HR Newsletter: State Legislative Updates

Illinois (Chicago) Increases Minimum Wage – On June 4, 2025, the City of Chicago announced an upcoming change to the minimum wage. Effective July 1, 2025, the Chicago minimum wage for employers with 4 or more employees will be $16.60 per hour, while the tipped employee minimum wage will be $12.62 per hour. For youth workers, subsidized temporary youth employment programs, and subsidized transitional employment programs, the minimum wage will be $16.50 per hour.

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HR Newsletter: DOL Rescinds Guidance on Cryptocurrency in 401(k) Plans

HR Newsletter: DOL Rescinds Guidance on Cryptocurrency in 401(k) Plans

On May 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released Compliance Assistance Release No. 2025-01, which rescinds prior 2022 guidance that cautioned plan fiduciaries to exercise “extreme care” before they considered adding a cryptocurrency option to a 401(k) plan’s investment menu for plan participants.

According to the DOL, the standard of “extreme care” deviated from the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Under ERISA, fiduciaries must act prudently and solely in the financial interests of plan participants, among other standards of conduct.

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HR Newsletter: Managing Employee Benefits in Employee Separations

HR Newsletter: Managing Employee Benefits in Employee Separations

An employment separation is the end of an employee’s working relationship with an employer. It includes voluntary separations (i.e., resignation or retirement), involuntary separations (i.e., firing or layoff), and departures that occur at the expiration of a work contract or seasonal employment. Employment separations require employers to complete a variety of important tasks in a short time frame, including finalizing payroll, retrieving company property, and transferring the departing employee’s job responsibilities. Employers must also address issues related to employee benefits for departing employees.

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HR Newsletter: EEO-1 Reporting for 2024; Reports Due June 24

HR Newsletter: EEO-1 Reporting for 2024; Reports Due June 24

The portal for employers to submit 2024 EEO-1 Reports to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) opened on May 20, 2025. The deadline to file 2024 EEO-1 Reports is June 24, 2025.

EEO-1 Overview – The EEO-1 Report is a federally mandated survey that collects workforce data categorized by race, ethnicity, sex, and job category. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, covered employers must usually submit EEO-1 Reports by March 31. However, the EEOC pushed the deadline for 2024 EEO-1 Reports to June 24, 2025.

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HR Newsletter: Independent Contractor Determination – New DOL Guidance

HR Newsletter: Independent Contractor Determination – New DOL Guidance

On May 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2025-1 on how to determine employee or independent contractor status when enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Background – On Jan. 10, 2024, the DOL published a final rule revising the agency’s guidance on analyzing who is an employee or independent contractor under the FLSA. This rule rescinded the 2021 Independent Contractor Rule. Several lawsuits are pending in federal courts challenging the 2024 final rule. In those lawsuits, the DOL has taken the position that it is reconsidering the final rule, including whether to rescind it. Additionally, the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is currently developing a standard for determining employee versus independent contractor status under the FLSA.

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HR Newsletter: Overview of State Pay Transparency Laws

HR Newsletter: Overview of State Pay Transparency Laws

There is currently no federal law that requires employers to disclose salary information to job applicants or employees. However, a growing number of states have enacted legislation that requires employers to disclose wage or other compensation information to applicants or employees under pay transparency laws. Colorado’s pay transparency law, which took effect in 2021, was the first such law. Since then, the District of Columbia and 14 additional states (including California, Illinois, and New York) have passed pay transparency laws.

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