TCWGlobal - 2024 End of Year Newsletter

Pay Transparency Updates

Pay transparency laws and posting requirements will continue to be a growing employment law trend in the new year. The following states having new requirements coming into effect that companies should be prepared for:

Illinois: Starting January 1, 2025, all job posting must include a pay range, benefits offered, and information regarding other compensation. This applies even if the work is only occasionally performed within the state or the worker reports to a person or office within the state.
Minnesota: Starting January 1, 2025, all job postings for work that will be performed within the state must include a pay range as well as a general description of benefits and other compensation.
New Jersey: Starting June 1, 2025, all job postings must include a pay range, benefits offered, and information regarding other compensation. This requirement applies if the work is physically performed even partially within the state or if the worker reports to a person or office within the state.
Vermont: Starting July 1, 2025, job postings must include a good faith estimate of the minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly wage range. This applies to onsite positions and remote positions if the work is predominantly for an office or work location within Vermont.
Massachusetts: October 29, 2025, job postings must list a pay range only for all work being performed within the state.

To learn more about pay transparency requirements throughout the US, check out TCWGlobal’s Pay Transparency State-by-State Guide.

Paid Sick Leave Developments:

In 2025, Alaska, Missouri, and Nebraska will join the growing list of states enacting paid sick leave laws in the workplace. Effective dates are as follows:

· Alaska: July 1, 2025

· Missouri: May 1, 2025

· Nebraska: October 1, 2025

To learn more details regarding these three states’ requirements, please refer to our blog on New Paid Sick Leave Mandates.

Numerous states will paid sick leave in effect have also adjusted their accrual requirements. This includes the following locations:

New York

Effective January 1, 2025, workers in New York are entitled to 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave during any 52-week calendar year to attend prenatal medical appointments during or related to pregnancy. This is in addition to the state’s paid sick leave accruals.

Connecticut

Effective January 1, 2025, Connecticut has adjusted its accrual to one hour for every 30 hours worked, and utilization will now start on the 120^th calendar day of the worker’s employment.

Michigan

Effective February 21, 2025, Michigan is also expanding its annual usage limit of paid sick leave to 72 hours per year, and there will no longer be an accrual cap or limit to rollover of accruals from year to year.

Additional States

Finally, seven states and one city that already had paid sick leave in place—California, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Chicago—have made recent expansions to the acceptable reasons for utilization of sick paid leave.

These expansions vary by location but include matters such as reproductive loss, bereavement, family responsibilities, reproductive health decisions, failed adoption or surrogacy, and/or emergency-related closures of workplaces or childcare facilities.

For more information on legally mandated paid leave requirements throughout the US, check out TCWGlobal’s Sick Leave Cheat Sheet.

Minimum Wage Changes:

On January 1, 2025, the minimum wage will rise across the nation, with major updates statewide in California, New York, and Illinois. There are also many cities and counties that have their own minimum wage that may be higher than the state’s.

Of note, Michigan is set to increase the state minimum wage twice within the first quarter of 2025, with the first change occurring on January 1 and the second occurring on February 21. The salary exempt threshold will also increase on January 1, 2025, in every state with its own threshold. The new state and county salary exempt thresholds will be as follows:

Alaska: $952.80 per week and $49,545.60 per year
California: $68,640 per year
Colorado: $56,485 per year
New York (NYC, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties): $64,350 per year
New York (Remainder): $60,405.80 per year.
Maine: Maine is $845.21 per week and $43,951 per year
Washington: $77,968.80 per year

Please refer to this resource for an up-to-date list of minimum wage rates across the country. If your workers are affected, your TCWGlobal support team will be reaching out to inform you of the necessary adjustments. If you have questions, please contact your TCWGlobal Account Manager or hello@tcwglobal.com .

California Freelance Worker Protection Act: Essential Compliance Guide for Hiring Parties in 2025

Not one to be left behind, California has followed New York, Illinois and others in providing greater protection for Independent Contractors (otherwise referenced in the FWPA as a “Freelance Worker(s)”) through the Freelance Worker Protection Act (FWPA), effective January 1, 2025. The FWPA requires that a written contract from the “hiring party” be provided to the Freelance Worker outlining a number of very specific terms and conditions. Specifically, the following must be addressed:

The contracting parties’ names and mailing addresses
An itemized description and/or list of the services that the Freelance Worker will provide and the fee or method of compensation.
The date by which the hiring party must issue payment for serviced rendered, or if no specific date, then a mechanism by which the payment date will be determined.
The date that the Freelance Worker must submit an invoice by to ensure payment.

The law also requires the hiring party to provide timely payments, in accordance with the contract’s terms for payment. Full payment must be made by the date specified in the contract if on a deliverable basis, or within 30 days after the work has been completed if no date is specifically set forth in the written contract.

Further, the Freelance Worker is protected from retaliation or discrimination when they exercise or attempt to exercise any of their rights under this law for their protection.

So, who is a Freelance Worker, protected under the FWPA? The law defines Freelance Worker as a person or organization (of no more than one person) hired as an independent contractor to provide professional services for at least $250. Essentially, anyone that qualifies as an independent contractor for the hiring party and earns more than $250 per project is protected by the FWPA.

Hiring Party has a broad definition and can be any individual or organization in California retaining a Freelance Worker to provide services since there is no size threshold associated with the definition. These hiring parties will now be responsible for the administrative burdens of the FWPA’s contract and record keeping requirements.

TCWGlobal is here to help alleviate that burden for hiring parties, by providing a complete Independent Contractor analysis for our clients and handling the entire contracting process to ensure compliance regardless of the location you need to engage talent. To learn more about the nuances of utilizing Independent Contractors throughout the United States and abroad, visit our Compliance Hub for some great resources. For more information on our IC services, please reach out to hello@tcwglobal.com or 858-810-3000.

Independent Contractor Guides:

Engaging with Independent Contractors (IC) can be confusing and hold substantial legal risks without proper classification management. Here at TCWGlobal, we pride ourselves on individually assessing each potential IC candidate and project based on the laws applicable in the location where the project is being performed. If the IC qualifies, TCWGlobal will handle the contract, receiving invoices, obtaining proper approvals, and the issuance of payments. If you’re considering using an IC, check our Independent Contractor Compliance Guides, which detail the qualification requirements for engaging with an IC. See our list of guides below:

We offer Independent Contractor management across all 50 states and most countries. If you want to learn more, please get in touch with your TCWGlobal Account Manager or hello@tcwglobal.com.