Minimum wage increases for 2023:  Minimum wage increases already scheduled for 2023 are found for the following 12 states:

Of the 30 states plus D.C. that have minimum wages higher than the federal standard, 18 of them work on a system— automatically raising the minimum wage incrementally. Among them is Washington, D.C., which boasts the highest minimum wage in America at $16.10 an hour.  If you need to update your state posters go to www.govdocs.com and use promotion code gn-ase at checkout.  Source: GovDocs

Downside of pay transparency:  Salary transparency may change the negotiation game. 68% of respondents to a ResumeBuilder survey of 1,200 U.S. adults said they “definitely would” (23%) or “probably would” (45%) demand to be paid the highest known end of the pay range if given access to pay transparency. If they found co-workers were being paid more for the same job, 63% said they would demand equivalent pay.  The increasing use of salary transparency — whether by convention or law — is playing a role in recruiting. 85% of respondents said they’re more likely to apply for a job that lists a salary range. But a disappointing pay range is not necessarily a deal breaker; 56% said they were still likely to apply for such a job if it was otherwise a good fit.  While the overwhelming majority of respondents supported pay transparency laws, they also expressed concern about the potential impact of such information on relationships among co-workers. 63% said they feared it would be “problematic” to know their co-workers’ salaries.  Source:  HR Dive 11/9/22

Are you cc’d on your lawyer’s emails? The American Bar Association has warned lawyers to avoid copying their clients when sending an email to opposing counsel.  Lawyers who copy their clients in an electronic communication give implied consent to receiving a “reply all” response that includes the lawyer’s client, the ABA said in its latest ethics opinion.  And where the sending lawyer consents to such communications, the receiving lawyer who responds with a “reply all” message is not overreaching or attempting to pry into confidential lawyer-client communications, the ABA said.  But lawyers who include a client in such a communication chain could regret their action later, according to the opinion. “By copying their clients on emails and texts to receiving counsel, sending lawyers risk an imprudent ‘reply all’ from their clients. Email and text messaging replies are often generated quickly, and the client may reply hastily with sensitive or compromising information. Thus, the better practice is not to copy the client on an email or text to receiving counsel; instead, the lawyer generally should separately forward any pertinent emails or texts to the client,” the ABA said in Formal Opinion 503 of its Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. Source:  Law.com 11/3/22

Do IT company layoffs sound ominous? The long list of Big Tech companies, like Meta with 11,000 or Twitter with half its workforce, laying people off surely says something about the current state of the economy, but it might tell us more about the sector’s prospects: Investors probably need to look elsewhere for growth.  The U.S. labor market remains in very good shape. The economy added 261,000 jobs last month, the number of people filing for new unemployment claims each week is low, and job openings remain high. Although tech layoffs grab headlines, they are little more than a rounding error in the context of the 153-million-strong U.S. job market.  In fact, many of those laid off are able to get new jobs in a relatively short period. For other industries, like the autos, labor hoarding seems to be the current approach given what happened during the pandemic.  Source:  Wall Street Journal 11/10/22

Worried about turnover? Review promotional opportunities within the organization:  According to Mercer’s 2022 Inside Employees’ Minds study, the number of employees who are considering leaving their employer has increased to 36% compared to 28% percent in 2021.  The purpose of this survey was to understand the root causes of high turnover and how employees’ needs and wants have shifted over the past year since the term “Great Resignation” was coined in May 2021. The findings reveal that, among all demographics, concerns over inflation have placed financial health as the greatest unmet need—covering monthly expenses now claims the top spot, up from #9 in 2021. The ability to retire is now the second top concern amongst all demographics, up from #5 in 2021.  If employees leave, it is still likely to increase their wage, where there may be no opportunities for promotions in their current role.  This problem is not new, many leave for opportunities of a promotion, but a bigger highlight and importance given the inflation experienced the past two years.  Source:  CCH 11/10/22

OSHA ramping up enforcement:  The 2021 OSHA FY 2021 Congressional Budget anticipated more inspections to come which noted that in FY 2020 OSHA would receive an additional $12.7 million in funding that it will use to increase its Compliance Safety and Health Officer ranks by fifty from current staffing levels. That effort has now born fruit and OSHA’s staffing levels are higher now than they have been in decades.  The influx of compliance officers coincides with OSHA ratcheting up its enforcement priorities, including increasingly aggressive enforcement and increased penalties. There will be some growing pains as new OSHA compliance officers gain experience in enforcing the OSH Act and identifying workplace violations. Given the increase in inspectors, there is an increased risk for on-site inspections. Employers should make sure that they are “inspection ready” and should work with OSHA counsel to ensure that on-site inspections are opened on a lawful basis, then limited and focused. ASE members receive a 20% discount on a Mock Safety Audit through Three Sixty Safety.  Learn more here.  Source:  Seyfarth Shaw 11/9/22