What Employers Need to Know of 2023 Employment Laws

With the 2022 midterm elections finally over, employment law is poised to undergo some changes in 2023. Thanks to the narrowly divided Congress, these changes are much more likely to take place on the state and local levels than on the national level (but the U.S. Department of Labor and National Labor Relations Board are still likely to rattle some human resources cages this year). Here are four employment law changes that employers should be aware of during the coming year.

Paid Leave

The issue: Paid leave is a top priority for many state legislative bodies. The programs most legislators are considering are not employer funded or employer administered, but rather more of a form of unemployment-like program funding with a state agency handling eligibility and funding determinations.

Labor Law

The issue: Every HR professional should have their sights on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in 2023, even if their workforce is not unionized. With 71 percent of Americans favoring labor unions; large unionizing national campaigns with Amazon, Apple, and Starbucks; and an active General Counsel urging the expansion of worker rights, labor law is squarely in the spotlight. The NLRB has already signaled changes to the joint-employer rule, expansion of union recognition, and the potential to extend rights to nonunion workers to have a representative present during investigative interviews that could lead to discipline.

Overtime

This issue: The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that one of its top priorities is to increase the number of employees eligible for overtime. Over the summer of 2022, the department held listening sessions with stakeholders in an effort to form a strategy around overtime. Although the DOL’s original target of October 2022 for an announcement about its proposed changes passed without any proposed regulation changes issued, this does not mean that the department won’t take action eventually.

Salary Transparency

The issue: A handful of states have already required employers to post the salary range of positions in their job announcements. The National Labor Relations Act already prohibits an employer from disciplining employees for discussing their salaries.

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