Paid Leave
Paid leave continues to be popular as Colorado joined a handful of other states that mandate paid time off for employees. Colorado passed a measure – Colorado Paid Medical and Family Leave – that will allow eligible workers to take 12 weeks of paid leave, plus an additional 4 weeks for medical complications. The leave will be funded through a payroll tax on employers and employees starting January 1, 2023, and an employee can take the leave beginning January 1, 2024. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees will be exempt from the employer premium, and companies can use their own leave program if it meets certain criteria.Marijuana Legalization
Voters in Arizona, Montana, and New Jersey approved the recreational use of marijuana. South Dakota voters legalized both recreational and medical use. Mississippi legalized medical marijuana.
In California, voters backed Proposition 22, a measure exempting app-based gig-economy drivers from the scope of AB5, which makes it more difficult to classify workers as independent contractors instead of employees. Drivers will be limited to working 12 hours during a 24-hour period. The ballot measure also ensured app-based drivers would receive certain benefits.
Voters in Florida approved an amendment to gradually increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. After the January 1, 2021 increase to $8.65 per hour, the following September 30, it will increase to $10.00. Each September 30 thereafter, it will increase by $1 until $15 on September 30, 2026. January 1, 2028, and every January 1 thereafter, it will be adjusted for inflation.
Voters in Portland, Maine and Rockland, Maine also approved gradually raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour.