2023 was fairly the yr when it comes to notable occasions and 2024 is shaping as much as be no totally different. Listed below are among the largest labor-related information tales from final yr. Even for those who didn’t hear about these occasions, there’s a very good probability you’ll doubtless really feel their results, even when not directly.

Key Supreme Court docket Selections

In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court docket issued three main employment-related choices. Essentially the most outstanding was College students for Honest Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard Faculty. On this case, the Supreme Court docket struck down the usage of affirmative motion within the school admissions course of.

This determination solely applies to the faculty admissions course of and doesn’t apply to employers. Nevertheless, in an abundance of warning, employers could reduce or get rid of range, fairness and inclusion insurance policies. This might make it tougher for employers to diversify their workforce.

The second employment-related determination was Groff v. DeJoy. Employers could not deny a spiritual lodging as a result of it imposes a small or minor inconvenience on the employer. Now, the employer has to offer the non secular lodging except it locations a considerable burden on the employer. Time will inform precisely what the brand new customary means in follow, but it surely’s clear that it’ll imply the employer should strive tougher to offer the lodging.

The ultimate case obtained little media consideration, however it’s nonetheless necessary when it comes to the Honest Labor Requirements Act of 1938 and additional time pay. The Supreme Court docket’s determination in Helix Vitality Options Group, Inc. v. Hewitt redefines how the bona fide government additional time exemption applies. Right here, even when an worker receives vital compensation (suppose six figures in annual compensation), they might nonetheless be eligible for additional time pay.

ChatGPT

Synthetic intelligence isn’t new, but it surely made an enormous splash in 2023 with ChatGPT. The general deserves of this know-how are up for debate and the way it will change our lives remains to be being determined. But many individuals are already utilizing it for work for duties comparable to drafting correspondence, analysis, brainstorming, writing pc code and in search of patterns in massive quantities of knowledge.

Organized Labor

The coronavirus pandemic helped shift labor bargaining energy to employees. Final yr was a notable milestone for this transition because of a number of profitable strikes. The largest was in all probability the United Auto Staff strike, which resulted in vital wage will increase and the return of cost-of-living changes (amongst different issues). A number of different vital profitable strikes included:

• Kaiser Permanente: employees obtained across-the-board pay raises, bonuses and guarantees to handle staffing points.
• SAG-AFTRA: the deal caused increased wages, higher bonuses for streaming content material and vital synthetic intelligence protections.
• Writers Guild of America: main phrases of the settlement included limitations positioned on the usage of synthetic intelligence, wage will increase and compensation minimums for streaming content material.

Easing of Youngster Labor Legal guidelines

The issue of kid labor in the USA continues to exist and is arguably getting worse. But some states have rolled again baby labor legal guidelines. A part of this transfer is to make it simpler for employers to seek out employees in a good labor market. Critics argue this might make it simpler for employers to take advantage of kids or for youngsters to get harm whereas employed.

In March 2023, Arkansas enacted a legislation that eradicated sure age verification and certificates necessities for workers underneath 16. In Might 2023, Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa signed into legislation a invoice that elevated the variety of hours youngsters might work throughout the college yr.

This new legislation additionally allowed kids to take sure jobs they beforehand couldn’t, comparable to serving alcohol and dealing in manufacturing, so long as sure circumstances have been met. There are questions as as to whether sure provisions of Iowa’s legislation can survive authorized challenges the place they battle with federal employment legal guidelines.

Iowa and Arkansas aren’t the one states which have efficiently loosened baby labor restrictions. In addition they in all probability gained’t be the final, given what number of different states have launched comparable payments.

The 4-Day Workweek Positive factors Steam

There’s been a worldwide pattern of corporations experimenting with the thought of shifting from a standard five-day workweek to a four-day workweek. Led by organizations like 4 Day Week World, the purpose is to have staff work 4 days in every week, but retain the identical pay and productiveness as a five-day workweek. Nevertheless, relying on how the schedule is carried out, staff may go both the identical variety of hours or 20% fewer hours.

The outcomes from numerous experiments and research present that usually, it’s well-received by employees and their employers. And whereas it’s not for everybody or each employer, it appears like the thought of the four-day workweek is right here to remain for a lot of workplaces.

Being pregnant and Breast Feeding Legal guidelines Go into Impact

Two key being pregnant and breastfeeding federal legal guidelines went into impact final yr. First, there was the Offering Pressing Maternal Protections for Nursing Moms Act or PUMP Act. This legislation took the advantages and protections from the Break Time for Nursing Moms Regulation which Congress handed as a part of the Affected person Safety and Reasonably priced Care Act in 2010 and utilized them to virtually all employees coated by the Honest Labor Requirements Act of 1938.

Earlier than the PUMP Act, solely staff who have been eligible for additional time pay underneath the FLSA might obtain office breastfeeding advantages. One other addition introduced by the PUMP Act is that staff now have a number of authorized cures obtainable for violations of this legislation, comparable to equitable aid and compensatory, liquidated and compensatory damages.

Subsequent, there was the Pregnant Staff Equity Act. Going into impact in June, this legislation required coated employers (these with 15 or extra staff) to offer cheap lodging to eligible staff for limitations as a result of their being pregnant, childbirth or associated medical circumstances.

Loud Quitting

In 2022 we have been launched to quiet quitting. In 2023 we realized about loud quitting. Whereas the definition of quiet quitting is pretty constant, what it means to loud give up appears to differ. One definition refers to loud quitting as a employee vocalizing their unhappiness at work.

One other definition consists of the employee proactively discovering methods to hurt their employer. Loud quitting can exist whether or not the employee continues to stick with their employer or give up. These actions have been round for ages, so this may increasingly simply be extra proof of employee empowerment.

Backside Line

Final yr noticed lots of constructive adjustments for employees and mirrored the facility shift in favor of employees that started with the coronavirus pandemic. 2024 may even see this pattern proceed, though it’s doable that 2023 could characterize the height of this energy shift.