Workplace Policy Institute: A Look Ahead to Legislative and Regulatory Changes in 2014

The government is divided, congressional midterm elections are looming, and the President is approaching “lame duck” status. Although this political landscape may lead employers to assume that 2014 will be a quiet year on the legislative and regulatory front, the year ahead is shaping up to bring significant changes to workplace policy at the federal as well as state and local levels. The year began with President Obama announcing a renewed focus on income inequality.1 Pushes to increase the minimum wage and extend unemployment benefits are clear examples of this agenda. Yet other, less obvious, legislative and regulatory proposals impacting employers may well accompany the focus on income inequality. With Congress effectively deadlocked by a Republican-controlled House and a Democrat-controlled Senate, the administration will look past Congress to advance its agenda. At the same time, states will continue to look past Washington to enact changes in workplace policy. Accordingly, 2014 looks to be anything but quiet with respect to employment, labor, and benefits policy. Amidst the specter of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation, employers should prepare for new requirements coming from Washington and around the country.