Don’t Let April Fool You!

April has finally arrived—did you get April fooled?

Some great April Fool’s Day pranks have been recorded over the years. According to Reader’s Digest, in 1996, fast-food chain Taco Bell claimed it had purchased the famed U.S. Liberty Bell to help with the country’s national debt. In 1980, the BBC announced that Big Ben, London’s historic clock tower, would be modernized and replaced with a digital timepiece. The BBC is credited with another of the greatest April Fool’s Day pranks of all time when they broadcast a 3-minute report in 1957 claiming that Swiss farmers enjoyed a bumper spaghetti crop due to a mild winter. Accompanying the report was a film of Swiss farmers “harvesting” strands of spaghetti from trees. They reportedly had many calls asking how spaghetti could be grown!

You may not have succumbed to pranks of this extent, but when it comes to employment law, don’t let April fool you! The Department of Labor is expected to announce its updates to Fair Labor Standards Act rules, with proposed rules indicating an increase to the salary level from $684 to $1,059 per week (or higher based on cost-of-living adjustments)—an increase of just under 55 percent. The salary threshold for highly compensated employees is expected to increase from $107,432 to $143,988—a 34 percent increase. The proposed rule also provides for automatic adjustments to the minimum thresholds every 3 years. Don’t be fooled if court challenges are filed!

April is also the anticipated time frame for the Federal Trade Commission to issue a Final Rule related to noncompetes. Stay tuned to see if changes to any related agreements you may use will be impacted.

April 1 marks the date the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs opens the Contractor Portal for the 2024 affirmative action certification period. The certification period ends July 1.

One other note: April 30 is the final day most organizations must display their OSHA 300A Summary. After that, you can take it down and file it with the others. Remember, you should have 5 years of the forms on file.

And finally: The 2023 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection reporting period will open on April 30.

I fervently wish that you have all of these under control and don’t feel like you’ve been pranked! Happy spring!