Voters Decide Workplace Issues

Nov 21, 2024 7:45:00 AM

On Election Day 2024, voters in various states weighed in on ballot initiatives that addressed employment law topics, including minimum wage, paid sick leave and marijuana. The outcomes were mixed.

Alaska

Alaska voters passed Ballot Measure 1, which will increase the state’s minimum wage from the current rate of $11.73 per hour to $13.00 per hour on July 1, 2025. It will then rise to $14.00 per hour on July 1, 2026, and $15.00 per hour on July 1, 2027. Further increases will be calculated based on inflation.

Ballot Measure 1 also included new paid sick leave requirements. Starting July 1, 2025, eligible employees will accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked and will be allowed to use at least 40 and up to 56 hours of accrued paid sick leave annually, depending on how many employees work for their employer.

Another part of Ballot Measure 1 prohibits “captive audience” meetings, effective July 1, 2025. The new law will prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who refuse to attend company meetings about political or religious topics.

Arizona

Arizona voters rejected Proposition 138, which would have amended the state constitution to allow employers to pay tipped employees up to 25% less than the minimum wage. Therefore, Arizona’s current subminimum wage requirements still stand, meaning that employers can continue paying tipped workers up to $3.00 per hour below the minimum wage, as long as their tips bring their wages to the statewide hourly minimum of $14.35.

California

California’s Proposition 32 failed. The minimum wage will remain at the increase of $16.50 effective January 1, 2025.

Florida

Florida’s Amendment 3 to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in the state failed to get the 60% voter support needed to pass a state constitutional amendment. State law currently allows the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Massachusetts

The Question 5 initiative sought to require a gradual phase-out of the permissible tip credit by increasing minimum wages for tipped workers each year. This measure did not pass, so Massachusetts will maintain its current minimum wage structure regarding tipped employees.

Missouri

In Missouri, voters approved Proposition A. Accordingly, the state’s current minimum hourly wage of $12.30 will increase to $13.25 on January 1, 2025, and to $15.00 on January 1, 2026, with further increases dependent on inflation.

The measure also includes a new paid sick leave law that will take effect on May 1, 2025. Employees will accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked and will be entitled to use up to 40 or 56 hours annually, depending on the size of the employer.

Nebraska

Nebraska’s Initiative 436 passed and will bring paid sick leave to Nebraskans starting on October 1, 2025. Employers with fewer than 20 employees will be required to allow employees to accrue and use up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year, and employees of employers with more than 20 employees will be able to accrue up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year.

Nebraska Initiative 437 to legalize the medical use of marijuana passed.

And finally, North Dakota and South Dakota declined to legalize recreational use of marijuana.

Previous Updates

Marijuana Legalization

Voters in Maryland and Missouri passed measures to legalize marijuana use.

It has been a decade since Colorado became the first state to legalize marijuana in 2012. As drug use laws evolve across the nation, what does this mean for the workplace?

No state law requires an employer to tolerate marijuana use at work or employees who work under the influence. Even so, employers should proceed with care before taking adverse action against employees who are lawful marijuana users, particularly where the employee's use occurs off-premises and outside of working hours.

Minimum Wage

Voters in Washington D.C. passed Initiative 82 which will gradually eliminate the district’s minimum wage tip credit by 2027. And in Nebraska and Nevada, voters continued the trend of choosing minimum wage increases by state ballot. In Nebraska minimum wage will increase to $15 an hour by January 2026 and in Nevada minimum wage will be $12 an hour by July 2024.

More than a dozen states will also see their minimum wages increase in January 2023 as employers and employees continue to deal with the effects of inflation.

Check to see if your state has an upcoming minimum wage increase in the Minimum Wage Updates section of this issue of FranklyHR.

Worker Rights

Voters in Tennessee adopted a constitutional amendment prohibiting employers from requiring union membership as a condition of employment, also known as a right-to-work law.

On the flip side, Illinois voters approved an amendment to the state Constitution guaranteeing the right to bargain collectively.

Unionization continues as a hot workplace topic. In Fiscal Year 2022 (October 1, 2021 – September 30, 2022), there was a 53% increase in union representation petitions from Fiscal Year 2021.

If you missed it, check out our recent webinar, My Employee Can Say And Do What?! The NLRA And How It Affects You, on MFC.

Voters Decide Workplace Issues

Nov 21, 2024 7:45:00 AM

Previous Updates

State Updates

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