, and the final rule is widely anticipated to be issued in spring 2024. For more information, see our previous article, as well as sample letters to employees whose status is changing.
OSHA Recordkeeping and Inspection Personnel
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced in July 2023 that on January 1, 2024, the Biden Administration will reinstate a 2016 Obama-era rule for reporting requirements on worker injuries and illnesses. Under the rule, which can be found here, employers with 100 or more employees working in industries with the “highest injury rates,” as defined by OSHA, will be required to electronically file additional documentation on worker injuries and illnesses. For more information, see our previous article.
In August 2023, OSHA announced a proposed rule to amend its regulations to allow employee-authorized third-party representatives to accompany OSHA officials during facility inspections. The proposed rule would revive a 2013 Obama-era policy that allowed employees to designate non-employee third-party representatives to accompany OSHA inspectors on walkaround inspections of their employer’s workplace. For more information, see our previous article.
Benefit Thresholds and Mileage Rate
Every year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) releases cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for a wide variety of tax benefit limits, including limits relating to qualified retirement plans, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), transportation fringe benefits, Dependent Care Assistance Programs (DCAPs), and more. Employers must be aware of such limits to ensure that they are administering their plans appropriately. For many of the 2024 limits, see our Benefit Plan Limitations whitepaper.
Also expected is an increase in the IRS mileage reimbursement rate. The amount has not been released for 2024 as of this publication, but some estimates are 66-68 cents per mile, up from 65.5 cents in 2023. Employers Council will update members with an article when the new rate is announced.
With the exceptions of Utah and Wyoming, which follow federal minimum wage law ($7.25), the states in our mountain region have both a state minimum wage and local minimum wages. If subject to more than one, the highest minimum wage must be paid. These minimum wages are regularly being upgraded for inflation and, in 2024, will increase in most places.
The following are the rates for 2024:
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State: $14.35 ($11.35 tipped)
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Tucson: The city has an ordinance, but the rate is less than the state’s minimum wage, so it will follow state law
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Flagstaff: $17.40 ($15.90 tipped)
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State: $14.42 ($11.40 tipped)
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Denver: $18.29 ($15.27 tipped)
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Edgewater: $15.02 ($12.00 tipped)
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Unincorporated Boulder County: $15.69 ($12.67 tipped)
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State: $12.00 ($3.00 tipped)
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Albuquerque: $12.00 ($7.20 tipped)
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Las Cruces: $12.36 ($4.95 tipped)
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Santa Fe/Santa Fe County: $14.03, adjusted March 1, 2024; the county has a tipped rate of $4.21
The Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is raising the applicable minimum wage rate for workers performing work on or in connection with federal contracts covered by Executive Order 14026 to $17.20 per hour beginning on January 1, 2024. This minimum wage rate will apply to non-tipped and tipped employees alike, as, beginning January 1, 2024, Executive Order 14026 eliminates the lower cash wage that contractors may pay tipped employees.
The applicable minimum wage rate for workers performing work on or in connection with federal contracts covered by Executive Order 13658 will increase to $12.90 per hour beginning January 1, 2024. The minimum wage rate that generally must be paid to tipped employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts will increase to $9.05 per hour.
If you have any questions about the new laws coming in 2024, please email Employers Council.