Workplace Compliance News & Resources
Get the latest safety and workplace compliance news and resources from the federal, state, and local government levels. Below you’ll find late-breaking news, an interactive state map, the latest federal news, and minimum wage changes.
We try to keep it easy to understand and give you some general considerations on what to do, but we always recommend that businesses seek legal counsel for further advice and guidance on your particular situation.
Wherever available, KPA products are updated with the latest government notices and posters for employers.
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Latest Federal Workplace Compliance News
Who: All employers
When: Effective immediately
On February 28, 2024, President Biden released an Executive Order that represents the first federal law governing data privacy. The order prevents U.S. persons from selling or releasing Americans’ “bulk sensitive personal data” and certain U.S. government–related data to countries of concern. The purpose is to prevent foreign adversaries from using personal data to engage in malicious activities such as blackmail and espionage.
Sensitive data includes information about finances, genetic makeup, personal health, biometrics, geolocation, and other specific types of personally identifiable information. Government-related data is defined as information that is a) linked to or could be used to identify U.S. government personnel and b) linked or linkable to specific sensitive locations controlled by the U.S. government. Countries of concern include Iran, North Korea, Russia, China, Cuba, and Venezuela.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Attorney General’s office will work together to set security standards to help prevent access to personal data by other countries through means such as data brokers or employment agreements. The Department of Justice released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and public comments are due by April 15, 2024.
How:
- Review your data privacy policies and update them to comply with the law.
- Ensure that vendors and third parties to whom you disclose sensitive data are not located in a country of concern.
- Ensure that vendors and third parties to whom you disclose sensitive data have policies that comply with the law.
- Remove any tracking technology on your websites that belong to a country of concern.
- Prepare to update your vendor, employment, and investment agreements with security requirements that protect sensitive covered data.
Additional Resources:
FACT SHEET: President Biden Issues Executive Order to Protect Americans’ Sensitive Personal Data
Who:
- All employers
When: Effective immediately
The new NLRB joint employer rule was supposed to go into effect on March 11, 2024, but a federal judge has blocked it. Under the law, an entity is considered a joint employer if they have the right to exercise indirect control over one essential term and condition of employment, whether or not they exercise said control. On Friday, March 8, 2024, Judge J. Campbell Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled that the joint-employer test is unlawfully broad and therefore invalid.
The ruling means that the old, rescinded 2020 joint employer rule is in effect once again. To be considered a joint employer, the company must exercise “substantial direct and immediate control” over the essential terms and conditions of employment: wages, benefits, hours, hiring, discipline, supervision, and firing.
How:
- Update your agreements to comply with the 2020 joint employer rule.
- Limit your exposure to circumstances or contract language that would lead to you being named a joint employer.
- Continue to monitor for legal challenges.
Additional Resources:
2024 Minimum Wage Updates
KPA tracks state and local minimum wage changes for our Vera HR customers, providing them with updated labor posters and more.
Check out the latest minimum wage changes for 2024, typically updated in December and June to ensure you know about the majority of increases before taking effect on January 1 and July 1.
Resources for Success
OSHA Reporting Resource Hub
If regulatory paperwork makes your head spin, have no fear—the workforce safety and compliance professionals at KPA are here to help.
We’ve created this resource hub chock full of OSHA recordkeeping and reporting best practices to help keep your head on straight.
