Risk Briefs

A recent statutory amendment substantially changed the training and certification requirements for those serving on the board of a Florida residential condominium association.

On June 14, 2024, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a comprehensive condominium bill into law. House Bill 1021 (Community Associations) includes numerous statutory amendments that relate to condominium governance and association management, most of which become effective July 1, 2024. That means board members do not have much time to determine if and how these amendments, including those set forth below, may affect their condominium association or its operations.

The Department of Labor issued a final rule that will make it more expensive for employers to keep overtime-exempt employees on the payroll. On April 26, 2024, the DOL published a final rule that increases the minimum salary that executive, administrative and professional employees must be paid to be exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime pay requirements. The final rule also increases the total annual compensation threshold for the FLSA’s highly compensated employee (HCE) exemption. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently issued a final rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The PWFA generally requires covered employers to reasonably accommodate a qualified employee’s or applicant’s known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so will cause the employer an undue hardship. The PWFA, which went into effect June 27, 2023, generally applies to private employers and public sector employers that have 15 or more employees.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently released its performance report for fiscal year 2023, which ended September 30, 2023. The EEOC is responsible for enforcing various federal equal employment opportunity laws. According to the EEOC, “the agency’s performance during FY 2023 reflects both an increased demand for its services and significant remedies for workers who suffered discrimination.” The data contained in its annual performance report can be used to better understand various employment-related liability exposures that continue to pose a significant risk to most employers.

The latest recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that we have entered a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 1, 2024, the CDC officially eliminated the five-day isolation period for people with COVID-19.

The number of data compromise events in 2023 is 78 percent higher than 2022. While this and other data compiled by the ITRC in 2023 may not be encouraging, its analysis may prevent 2024 from becoming another record-breaking year.

On January 10, 2024, the Department of Labor published a final rule for determining independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The final rule rescinds the 2021 Independent Contractor Rule and restores the totality-of-the-circumstances economic reality test, under which no single factor or group of factors is assigned any predetermined weight. It becomes effective March 11, 2024.

This week, many will be celebrating Thanksgiving in traditional fashion. By traditional, we mean eating and shopping. With so much time spent planning and preparing, it is easy to forget about the risks associated with these activities. The good news is that both can be made significantly safer by taking appropriate preventative measures. So, before the binging begins, take a few minutes to read the following Thanksgiving and Black Friday safety tips.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently revealed a preliminary list of the most frequently cited safety violations for fiscal year 2023, which ended September 30^th. The announcement, which was made at the 2023 NSC Safety Congress & Expo., is significant because knowing how and why workplace injuries occur puts employers in a better position to develop and implement their own safety and training programs.

It’s only a matter of time before a condominium association will need to hire a contractor for a construction project on the property. In fact, hiring professionals to rebuild, renovate or repair association property is one of the most important duties of association board members. These hiring decisions cannot be taken lightly, as they can significantly affect the value of unit owners' homes.

The Affordable Care Act’s affordability threshold will be lower in 2024 than ever before. The Internal Revenue Service recently announced that the affordability threshold for employer-sponsored group health plans that begin in 2024 will be 8.39 percent.