Into the New Year: 2020 Employment Law Trends and 2019 Recap

2019 was a big year in labor and employment law. The DOL increased the overtime salary threshold, the NLRB issued a number of decisions, more states instituted paid leave, independent contractor issues arose, and more states protected marijuana use. 2020 will be another interesting year. The Supreme Court will decide whether it is illegal to discriminate against someone because they are transgender or because of their sexual orientation. Several agencies will release a joint employer rule, and a number of other changes will occur.

• Attendees will understand the current state of marijuana laws in the country
• Participants will be able to structure their paid leave in accordance with the law. 
• Attendees will recognize how to prevent sexual orientation and transgender discrimination claims in their company
• Participants will be able to recognize other upcoming trends in employment law and how they should respond.  
• Attendees will discover changes that the NLRB has instituted that affect employee emails, union organizing, and potential proposals that could occur in a Democratic administration. 
• Participants will understand how to update their policies to prepare for the new year in employment law. 

• The DOL overtime salary threshold and the categories to be exempt. 
• NLRB decisions that occurred in 2019. 
• Paid family and paid leave 
• Independent contractor issues
• Sexual orientation discrimination 
• Transgender discrimination update
• Joint employer issues
• Marijuana and employment
• Election year troubles
• Free Speech at work

All businesses must prepare for the upcoming labor and employment changes that will take place this year and they need to review their policies to make sure that they have made the changes that were required from last year. Human Resource professionals, attorneys, supervisors, and business leaders need to pay attention to these issues to avoid expensive surprises that could upset their business.

Human Resource professional, in-house attorney, supervisor, vice president of admin, payroll specialist, manager

Brett is an attorney with Alaniz Law and Associates and legal blogger at the Texas Labor Law Blog. Brett takes a proactive approach to solving labor and employment problems by working closely with clients to understand the requirements and desires of their businesses and devising solutions that are adapted to their specific needs. As the son of a small business owner, Brett has seen first-hand what it takes to run a strong business that ensures a safe and productive workplace for employer and employee alike.