Many organizations rely on seasonal workers to supplement their regular workforce during peak times. This often occurs during busy seasons or holidays, as there’s an influx of business activity. While similarities exist, there are important differences between seasonal and regular employment. Due to these differences, hiring and reliance on seasonal workers can present significant and unexpected challenges for employers.

Seasonal employment is temporary employment that occurs during a specific time of the year. Employers often hire seasonal workers when they need extra help. This need may be based on industry demands, financial reasons, or increased consumer traffic, such as during the holiday season. Seasonal employment is more common in certain industries, such as delivery services, ski resorts, and agriculture.

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As employers navigate trends such as “quiet quitting”—a new term within the employment landscape that refers to workers only doing what their job description entails without going above and beyond—new data revealed that many workers have begun “quick quitting.” That is, in certain industries, workers are quitting their jobs at increasingly high rates before the one-year mark. The emergence of this trend demonstrates that workers in the United States are getting more comfortable leaving their jobs.

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Pay transparency is when an employer openly communicates pay-related information through established practices to current or prospective employees. Employers can provide this information through various channels, such as online job sites, job postings, or during an interview. As a result of changing labor markets, more and more employees are demanding pay transparency. Further, some jurisdictions are now requiring employers to share pay information, meaning that this trend is impacting more and more employers.

Pay Transparency Across the Nation – As demands for pay transparency increase, some states have passed legislation requiring organizations to be transparent. In recent years, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Washington have all passed pay transparency laws. Some cities, including New York City, Jersey City, and Cincinnati, have also passed such laws.

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Employment and labor responsibilities continue to be reimagined, and employers should expect changes to continue in the new year. Here are three HR trends to follow in 2023:

1. Increased Wages – There are more open jobs than people to fill them, and high inflation rates are impacting employees’ pay expectations. Numerous reports show that companies are budgeting significant increases in wages in 2023. To compete, organizations are finding ways to offer more competitive compensation to meet employee demands.

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On Oct. 24, 2022, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that call center workers can seek overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for the time they spend booting up and shutting down their computers. This decision is now binding precedent in the 9th Circuit, which includes Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Case Background – In this case, Cadena v. Customer Connexx LLC, the employer (Connexx)  provided customer service and scheduling to customers over a “soft phone,” operated only through their employer-provided computers. At the time, Connexx agents used a phone program called “Five9,” an application that operates through employees’ computers rather than through a physical phone. Employees estimated that the average boot-up time was between 6.8 and 12.1 minutes. Once logged in, employees had to load various programs and scripts and confirm that their phones were connected and ready to accept calls.

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Compensation Trends – Although some organizations may cut jobs or reduce hiring as economic growth slows, some are paying higher employee wages to keep and win top talent. Today, workers can demand higher pay and better benefits as many employers face a worker shortage and struggle with employee attraction and retention. It’s been a worker-friendly labor market in recent years, and it’s not going away anytime soon. The latest compensation trends aren’t just about wage increases, but also workers wanting to get paid differently, be compensated based on their work and receive more pay transparency. Click the following link to read Today’s Top Compensation Trends

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The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) administers and enforces the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for all private and state and local government employees, as well as some federal employees. The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. The FMLA applies to private employers who employ 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year, all public agencies—including federal, state and local employers—and local education agencies.

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On Oct. 25, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a fact sheet containing FAQs about its new poster titled “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal.” The EEOC initially released a version of the new poster on Oct. 19, 2022, and then reissued a revised version on Oct. 20, 2022.

Among other things, the FAQs about the new “Know Your Rights” poster clarify that if an employer downloaded or printed it on Oct. 19, the employer should ensure that it uses the newer version, which is instead marked as “Revised 10/20/2022.”

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Identifying and retaining key employees is especially important in light of ongoing attraction and retention difficulties many employers have been facing. According to Zywave’s 2022 Attraction and Retention Survey, more than 75% of employers consider attraction and retention to be among their top five business challenges.

In response to changing work demands brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and trends such as the “Great Reshuffle”—a mass movement of workers from their current roles to positions that meet their shifting job expectations and priorities—retaining employees has become increasingly difficult for employers.

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Check out the following links and PDFs to help you navigate current state and local legislative updates.

• Alaska Updates State Minimum Wage Exemptions

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