Welcome to Pay Matters, our monthly roundup of all the payroll and compliance news that you must know.

Stay informed and in compliance with our monthly payroll alerts and insights.

New Jersey Expands Paid Family Leave Law

On February 19, New Jersey Governor  Phil Murphy signed legislation expanding the state’s paid family leave program effective July 1, 2020. The program was originally enacted in 2008 and will require employers to provide eligible employees with additional protections.

Changes to the paid family leave law include:

• increasing the weekly benefit amount for eligible employees to 85% of their weekly wage, maxed out at 70% of the statewide average weekly wage. This translates into an increase in the weekly max from $650 to $860.
• eligible employees will be able to take up to 12 consecutive weeks of paid family leave in a 12-month period, an increase from the current 6-week limit.
• eligible employees will be able to take up to 56 days of intermittent leave in a 12-month period, an increase from the current 42-day limit.
• anti-retaliation provisions will prevent employers from discriminating against employees who take leave.
• leave reasons will include medical attention, counseling, or legal assistance arising from domestic or sexual violence.
• the law will cover leave taken to care for siblings, in-laws, grandparents, and grandchildren.

Illinois Minimum Wage Increase

On February 19, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation to increase minimum wage gradually until it reaches $15 in 2025. The law is expected to affect nearly 1.4 million Illinois workers who now earn the current minimum wage of $8.25 per hour.

Illinois’s minimum wage will increase as follows:

• $9.25 per hour on January 1, 2020
• $10 per hour on July 1, 2020
• $11 per hour on January 1, 2021
• $12 per hour on January 1, 2022
• $13 per hour on January 1, 2023
• $14 per hour on January 1, 2024
• $15 per hour on and after January 1, 2025

The minimum wage for employees receiving sufficient tips will remain at 60% of minimum wage and will reach $9 by 2025.

Local Minimum Wage Updates

Glenview, Illinois: Effective July 1, 2019 minimum wage will increase from $8.25 to $12.00 per hour

Santa Fe City and County, New Mexico: Effective March 1, 2019 minimum wage will increase from $11.40 to $11.80 per hour both in Santa Fe city and Santa Fe County.

Daly City, California:

February 13, 2019: $12.00 per hour

January 1, 2020:   $13.75 per hour

January 1, 2021:   $15.00 per hour

Fremont, California:

Employers with 26 or more employees:

July 1, 2019: $13.50 per hour

January 1, 2020: $15.00 per hour

Employers with 25 of fewer employees:

July 1, 2020: $13.50 per hour

July 1, 2021: $15.00 per hour

Pasadena, California:

Employers with 26 or more employees:

July 1, 2019: $14.25 per hour

July 1, 2010: $15.00 per hour

Employers with 25 or fewer employees:

July 1, 2019: $13.25 per hour

July 1, 2020: $14.25 per hour

July 1, 2021:  $15.00 per hour

UPCOMING WEBINAR

Fundamentals of the Form I-9

Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at 1:00 pm EST

An I-9 audit can be intimidating, and if you haven’t properly completed or maintained your I-9s, it can also be a costly one. In this webinar, we’ll cover pertinent filing and retention requirements for the I-9. We’ll review the various sections of the form in-depth and discuss the acceptable documents for completion of the I-9. By the end of the session, you’ll feel more prepared and ready to verify that your organization is in compliance.

Register for this webinar over on our webinar page.