Happy New Year everyone!
It’s a great time to start fresh. But unfortunately, I’m still hearing that 2021 will linger on for some folks who remain unemployed, are still waiting on pandemic jobless benefits (like this guy), or are just trying to get their small businesses fully operating again.
But first, the new year means new labor laws.
There aren’t too many new labor laws that start Jan. 1. But a big one is new pay rules for agricultural workers. My colleague Thy Vo wrote about it in November.
Boost for ag workers — The new law requires employers to pay agricultural workers at least the state minimum wage, instead of the much lower federal one. Such workers can now organize, earn overtime pay and receive whistleblower protection when reporting abuse.
Minimum wage hike — And speaking of minimum wage, the hourly rate is going up in Colorado, too. Like this:
>> What’s the minimum everywhere? The U.S. map of minimum wages by state (for 2021, though this handy chart from the U.S. Department of Labor shows state minimums back to 1968)
>> Pay is also rising beyond the minimum >> CNBC
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