What will prominently feature this year on the labor landscape?

Give and take.

If there is a mantra to closely define employment law developments in California and across the country in 2018, that short push-and-pull depiction might serve just fine. It seeks to impart the notion that both employers and employees will make gains and suffer a few setbacks.

And what commentators in a recent article on 2018 workplace legal trends say will likely most affect wins and losses in the labor arena is the entity authoring new rules and regulations.

Close evaluators of America’s employment universe state that developments in the federal law realm during the year will mostly favor employers. Conversely, they assert, legal protections will typically be enhanced for workers in instances where state law enactments come to the fore.

Recently published guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor concerning a federal overtime rule is pointed to as supporting evidence of the former view. A salary threshold for exempting white-collar workers from overtime pay is expected to be raised later this year. However, the cut-off point will certainly be appreciably lower under the Trump administration than the double-the-salary threshold pushed under President Obama’s tenure.

On the state law side, it is projected that many more companies across the country will face new mandates regarding matters surrounding sexual harassment. What that will practically mean for most affected businesses are beefed-up complaint-and investigation policies and annual onsite training programs. The aforementioned article notes that California law already requires enterprises with at least 50 workers to provide relevant training to employees in supervisory positions.

Anticipated changes at the workplace will likely require adjustments – in many cases, material revisions and updates — in company handbooks, employment contracts and related documents. Business managers and HR principals can enlist the help of attorneys who routinely advise company principals on legal matters to respond to new challenges and legal requirements.